PI.com Roll Call

Ok, I’m really the odd one out here… My name is Melinda, I’m 34 and live in Canberra. Single mum with a 5yo daughter. I’m just back in work this year after three years of only working part time to look after my daughter. I’m working on buying a ppor late this year/early next year so I can start building equity and looking at buying ip’s in the future. I’m learning so much by reading all the posts on here! You are all so helpful! []

hi everyone,
well i have been addicted to the PI site for about 12 months now and enjoy reading the posts. it has been equllay enjoyable learning a little about each of you. any way a little about us…
my name is cherie, i am 34 years old and married to a wonderful man named gary (affectionatley know as gazz) we have been married for almost 10 years and have two beautiful children, jakeb nearly 7 and samara 4.5
i am a primary school teacher and gazz has a landcaping/law mowing business. we have become very passionate about changing our lifestyle and taking charge of our future.
we have a PPOR. 2 flats and 2 properties under contract- ready to settle 7th july- all going well.
To AD, thanks for your calls to gazz we both appreciate your honesty and you have gone a long way to making us believe we can achieve our goals.
well there you have it, a little about rie and gaz….
have a great day everyone[]

[8D]O.K. My turn. Yep – Name Susie & partner Aaron.I’m a ‘very young’ 43 but doing “REALLY” well as Aaron is only 31!!! Was doing well for myself working my u no wot off in Sydney and had lots of $$$ & my own ppor, unfortunately for me got burned by an addict, no didn’t see it coming but very lucky to come home to the Gold Coast with only $40k to my name. (Long story). [!]
Met Aaron 2.5yrs ago (he’s a chef) and it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He is 1 in a mill and the centre of my universe. We have same goals, think the same etc… Now have ppor nearly paid off and 3 fabulous I.P.’s with the best tenants!!! We are both really happy and think this is the best site around.
Cheers big Ears!!! Susie

Hi guys,
My name is Scott, I’m 28 and live in Brisbane with my girlfriend Libby, in a rented house that I share with friends. I’m in the process of purchasing my first 2 IP’s, all since finding this site. I’ve grown up helping my family renovate houses so property is sort of in my blood.
I’m doing this not only for myself but to help my parents live in the manner that I feel they deserve. We’re working as a team to get us to a stage where, within 5 years they can retire and I can be financially independant enough to work when I want, allowing me to do what I really love buying, selling and renovating property!
My goal is to have 20 IP’s by the end of next financial year, a challenging task I know, but better to try and fail, than not try at all. Besides if Steve can do it why cant we!

Warmest regards to all,
Scott S[8D]

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

Hi guys []

My name is Tabatha. I grew up in Geelong, Vic, and while earning very good $$ many years ago bought an IP. It was a 100 yr old unrenovated Victorian house located in the city with all the period features. I made every mistake in the book. [xx(] I was young and went into investing with great enthusiasm but no experience or knowledge. What I know now!

I moved to Sydney where my current partner and I bought a house 3 yrs ago in South Western Sydney.We are both working and have one (7) child. In that time we have made 42.5%. It is our primary home and can now use that $$ for to start our property portfolio.

The masters seminar — and the poeple we met there — have been great motivators for us. This forum is a great resource — a big thankyou to all for being so open and helpful.

tj [8D]

Well done Felicity.

One year down the track I plan to say the same.
I’m 25, live in doncaster vic and have 1 prop in qld. In the process now of refinancing to buy another to hang on to.
Up until a few months ago, I was heading overseas in nov for a year or two. I wanted to have 3 prop before I left. I will definatly have 3 b4 nov, but I cant happily leave oz. All my mates are going and it would be crazy times, but all these investing ideas wont leave me alone.
I decided to stay in oz and make the most of my opportunities while i’m pumped. I could not be happy sitting on the beach in Spain right now – sick, I know!
This is my future and I’m gonna have a good crack at it.
I took my older sis to the AMPI seminar and we decided to combine forces and do this wrap thing together. Saturday morning we’re off to go house shopping with our first client.
We’re going to do 12 over the next year.
Everything seems to be coming together right now and I’m feeling very good about it. It would be fair to say that this forum, Steve and all of YOU have been a huge contribution to that.
My sincere thanks.
Phil Hooper.

G’day all.
What a great bunch of people. Property Investors all seem so cool.[8D] My name’s Sean (37), IT specialist. Married to Lisa with two girls Maddison (10) and Mallory (. I guess I’d call myself a “steady as it goes” investor. I’ve done a PPOR reno. Now in second PPOR reno (Glen Alpine, SW Sydney) that we will never sell as we love it. Have one +IP and now getting finance to get a little more serious. I love reno’s, but am a little to much of a perfectionist to do it at the rate Geof Doidge et al does it, so i’ll continue to plod along with the buy and hold stategy.[]
Thanks for a great forum. I’m hooked.

