A few thoughts come to mind:

• It helps to be committed to what you are trying to achieve for yourself. If you're unsure then any resistence will easily unsettle, and you may even feel that you are now wrong.
• Be open to learning. If you accept that they may not know how to express their feedback in a constructive way (by perhaps coming across as condescending, a know-it-all, demanding etc.) then instead of fighting what they're saying or trying to better them, simply ask why they think that way. You soon find out how they did their ass on a deal, or how some-one ripped them off, or how the market turned on them, or how they were structured incorrectly….this is GREAT INSIGHT for the things that you need to watch out for on your own quest!
• Learn to be OK with being different and be a bit more compassionate to those who aren't OK with it. As a basic lesson in human behaviour, if you tell someone how you're going to be successful by being different to them how do you think they're going to respond? Usually by trying to defend their own way of thinking, which causes them to attack your different way of thinking. There is security for them if you are the same. So be OK with being different to them, show them a little compassion if they appear to be threatened and become a master of changing topics of conversation in a light-hearted way  

Hmm… gum just reminds me of teeth and dental hygeine. Of the description you gave, the most visually appealing word was FOREST. You mentioned open spaces, which also relaxes a person. What about taking advantage of the fact that it will have state forest access, with all it's open spaces…

ideas like FOREST SKY…

or the opening in a forest is called a glade, THE GLADES…

In Latin a forest is SALTUS…

have fun..

Yes, you are correct. you can count on some pre-approvals less than 80% LVR where full financials have been done providing the property evaluation stands.

My point was that even if the bank was 150% willing and committed to lending you the money that has nothing to do with the LMI providers willingness and commitment. We all know that things aren't entirely rosey in the market at the moment and the Lmi provider is essentially the one who is making the real call on whether you're going to be able to pay and if the property can be sold to recoup the costs. They are a bookie taking a bet against it and need to work the odds. . They evaluate your loan/property independant of the bank and can in fact require further info/clarification than the bank needs. They are what I would call "skittish" when it comes to 5% deposits in this market.

LMI evaluation is done as the 2nd last step in the final loan writing process and so it is entirely  possible and common that LMI will reject the loan after the bank has said yes.

Hi Coach,

Sounds like you're going to have trouble getting the job done cheaply. The indicator is how many people are willing to quote. Usually when there's plenty of work on, tradies won't quote jobs they don't want to do and will just focus on the easy jobs. For those that can be bothered quoting even though they don't want to do it, the quote will always have a "crappy job buffer" built in to make it worthwhile…it's common practice.

Search around for a tradie that needs the work and you'll get a quote at a much better price. I just did a search online and there are a couple of tradie registers that might be helpful or if you can find a larger company that needs to constantly chase work to keep the boys paid…

I've been reading this thread as it has unfolded and perhaps I am being a little simple but it appears that the only reason for transferring the home to the wife is to take advantage of her tax free threshold. But if I follow the money I don't see the profits that you are trying to save tax on…

The house is currently your PPOR – no income

when you rent it with your 80% loan still owing – not likely much income on this one

if you continue to refinance to fund deposits on IP2 and IP3 as you have stated  even less likely much income on this one

Would all of this effort and extra expense really lead to reduced tax?

Skills as a chippie coupled with investing knowledge will make you a force to be reckoned with!

I  think it will be key for you to learn how to do the figures on deals first. My dads a builder and there is no shortage of stories about guys who are great with the tools losing money because they didn't know how to work the figures other than costing the Reno and doing a gross $350+$50 with a sell of $450= $50 profit. Well it doesnt. You'll also have to work out how to pay your bills while doing the Reno. Sounds basic but if you're on the tools for your own Reno full time then how do you pay the bills if it takes around 4 months to get your money back? Or if you work the tools full time for someone else then what's the value of your holding costs while you do the Reno part time? Depending on the deal the profits could just be a higher risk way of you getting  paid for your labour?

The skills required to work the tools are different than the skills required to be an investor…but knowing that, you can easily skill up.

Although the idea of making money from reno's is sound, the reality of profit can only be worked out on a deal by deal basis. There are guaranteed to be houses in your current formula of buy for $350k Reno $50k that would not achieve a sell price with profit after covering these expenses plus buying costs incl legals and loan costs, holding costs of repayments, insurance, rates, selling costs of commissions and legals, any loan completion fees and CGT.

But learn how to do the figures and you'll be in a great position to make a profit.

The real question here is not so much whether you can issue a Form 11, but what you hope to get out of doing so.

A Form 11 is not much more than a formality on the road to legal proceedings. You should probably know that issuing a Form 11 to bring the rent up to date does nothing to bring the rent up to date. The tenant either has the capacity and willingness to be 4 weeks ahead or they don't, regardless of what forms are issued and what it says in the lease. 

Keeping this in mind, I would bring the issue to the attention of the tenant as a matter of courtesy and attempt to negotiate the rent back into 4 weeks in advance within a particular time frame. If this is not possible and they only ever remain 2 weeks in advance then perhaps you will need to adjust your finances to suit as there will be very few options available to you unless they are in arrears.

As a general rule I believe that most real estate agents will allow the rent to be in arrears for a few days before they contact the tenant. Then when the rent is in arrears by 7+ days they issue a form 11 and then if not resolved a Form 12 is issued one to two weeks later. HOWEVER, none of these processes can do anything to force the tenant to pay what they are not willing to pay. You will need to go to either mediation to work it out or to the tribunal to get orders. So working with your tenant and trying to find suitable solutions is ALWAYS the best option, rather than just issuing forms which can further damage their willingness to be in advance.