Also, do compare the land cost with ot…[Read more]

In my Welcome PM to you, I posted the link to the “Big Picture for New Investors” topic.  Spending some time trawling through that may well yield some good answers for you.   In particular, page 3 of that link has several subjects that seem appropriate for you at this time.  Here’s that page 3:-…[Read more]

I have been hearing that the economy has been on life support for almost 3 years now (just ask anyone whose discretionary income has become quite depleted as non-discretionary costs have soared – mortgage interest being a prime contender).

But the RBA has chosen to…[Read more]

I have been hearing that the economy has been on life support for almost 3 years now (just ask anyone whose discretionary income has become quite depleted as non-discretionary costs have soared – mortgage interest being a prime contender).

But the RBA has chosen to…[Read more]

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets…[Read more]

A further point – re ” the experience may well provide answers to questions you didn’t know you had !!”

Another tool that will likely provide you with the same, is to read that “Big Picture” topic that I messaged you earlier.  There is a wealth of “nuts and bolts” info hidden in there.   It can help to prepare you for the seminar by f…[Read more]

Great words from Steve – and I wanted to throw out a couple of other thoughts.

First, you mentioned you had recently refinanced – was that a Fixed Interest loan at all?  ‘cos if it was, BEWARE.  Find out just how much it would cost to break that agreement and close the loan.  Fixed loans can have VERY nasty consequences.

Second, do go…[Read more]

Wow – quite a post there !!   Some good news in it, but also some areas that would depend on other answers to questions asked of you.  I’ll have a crack at sharing my thoughts – some may help you to focus more on “where to next” that suits you.

I’ll attack each of the 4 points you mentioned – with comments, and sometimes qu…[Read more]

‘scuse the dripping sarcasm.   Opinions still seem to be mixed about whether there will be more drops or not.  Many say 3 more this year (and our re-elected Treasurer is one of them) and yet others say “Not so fast” – tariffs could impact inflation yet !!!

I’ve heard the average savi…[Read more]

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a comment regarding Messages.  BEWARE of anything that seems to be similar to this (I’ve now seen a few iterations with varying names “trying to contact you” and some with just one message notification – which is a bit more believeable):-

It showed up in the “Sponsored” section (ads?) right near…[Read more]

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a comment regarding Messages.

If I can load the actual display, I will – may need a bit of help with that.  Meantime though, BEWARE of anything that seems to be showing this:-

15+ messages and 12 Notifications “John is trying to reach you”.  yetro.mes

It showed up in the “Sponsored” section (…[Read more]

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a comment regarding Messages.

If I can load the actual display, I will – may need a bit of help with that.  Meantime though, BEWARE of anything that seems to be showing this:-

15+ messages and 12 Notifications “John is trying to reach you”.  yetro.mes

It showed up in the “Sponsored” section (…[Read more]

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a comment regarding Messages.

If I can load the actual display, I will – may need a bit of help with that.  Meantime though, BEWARE of anything that seems to be showing this:-

15+ messages and 12 Notifications “John is trying to reach you”.  yetro.mes

It showed up in the “Sponsored” section (…[Read more]

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a comment regarding Messages.

If I can load the actual display, I will – may need a bit of help with that.  Meantime though, BEWARE of anything that seems to be showing this:-

15+ messages and 12 Notifications “John is trying to reach you”.  yetro.mes

It showed up in the “Sponsored” section (…[Read more]

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a comment regarding Messages.

If I can load the actual display, I will – may need a bit of help with that.  Meantime though, BEWARE of anything that seems to be showing this:-

15+ messages and 12 Notifications “John is trying to reach you”.  yetro.mes

It showed up in the “Sponsored” section (…[Read more]

Now and then life serves up a bit of a meal that is not what we desired.  One such meal came to me a few days back.  A simple enough situation -one tyre was flat on my car.  No prob?   Just jack it up and change it, right?

Before jacking it, always “crack” (slightly undo) the wheel nuts while the weight of the car is on the tyre.  OK, w…[Read more]

“Never ask a barber if you need a haircut!” is my comment re the concreter.   He would be looking for work 24/7, so is likely to guide you toward his point of view re the cracks in the driveway.

Re the uneven patio, it depends just how uneven you are talking.   You could check to see if the work ever had Council Approval or not.  If n…[Read more]

Good one Stu – well caught !!!

Benny

Since no-one else has “got up to dance”, I thought I’d share a few ideas.  Note that I have only bought in Brisbane, so I have NO direct knowledge of Gladstone.  However, I recall some events that put a pall over Gladstone some time back – in one example, some major industrial event was planned, everyone got excited, values screamed u…[Read more]

Since no-one else has “got up to dance”, I thought I’d share a few ideas.  Note that I have only bought in Brisbane, so I have NO direct knowledge of Gladstone.  However, I recall some events that put a pall over Gladstone some time back – in one example, some major industrial event was planned, everyone got excited, values screamed u…[Read more]

This doesn’t sound so bad, but then it depends just what “older concrete foundation that has some minor cracks” actually means.  I believe concrete can develop hairline cracks over time that don’t affect things too much – if the crack is any more than a hairline though, it is likely indication of a bigger problem.

