this thread seems have taken off in a couple of directions

no working an an employer is just not for suckers.  The people that slave away in unproductive franchises or to pay sky high shopping centre rentals arent necessarily being very smart just because they work for themselves.  Just depends on your needs and aptitudes,  not sure why people feel the need to tear others down because they take a different path…..maybe its insecurity.

generalisations about managers ar just that , generalisations.  Ive worked for brilliant ones and crappy ones,  there are both kinds out there.   If you continually find bad managers and your work not being valued ,  perhaps its time to have a think about how you pick the companies you want to work for,  if you are continually drawn to the ones with such crappy attributes.

I dont beleive you can -ve gear your PPOR or part thereof……but I am not a tax expert …..its just my common sense alarm going off.   He may actually be better of just quietly doing this with his mates and getting some mortgage help without getting to clever/greedy…..you attract the ATO's interest at you own peril

no reason why you cant make this work if you buy wisely,  prices hold and you can control your buying and selling expenses.  To be sure of your selling position in 6-12 months you need to buy in a desirable area and/or have something with a distinct selling point.

we recently did something similar……..stumbled on a truely grotty unit in a good block (well maintained , no structural problems, nice gardens), have done a basic clean up and superficial renovate to pick up a nice (theoretical) capital gain in 3 months.  In our case we are holding and renting it.   Selling points for this place are CBD and transport proximity,   emerging trendy area proximity and parking 3 metres from the door.

tony,  with all that rattling around in your head maybe you should just keep your cash in a nice 7-8% account until you get your thoughts together (I guess thats what you are doing by posting here).  You can always think of lots of scenarios that justify doing nothing,  these days you at least can get a nice return doing this.   You havent said if you are buying your PPOR or investing or if you are thinking short or long term.   Seeing you asked , if I was in your $ position I would build/buy quality , inner city (<10k out) for now,  hold and not panic if there is a dip….sounds like you are well placed to ride out the bumps.  Relatively speaking I think inner locations will be stronger just due to basic scarcity/desirability. I am not a great beleiver in the generalisation of outer burbs being that shaky (or much shakier than anywhere else), I think it depends on city and location ie. Sydney vs the rest….overstreched McMansion land vs established outer burbs….a lot of these sorts of comments come out of Sydney's west and get extrapolated to everywhere.  As we know Sydney is the centre of the universe so if its a problem there then it must be everywhere musnt it?  . Sorry if I'm cynical but I got out of Sin City half a life time ago and its probably the single best move I ever made financially and quality of life wise. 

virgin investor

Can you target your rant a little more specifically?  Dont know about others but I have trouble relating "So basically for saying normal people with families and who enjoy life outside money are 'F$#%ED' "  to whats being discussed.   Do you mean the prospect of not everyone being able to expect to own a home?  or possible increasing rents?  or what?   If people are enjoying life outside of money how can they be F$#%ED by these property / money related issues???

errrr…no, did I say that?   interesting interpretation…you have a scenario you beleive in and you pick the symptoms that fulfill your expectations…..I think the trend is there also , maybe just not with an outcome as apocalyptic as you present…..i trust there is room for more than one point of view. 

 
1)  the contract means nothing until its signed by both parties.  at the stage when only you have signed it ,  its just an offer

2)  when you sign it you are making an offer and showing willingness to proceed to settlement (subject to any conditions)

3) you get your statutory cooling of period depending what state you are in…..as already stated,  you can make the inspection a condition of the contract thereby giving you more time

4) if the defects are enough to wihdraw the offer then you are at square one again and can make a new offer

If this is confusing perhaps you could clarify all this with a solicitor,  and ask questions face to face.  Probably $100 or so well spent 

Normally at the contract stage you pay a deposit,  it doesnt have to be 10% , thats just what the agent likes as their commission if then banked (roughly speaking).   If the contract is signed by both sides its binding after the cooling off period…..please note "binding" can be a relative term.  How much time, energy, $ would you spend really trying to enforce it?    Generally its not an issues but I dont count any deal done until settlement is completed.

Most of those posts seem to be concentrated in the Property bust not here yet … worse to come thread,  which seems to have become hand wringing central these days and will surely be more so over coming months.   Do we need regurgitate the media still more?   

If people want to share strategies to deal with these more difficult times that might be interesting.   We havent been all that creative,  we cashed out of shares to super about 6 months ago and are in the process of selling a couple of properties that we think are less solid long term value propositions.  We will stay engaged with property though and will hold long term.

your approach is quite valid,  but as Terry says  you need to take out tax at your marginal rate along the way (unless you are putting it into super , in which case just 15%…….but locks your money away which is probably not great at your age).   Some other thoughts…….will you have the discipline to save at that rate for 25 years?…..so many temptations to do other things (which by the way can be a good thing….having a life is important as well) …..mortgages have a way of enforcing discipline.    A friend of mine always rents where she wants to live and invests in growth corridors and well placed apartments near transport.   This way all her property related investment expenses gain tax benefits and minimise carrying cost.

congratulations on thinking some of this stuff through at your age.  

   download http://www.ato.gov.au/content/downloads/NAT1729_07.pdf from the ATO web site,  there is a table at the rear which provides itemised deprec guidance.   Carpets are 10 years.    Happy number crunching.