Recent content by tpw

I have to thank Steve Keen for spreading all the fear about property crashing back in 2008. I bought my first apartment around the same time he was selling his, and my unit has appreciated about 40% since and positively geared.

Hi all, The unit above my rental property had a water leak, which caused some water damages & marks on my ceiling. The property is in NSW. The strata manager has already sent someone to fix the unit above but she says I'll need to claim from my insurance to get my ceiling fixed. This seems...

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not sure how bad the rust is now, haven't been back to the IP for a while. The garage door leads to the common car park for the units. I would certainly prefer to get someone else to look at. I'll push for the committee to try and get a painter to look at it...

Hi all, The strata committee where my IP unit is, wants to replace a rusty garage door. The property is in Maroubra (Sydney), so have some corrosion due to close proximity to the sea. The cost is $14k, which will be divided up to about 13 units through a special levy. The garage door is...

Thanks for all the response. Anyway, we finally got the contracts properly exchanged. After speaking to my solicitor, we suspect that the agent may not be doing her job well, ie. was using the contract I signed to give the vendor to sign, hence, only having 1 contract for a long time.

We have already signed the contract and the agent did the exchange. However, this agent seems less reliable than the ones that we have dealt with for other properties, so we are not sure if she has done her job properly. Anyway, she confirmed the property has been exchanged. My solicitor...

Hi, I bought a unit in mid-December and the agent confirmed that the contract has been exchanged and the deposit already banked into the agent's trust account. My solicitor enquired about the signed contract just before the Christmas holidays and was told it was in the mail. Then my...

Agree, that's a good point. I didn't know this could happen after exchange. So why isn't it a standard practice for every purchaser to lodge a caveat?

Thanks guys. I think my buyer's solicitor is extra cautious but would be nice if they release deposit to us early :)

Hi all, I just exchange contract for sales of my PPOR to a large institution. Soon after a notice of caveat was sent by their solicitor for my property. My solicitor says it's OK but I'm just wondering why my buyer will need to lodge a caveat for the property? Wouldn't the sales contract be...

Never really considered Lindfield, Lane Cove or Killara. The travel to city by car or public transport is much further, isn't it? At $2m, I might as well consider Vaucluse & Rose Bay area? Houses are smaller for that price but better postcode? BTW, anyone knows how's the rental market in...

Thanks for all the responses, my wife & I went to Lower North Shore last night straight after work. Traffic was light going to Greenwich, Cammeray, etc even though it was 5.30pm. Is this generally the case day-to-day? @TheFinanceShop, agree that Randwick has been doing well. We just sold our...

I agree with Melbournian, Port Dickson wouldn't be the best place to buy. It's almost like investing in Gold Coast, probably worse. Try areas like Petaling Jaya (near KL), possibly closer to universities and colleges where there are a lot of renters.

Thanks for the responses. Budget is around $1.5m, may stretch a bit more. Did think of renting first but was planning to start family soon, so a bit of a hassle to move later, etc. I did a check on a couple of houses in Willoughby & Cammeray, and their asking price is close to what the owners...

Hi all, Looking to buy my PPOR (house) and currently attracted to Lower North Shore, seems like better value for $ compared to Eastern Suburbs where I've been living for past 10 years. Also, had a look at Inner West (Drummoyne, Hunters Hill, etc), love the views but not the aircraft noise...