My path in the past…[Read more]

In my opinion, it should never have got to 0.1%, but since it did, at the FIRST sign of a lift (was it around May21?) they s…[Read more]

In my opinion, it should never have got to 0.1%, but since it did, at the FIRST sign of a lift (was it around May21?) they s…[Read more]

“But don’t plan on more coming any time soon” say the RBA.  Ah well, it is some small mercy, but little more than that.  Perhaps it will allow…[Read more]

“But don’t plan on more coming any time soon” say the RBA.  Ah well, it is some small mercy, but little more than that.  Perhaps it will allow…[Read more]

Can’t come soon enough for mine, and, I suspect, lots of others too.   So if it comes to pass, the 4.35% Cash Rate should be 3.35% by year’s end.  And no, that is not a 1% drop (of course) – it is…[Read more]

Can’t come soon enough for mine, and, I suspect, lots of others too.   So if it comes to pass, the 4.35% Cash Rate should be 3.35% by year’s end.  And no, that is not a 1% drop (of course) – it is…[Read more]

Can’t come soon enough for mine, and, I suspect, lots of others too.   So if it comes to pass, the 4.1% Cash Rate should be 3.1% by year’s end.  And no, that is not a 1% drop (of course) – it is…[Read more]

Ah, not such a bad outcome then….

Re the short term rentals, I’ve been there myself, and the extra rental goes well IF certain things can be mitigated:-

1.  Does your place have a “point of difference” that has people choose your place over others?  Proximity to the beach could be one….

2.  The cleaning and preparation be…[Read more]

Is the ‘big picture’ link sent to my personal message box?

Sorry, I hadn’t yet PM’ed you – it’s coming…. ;)   But here is the link in one of the forums anyway:-

https://www.propertyinvesting.com/topic/4410491-the-big-picture-for-new-readers-especially/

  I know that council rates, and interest can be tax deductible. But genera…

[Read more]

Good for you for starting to consider property as a vehicle for building wealth.  It certainly is, as many on here can attest.  But as you seem to already know, there is a lot to learn before pulling the trigger.   Regarding timing, with Interest Rates as high as they are, finance is harder to get for many.  Yet Banks still want to l…[Read more]

At times like this, I like to look at the numbers to see if “there…[Read more]

Yeah the previous Govt certainly made several brain-dead moves in this space over several years up here.  I’ve talked of these very things in other topics.  I’ve also heard of landlords bailing from the Qld market as many of those law changes impacted them.

The big one in your case though (obviously) would be the ballooning Cash R…[Read more]

Are we really likely to have 6 x 0.25% drops this year? (i.e. in 2024)

Well, that didn’t happen, now did it?  So here we are in Jan of 2025, with still no decrease in the Cash Rate at all.  The headline inflation broke through the 3% band, but that wasn’t good enough for the RBA.  So folks continue to live in tents, power prices continue to gr…[Read more]

The forum in which meetings are aired is the “Heads Up” forum.  SEQ is well served by one Matt Jones who runs such meetings usually monthly in Brisbane, with other (less often) meetings for the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

Over time, I have seen occasional meetings held in Sydney and Melbourne too, though nowhere near as regular…[Read more]

But here is where things went downhill…….   I clicked on something that seemed genuine – and up pop…[Read more]

For a grid to work, it must be interconnected.  To interconnect a plethora of independent inputs requires a spiders web of interconnections.  And copper wire is not cheap.  Neith…[Read more]

For a grid to work, it must be interconnected.  To interconnect a plethora of independent inputs requires a spiders web of interconnections.  And copper wire is not cheap.  Neither are t…[Read more]

Thanks for such an insightful yet succinct post.  I have just the place for such good comment, and have added a link to here in the “Big Picture” topic for those who follow.  Well done, and I like your style.

Benny

Someone recently asked the question “Can positive cashflow investing like Steve did in Ballarat work today?” (from the book “0 – 130 properties in 3.5 years”).

In reply, one of our experienced members provided the poster with a brilliant breakdown of…[Read more]

That’s a good question.  I lived through those years, and have seen a few booms in my time.  I recall Steve saying that his “way” was what worked at that time, in that market.  Markets change, and Steve changed with them.  After Ballarat, Steve moved to another area (was it Latrobe Valley?) then on to New Zealand, then USA, and later on…[Read more]

You might’ve seen the PM from me, wherein I point you to two places.  I am adding it here in case others could do with finding the same info.  First place to look (for general info re investing in property) is the Articles in the Training Centre.  You’ll find it on the Home page.  The articles are broken down into subjects like “Bu…[Read more]

I’m not sure if you stumbled over an article written by one of Steve’s former right-hand men (Jason Staggers), but it appears to be a useful guide to WA zoning, including a link to the Govt website where you can read more.  Here’s the article by Jason – hope it…[Read more]

I must say I can only agree with the thought expressed here:-

Considering housing crisis, government can NOT provide more house, Aussies have to live in cars and tents, but council still says people can NOT live in rumpus room…

I guess “back in the day” there may be really good reasons for making 8foot (or 2.4metres) the minimum height…[Read more]

Save money and get healthy by avoiding the cashless effect

The email referenced a petition to the Govt that attempts to prevent the abolition of cash in our society, and it makes comments that ring true to me.  It was all about “the pain of parting with cash keeps you s…[Read more]

Save money and get healthy by avoiding the cashless effect

The email came in the form of a petition to the Govt in an attempt to prevent the abolition of cash in our society, and this petition makes comments that ring true to me.  It was all about “the pain of parting w…[Read more]