[Hi, Seasons greetings…i took the time to convert your uppercase to lowercase. Uppercase is regarded as shouting and is impolite. Please post in lowercase in the future.]
hi there,
i have a passion for doing reno properties, but everyone tells me i'll lose money if i do it in this market. i believe there is money to be made if i do it carefully & properly, but i don't know how.
i need to start out low-end (apartments) and flip, as i have to pay down a huge superannuation loan before i can buy & hold properties again.
please, does anyone know who can coach me on my first project? i am willing to pay for experienced, good, start-to-finish help.
i am having trouble crunching the numbers to determine profitability, and comparing low-end stand alone houses to apartments with after-tax profitibility.
any advice on who would be willing to walk me through my first project would be greatly appreciated. i have been out of work for 6 months, and intend to do this full-time, and have been too scared to get started without proper due diligence and the guidance of an experienced, profitable renovator.
i have a few properties & have worked in real estate before, but know nothing about generating renovation profits, which is my dream career.
i don't learn well with cds & seminars – i want to find someone who can guide me at each step of the process as i do it.
please help. i want to start immediately.
I'm inclined to give you some help myself. However i think you are looking to renovate in a capital city. When the area i could help you is in smaller to large regional towns. And if it was a little closer to home would be in Victoria.
your first sentence sums it up "i believe there is money to be made if i do it carefully & properly, but i don't know how."
if you dont how how, then what is it you believe?
what you really meant is "I hope like hell its possible, but I have no idea. please tell me what I want to hear!"
renovated properties need to be sold VERY FAST.
that just isnt likely to happen in this market.
try another hairbrained get rich quick scheme.
Seriousnovice
Far be it from me to give advice to others but since you asked. First: Stop watching those reno TV shows. Second: Stay out of Bunnings on the weekend. Third: Be realisit. re the following;
" i believe there is money to be made if i do it carefully & properly, but i don't know how."
"i have to pay down a huge superannuation loan before i can buy & hold properties again."
"i am willing to pay for experienced, good, start-to-finish help."Mate the enviroment of 6-7 years ago has gone, finished & never to retune. You mentioned flip, buy, fix & sell. What, all in a year. Better you go to Crown Casino with a couple of ladies and blow your money there, that way at least you will get some enjoyment out of it.
Every one wants to be rich or has an idear to get rich. Mate its over in property, unless you get one given to you & then sell it. Reno can be fun OK Im with you there as a project with a wife/ Girlfriend a sence of acheivement ect. But to make money not now.Supers down and falling, bank Intrest low & getting lower, property returns as low as bank intrest in real terms. What time are you heading to the Casino stop by and pick me up will ya. What do we do in these times sit still unless you get a real bargain & only then buy. To quote a friend " you worry you are not making any money, that is so , but at least you are not loosing any"
Sorry I could not paint a better picture but I feel thats the way it is now in Aust.
Have a Great New Year & all the best.
Regards
Tony……..Dear Tony B,
I appreciate your honesty (& humor). I guess when you start getting desperate you want to believe there is a way.
The truest thing you reminded me about is that at least I'm not losing more than I already am!
Happy holidays,
serious novice (actually my name is Janet)Dear Crashy,
Thank you for your comments & view of current prop reality.
There have been people who have proven others wrong when they said what they wanted to do couldn't be done. However, I will take on board your comments.
Cheers
SNDear Jaffasoft,
Thank you for being a little kinder about my enthusiasm, & wish to succeed in the face of challenges.
Unfortunately I am based in Sydney suburbs, and it would not be feasible for me to move closer to Victoria. I really appreciate your offer to help very much indeed!
Happy holidays,
JanetJanet
Unfortunity the big profits in real estate to be made by the average Jos like us are at an end the cycle has ended. Yes, it can be depressing to think what the hell can I do to make a financial future for myself & family. As I mentioned re. Super (soulds like you know what I mean) safe fixed intrest too low and to buy property in the current market as an investment needs serious consideration as I cant find the returns on investment considering the risk and commitment.
Janet dont jump in to a property investment with the fear you may miss out. If you sit down with people that have investment properties most of them are negativly geared, why, because they have no choice. Do the sums & do them again get as much info as you can first hand not from someone with a vested intrest. Any real estate agent will tell you now is a good time to buy or you cant go wrong etc. If the sums dont add up then its not a good investment. I did not mean to be too critical in my comments but in my opinion I realy beleive its dificult to get into a good investment in anything anywhere now, let alone property.
Having said that I also beleive you need to go the research & leg work. Then if something comes your way it was ment to be. Im sure you will find the right thing when it comes your way. By the way if your still heading to the casino stop by I will have the credit card ready.
