What part of the North Coast are you in?I'm in Sydney, eastern suburbs. Yesterday happened to drive past an open unit (a very ordinary one at that), at least 80 people milling around on the lawn waiting for the agent to arrive. This was a rental property, there are no rentals left and I have colleagues who are moving back in with Mum and Dad…[Read more]

Dear Marc,Don't buy in NSW! Exactly what I am doing now, no longer buying in NSW either. Only way to go. And the friend that is trying to sell her unit lost a buyer because of the high land value of her unit, so that is what made her aware of the over-priced valuation. She could not understand why it was valued so much higher than what she was…[Read more]

I di have several, and I bet you peachy's landlord has several IP's as well, I guess what I was just trying to point out is that land tax does not reflect the actual values anymore, and with it going up 30% each year it is something you never planned for in your investment strategy, I mean where are the articles in investment magazines dealing…[Read more]

Definitely, not that I know the proprerty they are discussing, but just to give you an eaxmple, the semi we rent at the moment, a similar one sold for nearly a million dollars recently in our street. An old 3 bedroom home sold for 1.28 million in our street last year. This house is a rental, and is being rented for $550 per week. So if the 'real',…[Read more]

There are 12 in the complex I mentioned, which means that each owner gets slugged with 3 million divided by 12 as they are all the same size  (under 50 metres, can't even get bank finance without dramas). It's just bizarre really. Just looked at today's paper and saw land tax again the headline story (see my next posting in same forum). My studio…[Read more]

In regards to my earlier comment re unfair land tax, my unit was a studio apartment, and the land value was increased by 33% in one year. When I bought I considered the land value, and figured I would be under thethreshold for years to come, however it is impossible dealing with the greedy NSW state government and their totally unreasonable…[Read more]

Dear Peach,i do understand your frustrations, are you in Sydney? I got hit with a big land tax bill, because the NSW government overvalues to raise revenue. So the value of the land that is part of the complex for my studio apartment is actually SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER than what I can sell the studio for, belivee it or not. I fought it all the way…[Read more]

Thanks Terry,That's only a negligible amount, so not worth waiting until July for a property purchase then. Even though the rental market in Sydney is a mess (only one unit listed for lease in my suburb, and I hear in Canberra they are now auctioning rental properties!). But obviously the NSW government can't afford to drop stamp duty on…[Read more]

Hi there,Please see my post in the general property forum.  Housing Dept are not supposed to advertise their sales, they get listed with local estate agents and auctioned, then when passsed in at auction they get listed for sale. If you trail through real estate.com, look at the auctions, any with boarded up windows, unkempt yards are usually…[Read more]

Interesting to read all of the above. Would any of the experts like to suggest which areas of Sydney to watch? Are we talking about the eastern suburbs/north shore only or can we include the inner west, places like Ashfield/Summer Hill. What about the Sutherland Shire/St George area? Would appreciate any input on this.

Hi Del,I notice you mention purchasing ex housing commission. Please read my post in general property about precautions you may want to make when doing this. Hope it helps you!

Dear Matt,Unfortunately as mentioned already there is a real issue with studio apartments and small one bedders and getting finance. This was supposed to change some years back, with the increase in housing costs and more smaller one bedders/studios being built however the banks have yet to change their requirements. I bought a less than 50 metre…[Read more]

Dear Scott,NSW!  NSW Dept of Housing. Have you had any dealings with SA Housing Trust?

Dear Scott,If you read my first posting again you will see that I did get my deposit back after 12 weeks of hassles, hiring a lawyer and going to the Minister for Housing himself. The reason I posted it was to warn others on this website, as you so rightly say the lack of cooperation is unbelievable with DOH. I was a reasonable person, happy to…[Read more]

Daer Scott,I also wanted the place repaired using a licensed builder. I didn't want to let the house go. DOH just weren't interested in doing ANY repairs, responding to any phone calls/letters/quotes, using a licensed builder, or coming to a reasonable agreement. I  have never experienced such a situation of total apathy and slackness.  My la…[Read more]

Thank you! I did see the issue incidentally, but was hoping there might be people out there who are in that market, as first hand experience is always better than magazine stories.

Is there nobody out there with any ideas on Mount Gambier?

Also Rob meant to tell you get a friend to ring these agents 'pretending' to be a potential tenant and see how they come across, whether they are positive about your place or negative. And if possible get someone you trust to have a look at the inside, either a friend or go yourself. There might be a reason it's not listed or renting. For example…[Read more]

I think if the agent still hasn't listed the place it's time to move on to another agent. Is the town big enough that you have another agent to choose from? One you haven't dealt with yet? If neither agent is listing it there has to be a reason, and they might have talked to each other about what has happened and it might be best to start again…[Read more]

My personal experience has been to buy a property at auction which was badly vandalised 4 days later. I am now involved in ongoing legal proceedings, argueing about the cost of the repairs, trying to rescind the contract. I never sought legal advice before signing athiscontract but from now on will, as when I got the phone call from the cops to…[Read more]