Hi Everyone,

I guess it’s my return now…

Ok, up until just a year ago I was working for a Big 4 international accounting firm (Deloitte) in Corporate Finance preparing company valuations for mergers and acquisitions. After doing a bit of reading (e.g. Robert Kioysaki) I decided that being an employee was not the way for me to become financially free. So it started me thinking… property investment, starting my own business, etc.

In end of May 2002 I resigned. My goal was to start a business to generate cash flow and invest that cash flow into property (similar to RK). I went into business with a friend… I know… I hear you all thinking… bad move… and it was! We didn’t have the same work ethic, client service commitment, etc. In Nov 2002 I left and started ProSolution and haven’t looked back!

I set a deadline of 30 June 2003 to buy my first cash flow positive property. I’ve only got 9 days left. I’ve just been too busy but I think I’ll definitely get one by the end of July.

My plan is to build a property portfolio of all types of property (some positive and negative high growth property). I’ll be the one buying in Docklands (Melb) in 1 – 2 years when everyone’s selling. My grand aim is to get into commercial (still positive cash flow).

On a personal note, I am 28, married (3 years), no kids. My wife (Josie) works with me at ProSolution. She fully supports our investment aims (i.e. business and property) – which is important as Steve and Dave agree (in FastTrack).

Anyway, that’s probably enough about me.

Cheers

Stu

Property & Finance News
at http://www.prosolution.com.au

Hi Y’all, anybody out there from northern suburbs of Brisbane??? We’re in Stafford and would love to email/talk to any other couples/families in a similar situation to ourselves.

We’re late 30s, two little boys 1 and 3 yrs, hubby is an engineer and mum is a stay at home mum, but part time journo, working odd shifts on weekends when dad can look after our little treasures or my mum can come down from toowoomba to help out.

We have 3 mortgages, all cash flow negative. I’ve read Lomas and this forum, but too late to know what I was doing…so…for now, we’re sitting, and wondering…etc.

We have our PPOR, with mortgage, and four investment properties, since we got together later in life. Two are paid off and two are negatively geared – fortunately they are in my husband’s name and he is the main breadwinner, but…

I LOVE looking at houses, smelling them, buying them etc…equity is not a problem for us, servicing the debts on one income is…so I need to suss out this ‘positive cash flow’ thing a bit better.

I’ve read some of Geoff Doidge’s stuff and I’d LOVE to do one of his courses, but I couldn’t justify spending so much money in our current ‘tight’ situation.

We’ve done up and sold two properties in the last two years, and we’ve done up two of our current investment properties and our ppor a little bit too – just cosmetic things, nothing serious.

We recently bought a great little beach shack at Caloundra – it’s heaven – but seriously negatively geared – mortgage $540/wk, gross rent $250/wk – I can hear you all groaning – but what a magic spot, I can see myself as an old lady, writing books, looking out to sea, watching the grandchildren frolic…mind you, if they wait as long as I did to have kids, I’ll be in a nursing ome, not at Moffat Beach!

So, I’d LOVE for us to be able to buy another property, but it would HAVE to be positively geared or near to, or we would die under the burden of servicing the loans.

We expect to pay off our PPOR within 2 years, and the other two mortgages can just languish until we can think of a better plan.

We’re thinking of transferring the ‘paid off’ investment property in my husband’s name into a trust, so the income can come my way, since I am in a much lower tax bracket.

The other ‘paid off’ property is in my name, it was our former PPOR, and we are about to rent it out, so I’m doing the Income tax assessment act ’97 S 118 – 192 bit of ‘FIRST TIME you want to rent out a PPOR, you get a valuation, and that locks in any previous capital gain, and when you eventually sell, the valuation forms your cost base – got that tip from a Lomas book, and checked it with the tax office, VERY timely for me, as I was about to pay heaps of money to set up a trust to gift the property to, and heaps of money in stamp duty, all to ‘lock in’ the substantial capital gain that has happened in much of Brisbane over the past couple of years – and in fact, I don’t need to get a trust set up at all, just get a valuation and start renting…

NONE of our friends ‘like’ property – they think such people are ‘slumlords’ – when I knew less than I did now, I let a friend talk me into selling a duplex in Wavell Heights – cost me $120,000 5 years ago, rented for $125 x 2, and I sold it for $149,000 JUST BEFORE the boom because no agent or friend thought it was worth hanging on to – I’d never heard of Robert Kioysaki then, or about positive cash flow or anything – how many times have we all said ‘if only I knw then what I know now…’ About a year ago, that duplex was onsold for nearly $300,000 – so I am quiet about our plans with our friends now, because they think anyone with more than one home is a capitalist pig, trading on the misfortunes of others…they think we are fools buying slums – but they are ‘character’ houses – we just can’t afford to do them up as we might just yet…

I love being a mum to our two boys, I love houses, and I thank God I met my husband or I would still be wasting all my money on having fun – now I love having mortgages, it feels like he might be able to retire one day, and we want to be independent in old age.

We wish you all good health and success, thank you for all the great ideas, generous in the extreme,

Kooringal.