Anyway All the best for the New Year
Kind RegardsT…………..
Hi Janet
I would prefer to offend someone, get the message across & look like an ***hole, rather than watch someone lose big $$$ making a huge mistake.
I am considered a 'professional renovator', ie someone who does it full time. I pulled out of the market 6 months ago because it became too risky. If a professional walks away, a novice certainly has no business jumping into it, especially with inadequate funding.
At some point soon, and that may be 6 months or 2 years, it may be safe to start reno's again…..
Dear Crashy,
I really do appreciate where you're coming from, and am grateful for shoot-from-the-hip advice. Obviously anyone with half a brain would prefer some harsh comments to losing big $.
Clarifying that you are a professional renovator who found it unprofitable enough now to have to pull out, certainly underlines your point big time. Thanks again for taking the time to inform me of the current risks.
Cheers,
JanetDear T,
Thank you for taking the time out to try and help me with my question. I guess the bottom line is when the economy blows, it pretty much is across the line, and there isn't much you can do to help yourself until that changes. Very depressing – and frustrating – indeed.
I guess we have to head for the casino then…..who knows, Lady Luck just might cut us a break – I don't want to become morose
Happy New Year (and let's really hope it holds out for the next 12 mos too)
J
Hi Janet
I had similar ideas like you but not on the renovating front but on building new properties in Perth in suburbs like Queens Park, East Cannington, Kelmscott or Belmont.
I have a house and plan to repay it by end of 2009, but then I have a huge Tax bill, which I want to reduce and hence I was planning to get my first IP. But after reading the comments on this thread I might have to think twice.
Can I request the experts on this thread to suggest if we dont invest in property what other options do we have? I dont want to keep my money for 5% bank interest or blow it in a Casino
Are overseas investments an option? I have invested in India 2 years ago and the market there is peaked and not a good investment choice at this stage.
Vidy
whats wrong with bank interest?
shares & property are currently depreciating assets, surely +5% risk free in a bank is better than -30% in other asset classes?
sometimes the smartest plan is WAIT & SEE
glad to see you are now not buying a property just to save tax.
CASH IS KING
I've had my super money in boring cash for about 12 months now.
At some stage started to buy a small parcel of shares again but began to loose value immediately, so cash it remains.
Cash still looses, because of the poor interest rates, inflation and taxation, but it certainly hasn't amounted to 40-50%.
the best thing is to stay in cash or reduce your debts, there is no easy way to make money at the moment.Dear Vidy,
I'm sure there are opportunities overseas, but certainly I wouldn't be able to advise. I have a friend in North Carolina who is buying up props cheaply & doing the renos himself. I'm sure he'll make out very well, but I doubt he could sell them now. No doubt he'll rent & hold till the market is good again. He's doing it there because he lives there.
New properties may do well too (I don't have the budget for that), but I imagine you'd have to have the funds to hold them if you couldn't sell them for a profit now.
I am fresh out of ideas & very worried.
Cheers,
JanetDear Crashy,
I just wrote my financial adviser yesterday wanting answers. It was my idea I should be in cash a year ago when the market trouble was looming, but he talked a lot and convinced me to stay in funds. I know it's a conflict of interest, as he always gets fees & commissions even if I lose my life's savings, and they are not held legally responsible to reimburse you for bad advice. I doubted my gut feeling, because he was the "expert" and that's what he does all day every day. It seems I was right – but I've lost most of my super now, & it's borrowed money.
I agree at the moment cash is definitely king.
I should never doubt my gut instincts…esp. for fast-talking "experts" after my money. I told him I would have preferred to buy back in once the market was on a proven upswing, rather than losing so much of my principal! I have yet to hear back from him – probably vacationing on my money when I'm home because I can't afford to.
J
Hi Dr. House,
I WISH I was in cash, and could reduce my debts! I spent practically nothing & have learned to live on air.
If I cashed in my funds now they have almost hit rock bottom, I think I would cement in my losses, and I would never be able to recover them.
No doubt you guys are managing your own funds. Unfortunately I relied on an "expert."
Does anyone know how to make ANY money at the moment? Or will any endeavour result in further losses?
I have read books that claim there are ways to make money in any market. Certainly the rich only get richer….so what are they doing?
Cheers,
Janet
Every one wants to be rich or has an idear to get rich. 
Mate its over in property, unless you get one given to you & then sell it. Reno can be fun OK Im with you there as a project with a wife/ Girlfriend a sence of acheivement ect. But to make money not now.
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