Home Owners Advice

[Deluxe]

Damn there is some good reading/advise right here....... and especially for someone like myself who will be looking at buying in the next coiuple of years!

I sure as hell know who to come see for advise now then!

hmmm just need a accountant now to lead me in the right direction and tell me what to spend my money on each week......

[Nightcrawler]

easy done Darren - if you seriously want some financial advice just let me know - my wife is a Chartered Accountant at PKF Accountants, and her brother David (white R33 has been on cruises) is a partner there, and at Associated Planners.

I want to grab another hood cable backup thingo off you for his R33 too next time we catch up!

If anyone wants some data (like the jpgs I attached earlier) give me a holler and I can sort you out no problems. As for specific advice it is a bit harder (without charging you for it), due to Public Indemnity issues etc, but I can give you general advice/my opinion like I did for Brendan above.

[Deluxe]

easy done Darren - if you seriously want some financial advice just let me know - my wife is a Chartered Accountant at PKF Accountants, and her brother David (white R33 has been on cruises) is a partner there, and at Associated Planners.

I want to grab another hood cable backup thingo off you for his R33 too next time we catch up!

For sure mate, sounds good..... i know who to come see, Your wife for accountant issues........ you for house appraisal......... and Vange for some property managment, Ahhhhh what a tight little community/family we have here on SAU!

Oh and as for the "hood cable backup thingo" I'll try and organise one for you and hopefully have it for the "Skyliners Social"!

[Bl4cK32]

That is a very naive/stupid thing to say mate - of course the Real Estate does move backwards (for short periods at least).

I frikking hate this whole forum now....Eveytime someone says something, everyone has to jump in, and say "OMG, thats BS"

Im not gunna defend myself anymore, just say -

Real estate - who F**N buys for the short term?? All long term (7-10 years) investments... Since when does buying a house (whilst maintaining repayments regardless of rate rises / economics -a normal thing if you are buying a property) = going backwards?

you said it yourself :

f crouse over the long term values will always rise, but you need to be able to weather the interest rate/economic storm in the meantime

Please dont read what i say then make judgement on a 5 word sentence without understanding / asking the whole meaning.

I say Brendan should go seek advice from a professional. U do what u think is best for your money/assets.

-ANY MILLIONAIRES OUT THERE????-

thought not, but everyone here seems to know just what to do.

This forum can kiss my hairy butt cheeks from now on, ive had it with over opinionated wanna be's who think they have an answer for everything, while stuck in the sh*t hole they call a life...

*not directed at anyone, just my personal opinion*

Ps - everyone get a life, cars / money dont mean shit when your 6ft under.

[4door_Sleeper]

of course the Real Estate does move backwards (for short periods at least). Look at the attached pics for current info on Hackham (for example).

Whilst not disagreeing with you Andrew, I just wanted to point out that figures for a suburb don’t necessarily reflect individual prices. i.e. you may find that in one particular year more people with better homes in the suburb move out (increasing area prices) and in another period people from smaller/less expensive houses move out of the suburb. (showing a drop in median price). I admit I don’t know Hackney very well, but the figures for my area (Surrey Downs) are sometimes skewed by disproportionate sales in the new and expensive section vs. the older housing trust section.

Long-term real estate is a safe and sure thing.

As for Bl4cK32's rant, I think you may be surprised at the number of millionaires on these forums (I can think of 2 or 3). Andrews comment was correct, and he qualified himself with "(for short periods at least)" which is perhaps what you meant but didn’t state. Purchasing options and off the plan can generate significant wealth in a very short time frame but the risks are higher.

The basic rule is High returns = high risk in anything financial (but the reverse isn’t necessarily true)

I'm guessing its that time of the month for you, the comments weren’t a major flame, just another persons advice/perspective.

[Tangles]

Thanks lads - awesome and VARIED advice (lets never forget forum boards are meant to be traversed by Opiniated people), and thats a good thing.

Comes down to this: Im disabled. Im getting my mind around that fact, but its a truth. Cant sleep for more then a few hours, always in pain sometimes horrific pain, making it very hard to keep a clear and level head. My stress levels atm are extremely high.

What Im looking at when I see my home, is a beautiful SPACEY 320k home, in the best part of Morphett Vale. We love it, in the wooded area on the walking trail right next to 2 schools and 4 parks. Quiet area. But its very spacey and Im paying 103k morgage for that space..... do I need it? No. I can downgrade in value, to say 245k, to still a beautiful home in the M/V area and just lose out on a little space (ie no pool - buy a spa for my knees, more compact kitchen - ours is Huge and a waste of space, more compact entry foyer - ours is bigger than a big bedroom, and lose the gym room - no big deal gain a shed to put that gear in).

So, I wont be rushing into a decision, but I think in the short term Im better off going to a more suitable 4person family home thats worth less and brings my debt level down to under 40k (down to 20k when bike sale and family berevement $ comes thru).................. THEN buy into 1, then 2 etc investment rented homes for under 180k each, that in 25+yrs time will be paid out via the rent and can be passed onto my 2 kids, to help with their future.

