Buying an IP with AMEX

Iggy_Type_R · 10th Mar, 2003

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has ever tried buying an IP using AMEX?

A workmate of mine used to work for Westpac and someone with a Platinum AMEX bought a house on it. They had to get a written bank gurantee to put up the money, but they did put thru the transaction. Needless to say he settled same day and made over a million points on his card.

Of course this is great for more than just points...

Iggy

XBenX · 10th Mar, 2003

i tried, but the agent laughed and said the didnt do "eftpos"

could be a nice little point winner though for lower value properties (just pay it out at the end of the month)

shame about the massive effect on your borrowing capacity from having a CC with a limit that large

Iggy_Type_R · 10th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by XBenX
i tried, but the agent laughed and said the didnt do "eftpos"

could be a nice little point winner though for lower value properties (just pay it out at the end of the month)

shame about the massive effect on your borrowing capacity from having a CC with a limit that large

PLatinum Amex = no borrowing limit

hehehehe

Doesn't hurt in trying does it?

I can get my mort. broker to charge me the amount via their EFT (which they have) and give a cheque to the Agent.

asy · 10th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by Iggy_Type_R
PLatinum Amex = no borrowing limit hehehehe

Originally posted by XBenX
shame about the massive effect on your borrowing capacity from having a CC with a limit that large

Actually, that's an intresting point...

If the credit card limit affects your serviceability...

and the platinum amex has no limit, so technically you could run up a mil on it, then how do ppl with platinum cards borrow for property?

Rolf?

asy

Iggy_Type_R · 10th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by asy
Actually, that's an intresting point...

If the credit card limit affects your serviceability...

and the platinum amex has no limit, so technically you could run up a mil on it, then how do ppl with platinum cards borrow for property?

Rolf?

asy

Cause Platinum Amex is a CHARGE (debit) card, not a CREDIT card. So I do not put it on my servicibility column.

XBenX · 10th Mar, 2003

hrmm im confused ...........

Sim · 10th Mar, 2003

Charge cards are expected to be paid out in full at the end of the month. So you never get to carry a balance and so you are never in "debt" to the charge card company.

As far as the banks are concerned, it makes no difference whether you pay for something with cash, pay by eftpos, or pay by charge card - as you must actually have the money to be able to pay it at the end of the day (or the end of the month in the case of the charge card). Unlike credit cards, where you may carry a balance at an astronomical interest rate, which you have to keep paying every single month, potentially for years, until you pay off the debt.

So charge cards should not affect your servicability - unlike credit cards.

Glenn · 10th Mar, 2003

This has become an interesting thread as I don't use credit cards, have done in the past but found that it was like having a mobile...I could get along without it.

Most companies that I have dealt with are happy to pass their bsb and account number so that I can direct credit to their bank account.

The only things that I would have trouble with would be renting a car or maybe buying airline tickets off the internet.

Glenn

geoffw · 10th Mar, 2003

If you were buying a property with a charge card, you would have to be careful of- and may have to wear- the extra charges.

MrsW is in the travel industry. On some flights, they work on a 3% margin- when the customer wants to put it on a card, it's the agent who has to pay the extra cost. The agent naturally passes this cost onto the buyer- who sometimes gets upset.

She has seen some people though quite happy to pay a $100 surcharge, to get what may be $25 worth of fly buys.

In the case of the person who used the Amex, someone would have had to pay- I would assume in this case, it would be the vendor- I can't imagine the RE agent happy to get their commission cut by what would be a hefty amount.

asy · 10th Mar, 2003

Glenn...

you can get by without a mobile... ???????????????

oooh!

My mobile is affectionately known as the pacemaker... My family reckons that if I was more than 3 feet from it my heart would stop.. hehe

Although I am getting better, I no longer carry it around the house.

asy

Glenn · 10th Mar, 2003

Hi Asy,

Yes, I manage quite well without mobile or credit card.

When wife and I lived in Sydney, I was able to manage 3 props in Perth with a home telephone, internet connection and a little black book for 2 and a half years with 3 weeks vacancy between the 3.

Every time I think about getting one I just remind myself that lots of people became very wealthy without a mobile phone.

This is all well and good for a guy that sits in front of a pc all day long with a phone on the desk and rarely has to move. Obviously competitive pressures have meant that my strategy would be doomed in many industries.

The carpenter that fitted internal doors to my last reno doesn't use a mobile either, he said that he kept getting so many calls while in the middle of a job that it reduced the amount of work he could get done in a day by around 50%. His wife takes messages for him during the day at home and he calls back anyone who leaves a message when he gets home from work.

For me, it's about ridding myself of expensive unnecessary items that just seem to add up continually

Glenn

Glenn

Iggy_Type_R · 11th Mar, 2003

Spoke to my mort. broker and the idea that I am trying to push thru is:

1. You go to the vendor and say "I can settle tommorow, what's your lowest price". I am sure the price would come down a bit

2. Once you own the property, you can revalue with the bank. So if you buy a place that is 80% below realisitc market value, you can go in for a refinance and get an 80% LVR loan.

So a win-win? Or am I too high up in la-la land?

NigelW · 11th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by Iggy_Type_R
Spoke to my mort. broker and the idea that I am trying to push thru is:

1. You go to the vendor and say "I can settle tommorow, what's your lowest price". I am sure the price would come down a bit

2. Once you own the property, you can revalue with the bank. So if you buy a place that is 80% below realisitc market value, you can go in for a refinance and get an 80% LVR loan.

So a win-win? Or am I too high up in la-la land?

I like your style BUT....what about searches? Don't want to buy it and find there's a freeway coming through next door...or right through the middle!

Iggy_Type_R · 11th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by NigelW
I like your style BUT....what about searches? Don't want to buy it and find there's a freeway coming through next door...or right through the middle!

Hehe thanks.

I was going overkill with the 1 day settlement... of course it would have to be subject to building inspection and title search. But really if you can start things off on monday you could settle in a week.

Glenn · 11th Mar, 2003

Hi Iggy,

I do like the thought of being able to quickly borrow according to market value of the property, as we were only able to borrow according to purchase price with the last acquisition even though it was 70k under the median for the suburb.

Glenn

aidan_opan · 19th Mar, 2003

As I have worked in Amex I have seen alot of transactions that have gone trough that were a total surprise to me. One of them was the payment for one of the apartments at the "TOASTER", back then they were only $1M each. So my advice is, it all depends on the merchant.

Iggy_Type_R · 19th Mar, 2003

Well I signed up 2 properties yesterday so I will try to get them both thru AMEX.

Total value of 285,000 ... let's see what happens

285000 frequent flyer points is a first class ticket to London from Sydney and back

hehehe

duncan_m · 19th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by Iggy_Type_R
Well I signed up 2 properties yesterday so I will try to get them both thru AMEX.

Total value of 285,000 ... let's see what happens

285000 frequent flyer points is a first class ticket to London from Sydney and back hehehe

What will you do when the Amex bill arrives?

Duncan.

Iggy_Type_R · 19th Mar, 2003

Originally posted by duncan_m
What will you do when the Amex bill arrives?

Duncan.

I will have a finance facility set up. I will transfer the facility into AMEX to pay it all off.

This is mainly to test the concept.

D.T. · 20th Mar, 2003

Buy a house and get a free trip, i like it

Buying an IP with AMEX

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Iggy_Type_R

XBenX

Iggy_Type_R

asy

Iggy_Type_R

XBenX

Sim

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Glenn

geoffw

asy

Glenn

Iggy_Type_R

NigelW

Iggy_Type_R

Glenn

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Iggy_Type_R

duncan_m

Iggy_Type_R

D.T.

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