I love the way he (Smith) talks about being critical of them for "not recognising the signs"…what the hell has he been doing?  he and his direct team are hardly a bunch of clueless 20 somethings who made money because they were in a boom rather than having any special knowledge or skills.   They are supposed to guide the operational and st…[Read more]

looks interesting, but convoluted,  its not clear to me when you would actually see your money.  Sounds like it would come back in dribs and drabs and of course there is no gurantee they would be effective in selling the shares…..I would be wondering that if the return is so great and the development fairly small ,  why would they even ad…[Read more]

Hi MisterYou paint a fairly bleak picture.  Where do you think its substantially better than here?  we live in a western commercially oriented democracy,  so greed or the profit motive is a big part of that.Re your question yes I want my kids to have a life and my 20 somethings are buying homes and getting on with life in their own way (one wi…[Read more]

truisms re land appreciating and buildings depreciating dont really mean much,  the focus (I think) should be on location.   You really cant have a meaningful conversation about land vs house/unit without the context of specific deals.   In general terms residential land will have holding costs with no compensating revenue,  so the end sale price…[Read more]

in general terms,  add up all your deductible costs and depreciation, subtract your rental income ,  balance if your nett loss .  Reduce your general income by the amount of the nett loss,  recalculate tax on the reduced income.  Roughly the amount of tax you should gain is the difference between the two tax numbers…….this is assuming you have…[Read more]

bias is shown here in both directions, +ve and -ve,  there are some here that preach gloom and doom and seem to rejoice in that and the pain of others…….like the "enjoy" comment when posting a -ve article.   Its easy to do a search on posts by individuals,  when you do that its fairly easy to see who is trying to help others and who is trol…[Read more]

if you objective in investing was to accelerate paying out your PPOR then it sounds like a good plan.  The  -ve is getting rid of a property just as it goes +ve cash flow.  That should be a long term income stream and appreciating asset for you.     Really I would be more concerned about the 2nd property and the overhang it creates in your who…[Read more]

Hireally there is insufficient info provided for people to make a sensible comment.  Some of what you have said is confusing….you owe 100k on a 225k property but can only take 50k out?  is there some reason you can take it up to 80% or has the value dropped.    Plan sounds nice in theory but without knowing costs and borrowings who knows if its…[Read more]

Be careful that you have insurance cover that matches the arrangement you propose.  I beleive that you can split the lease as you propose ,  but I also found out that some insurance companies are particular about having all parties on one lease and a minimum lease period.   I am guessing they would want a higher premium for the arrangement you pro…[Read more]

jeeez…….I am probably just being harsh but you dont need advice desperately and there is no reason to be anxious….you are just dissapointed that you cant eek the last drop out of a free rent arrangement.   Good luck to you if you can but if not just get on with it and your renos will come a little bit later,  its not a drama.

what do you have in mind re financing?  it sounds like you are minimising your tax deductible debt and maximising your non tax deductible debt.  

HiI can only suggest common sense type stuff…..go there, talk to people, get a sense of activity or lack thereof…..look at the internet to see how many properties for rent,  what rental levels,  are they letting or just sitting there?Based on what you have said are you sure you want to do the remote investment thing?  If you arent motivated to…[Read more]

only spent a brief period there and it felt like an artificial movie set plonked in the middle of desert,  bit like Las Vegas without the fun.   In any case I already invest in Dubai,  I buy petrol.

a couple hundred years ago people "knew" that all swans were white….then they discovered Australia and found that black swans actually existed.   I dont think the global house price crowd know anything for sure….they have a theory based on their perception of fundamentals and history.   We are going through unprecedented times with wars, pea…[Read more]

I think whether 50/50 is fair depends on who wears the financial risks if things go pear shaped.   If you sign up for some of that that then 50/50 profit share may be fair.  If not I wouldnt want to be on the finance side of that relationship,  as I could get saddled with everything and you could walk away as you really dont have much skin in the game.

a friend of mine has always rented where she wanted to live and invested where the capital gains were good.  If I was starting out again I would do the same and maybe sell up later and buy a place when I got older and wanted some assured security/stability….but who knows that far down the track.   I dont really see a downside to having some ta…[Read more]

There is usually one fee for re-letting and one fee for renewing a lease.  They have not had to do the work involved in re-letting,  so they should not charge that fee…..although they may try it on.   This should be contained in your management agreement.  Why not get on the front foot and call them and say you are expecting the renewal fee and…[Read more]

go with the newer property…..more rentable (modern, garage),  better depreciation…..as soon as you said pool with the other one I was gone……just my opinion but pools and rental properties arent a good mix.

Tools wrote:
Hi guys.I am trying to work out what land value would be in Carlton, but it is alittle difficult when it is such an established suburb. How can I work out what it might be? ANy other opinions on Carlton would also be appreciated.Tools

guessing somewhere between $500k and a million +,  depending on size and location.  While we w…[Read more]

adriannqld wrote:
Random Question.Why must property prices return to 3-4 times the average wage??Is this a fundamental or an assumption.

many seem to think thats what the number used to be , so thats what it should be now and in the futureif you beleive that everyone should be able to buy a home then its a nice social objective,  and more affor…[Read more]