Thats a fair plan, help the kids out in the long term, help me out (I dont want to pay 103+interest for the next 15yrs on wasted space, with not a cent to my name after the 1st week of the month like I have now for approx.9years) in the short term, and gives me the opportunity sometime in the "near" future to spend time getting over 2 x partial knee replacements, then eventually 2 x full knee replacements.

Its a very hard decision, but eventually Im going to have to look after my health - I fear Ive only got ~25yrs left on this earth, so I need to provide a future for my 2 kids and wife.

Cheers all, Brendan

[mid life crisis]

lifes bloody hard brendan

i like you have a disabilty that forced me to give up work a few yrs ago and become mr mum while the ex worked it's hard getting ya head around the fact that your not going to work anymore took me a long time to accept that fact and i truly feel for ya . but life goes on now i have a new partner and life with a lot less stress than i used to have with our combined finaces ie my divorce settlement and the sale of her unit we now have house paid for value 380k r33 paid for and a boat worth about 23g paid for .have a loan of about 9k and no other debts .lucky my partner earns a reasonable wage and accepts my disabilties for what they are .we our now looking for a investmant property atm to help secure our long term future and her retirement .there has been some great advice given by people in the know on this forum and i can tell ya life is bloody site easier without having to pay a morgage every fortnight .if you can downsize and live with that desion and free up your money to be able to live beter then go for it . no use flash house flash car and no food in the fridge chin up mate it can only get better

mid life crisis

ps any finacial advisers who could steer me in the right direction for a investment property feel free to reply

Edited August 9, 2006 by mid life crisis

[Nightcrawler]

yep what you said is basically right Guy - but a detailed anyalysis of a large number of sales to compare the median price performance of a suburb is a great way to gauge the health of the market. That is why you examine all the sales for the year, to eliminiate any non-market/extranneous sales, and get a general/average measure of performance.

black32, I wasn't having a go at you. Like Guy said, you made a comment, did not back it up with any other info, so I corrected you. Believe it or not, some people believe everything they read, and I have come across people in life that honestly do think that property values NEVER go down, as your post seemed to indicate, which is simply not true. Didn't mean to offend you!

Brendan - it definitely sounds like you have your priorities in order. But one thing of note, when you buy your investment properties down the track, make sure you put some of your own money into the loan each week - even if it is $100. You will be amazingly surprised how quickly your 25 year loan turns into a 10 year loan, all the while your property value doubles also!

As for the millionaire comment black32, there are actually MANY users on here that qualify - and many bringing in more than $200k annually just as normal income. You would be very surprised. And yes, you are 100% correct when you state that there are far more important things in life than money .... that's why I have just treturned from 10 days skiing Mt. Ruapehu in New Zealand - work hard and play hard is my motto

[Tangles]

Brendan - it definitely sounds like you have your priorities in order. But one thing of note, when you buy your investment properties down the track, make sure you put some of your own money into the loan each week - even if it is $100. You will be amazingly surprised how quickly your 25 year loan turns into a 10 year loan, all the while your property value doubles also!

goes without saying........... ! cheers for your ongoing unbiased opinions, appreciated for sure.

no use flash house flash car and no food in the fridge

yup, realizing that now. thanks for your ongoing msn support dean.

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsear...mt=&header=

something like that ^^^ would be perfectly suitable, IMO

Edited August 9, 2006 by Tangles

[Cubes]

Andrew,

Curiosity.... IF one doesn't need a deposit to buy a house would you still recommend saving up a deposit? You know the old school save a deposit for your house etc..

I the view that saving a deposit is a waste of time IF you can get a loan without the need for a deposit (graduate loan, garantor etc).

My reasoning being; you save for a year or two, within that year or two the value of a house will rise.

Instead of enjoying the increased value of your property if you origionally purchased it you are now having to foot the bill and pay more for that property, so essentially wasting your deposit.

Also.. Any chance you could throw up a market analysis chart of Moana? I like the sea side of commercial road.

[Bl4cK32]

black32, I wasn't having a go at you.

That is a very naive/stupid thing to say mate

I call that having a go. Reverse the situation to if i said that to u, without asking what u meant, how would u feel?

Like Guy said, you made a comment, did not back it up with any other info, so I corrected you

Correct me if im wrong, arnt we here talking about Brendans' LONG term investment chioce? So does that mean i have to answer in whole essay's to explain myself everytime incase someone sees different?

some people believe everything they read, and I have come across people in life that honestly do think that property values NEVER go down, as your post seemed to indicate,

never said that, again u assumed short term, i was referring long term.

Andrews comment was correct, and he qualified himself with "(for short periods at least)" which is perhaps what you meant but didn’t state

Bingo, just i took offence to the second quote above. Totally not needed, or warranted.

As for the millionaires comment -let me step it out -

how many people on here are millionaires, by just the property business. Dont count people with the name Kier, or Munro....or if your annual salary is bigger than your wang either. Im referring strickly in regards to real estate....not many...

i'll crawl back in my hole now, go eat some more pain killers, and enjoy my mood swings.

[Tangles]

i'll crawl back in my hole now, go eat some more pain killers, and enjoy my mood swings.

I feel for you, Im in absolute agony today.

(edit: pleading to the Dr for morphine tomorrow............. cant go on like this)

(2nd edit: actually Bl4cK32 - your advice is one that Id listen to the most, as you know EXACTLY how hard it can be to balance everything when in extreme pain)

Edited August 9, 2006 by Tangles

[Iron Chef]

Regarding the millionaire thing - does Japanese Yen count??

[Nightcrawler]

ok, this is my last comment to you black32: you said, and I quote: "Real estate never moves backwards...." - that comment is unambiguous and black and white. I was responding to that comment. You did NOT say Real estate never moves backwards.... in the long term! But anyway it is a moot point. Sorry for correcting you, etc etc

Joel, the catch is that for the 100% or 105% loans that are being touted about the place, the interest rate is quite a bit higher than the standard variable. Also, a lot of those type of lenders have very nasty fine print clauses, the worst one often being: if you miss a payment or default for whatever reason, they will capitalise any shorfall in payments (or even discounts during the loan), back to the day the loan started. A little known, and dangerous cost, should one default. Of course, if anyone gets into trouble with their loan repayments, etc, bank/lenders are usually pretty cool in sorting things out (whether you get a 3 month interest-only payment plan to help you catch up, or a 3 month no-payment 'holiday' for you to sort things out) or something like that - as long as you are upfront with them before it happens - once you have defaulted it is usually too late and they get quite unhappy.

So the short answer is yes, assuming you can cover mortgage payments required (and I would work on an interest rate of +1.5% of whatever rate they offer you, as a buffer for rate increases, just to make sure it will all work), you are better getting a 100% loan and buying, rather than renting. And yes, in the long run the capital value will rise and your leverage will increase, at which time once you have some equity in the property, you can refinance with a 'normal' lender at a better interest rate, as your equity to loan ration will improve. Another HUGE revelation in the past 10 years has been the use of offset accounts, where your home loan is also your everyday bank account, and whilst your normal repayments come out at the nominated time, whatever balance is in your daily account actually counts as being 'paid-off' your mortgage each day, and when they calculate the daily interest on your loan, any money in that day to day account, you are not charged interest on. It's a relatively small thing, but at the start of each month/fortnight when your pay goes in, it can decrease the loan amount and save you quite a bit of compound interest over the long term. A popular combined tactic is to run all of your living expenses off a Visa for the month, leaving a relaively high balance in your offset account for the whole month, then at the start of the next month pay off the Visa (so as to avoid any Visa interest), and start again. Then the whole benefit of your pay comes off the daily interest calculations. However, some institutions do not offer offset accounts, and indeed some won't let you pay off any amount above your monthly payment, which seems good in the short time for you, as you have more cash flow to play/live with, but means your loan will take the full 25years or whatever to pay off - which can actually mean you pay for your house 3 times over in the 25 year period!

Analysis of Moana attached fyi

[Cubes]

Thanks for the few tips and analysis... A few little traps there I wasn't aware of.

[vange]

ps any finacial advisers who could steer me in the right direction for a investment property feel free to reply

we currently have 2 properties 1 of our landlords are selling, both tenanted, unit (90+k) and a 3br house (200kish) both in salisbury if any1 is interested in investing

Edited August 9, 2006 by vange

[Cubes]

Vange, Don't take this as digging at your post as its nothing of the like; but isn't it a bad time to invest due to slow market growth?

I would have thought the best time to invest is prior to the booms.

[vange]

its always good 2 invest in property. its only bad if you do it wrong. that y you should do research and do your figures before you enter such a venture.

at present we are having a increase in people looking to rent, and the properties available for rent is staying the same. the increase is because we are having a influx of students to study and also due to the high interest rate more people cant affort payments on their homes and are renting instead.

if i had 'spare' money id rather it being put towards a house than in the bank, cos then its just sitting there. also u can use ur investment property for tax purposes.

[Nightcrawler]

but generally yes Joel, since we have just come off a large boom, and the market looks like slipping further in the next couple of years (as it has started already in some areas), now is really not the time to buy - but rather wait a couple of years until the trough of the market, before it comes back up again. BUT, who knows when this will happen - that is the hard bit - and like Vange said if you have spare cash sitting around, even an initially negatively geared investment can help you decrease your taxable income and the debt can be used in smart ways, until the market goes up and you see your capital increase. Either way, if you can afford the repayments, it sure beats the hell out of paying off someone else's mortgage.

[mid life crisis]

well basically i own my home free hold and would like to start a investment porfilio but really dont know where to start and how much out off my own pocket it would cost any advice would be appreaciated or i guess we can just keep paying shiploads into our super fund