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Hi all, I have a bit of a dilemma and need some advice from my fellow SS team. I am in the process of purchasing 2 properties in Melbourne from the same vendor. One is a house and one is a vacant block of land. The purchase is a private sale so no agents are involved. My plan is to rent out...

Hi all, Just a quick question. I've received a rental application for my property by these 3 young guys. They are aged early to mid 20's and all 3 of them work full time. All their references checked out ok and the PM of their current place gave them a good report saying they always pay the...

Hi all, I’ve just finished renovating my 2nd IP and thought I’d post some details and photos. I purchased the property in February this year and settled in May. The plan was to use the FHOG and declare it as a PPOR, which gave me 6 months to complete the renovation before renting it out. I...

Hi all, I'm after a cheap 2nd hand gas upright stove to put in an IP. Does anyone know where I can find one? I've been keeping an eye on the Trading Post and Ebay but they seem to get snapped up like hot cakes. Or maybe there are places that sell reconditioned stoves? Any ideas? I might...

Hi all, I'm in the process of completing renovations on my West Footscray property. It will be ready to rent out in about 3-4 weeks so I've just had 3 different property managers inspect the property to give me a rental appraisal. I am stoked as to how crazy the rental market is right now...

Hi all, I'm about to paint the exterior of my property and very confused on which colour to go for. The problem is the house has aluminium windows which are a dreadful brown colour (mission brown ??). I was initially planning to re-paint the windows as well in a different colour but realised...

Hi all, I have done letterbox drops in the past with flyers asking owners if they were looking to sell their home. The hit rate was about 1-2%, so for every 100 flyers I would receive 1-2 calls. Its not a huge response but still better than no response. Last time I did the letterbox drop...

Hi all, I am currently renovating one of my IPs and planning to polish the hardwood timber floors. When the house was last re-stumped years ago, they just cut straight through the floors to gain access to the sub-floor as access from the sides is limited. There used to be carpet on top so...

Hi all, Has anyone had any experience with purchasing property owned by the Department of Human Services in Victoria? DHS own the property next to mine and although this doesn't bother me (the tenants are ok), I'd like to buy the house :D I gave DHS a call and was told that they rarely...

Hi all, Its my parents 30 year wedding anniversary next month and I'd like to send them on a holiday to Queensland for a week during August. I'm thinking either the Sunshine Coast or Cairns. I have done a bit of research but keep going around in circles and can't decide. I've also looked at...

Hi all, I came across a property on the weekend which is an old double fronted Victorian in need of some TLC. The property isn’t listed with an agent and the vendor is quite motivated to sell. There are a few negatives with this property and it isn’t the sort of property I would normally go...

Hi all, I had an interesting chat with one of the local agents in the area I'm looking at this morning. The agency is renowned for under-quoting as their listings generally sell above the quoted price range… sometimes by a long shot! The agent, who happens to be one of the senior business...

Hi all, If your driving around on the weekend looking at properties and happen to spot a garage sale, pull over and have a look. You never know what treasures you may find. I always stop when I see one, not because I'm looking for junk to buy, but because it gives me a chance to speak to the...

Hi all, I looked at a couple of weatherboard properties today which need some external maintenance. The weatherboards have a lot of water rot in areas and a large number of them would need to be replaced. On one of the properties, the owner has done a bit of a shonky job of bogging up the rot...

If anyone is looking for some cheap share accommodation in the Brisbabe area, email Borat! http://www.realestate.com.au/realestate/brisbane/houses/9031441 :D

Hi all, I've just come across something interesting which I don't think is happening in Australia (yet). In New Zealand you can now earn Fly Buy points when you buy and sell property. It is currently only available when you buy/sell through First National Real Estate. Take a look here...

Hi all, I just received a letter in the post today from my tenants in NZ. They are an elderly couple who have been living in the property for 12 years now (I have owned it for 1.5 years). The letter put a smile on my face so I want to share a part of it with you: They also left me with...

Hi all, I'm currently looking at a property in Melbourne which is in a council designated flood zone (1 in 100 years). Looking at council planning scheme maps, the flood zone surrounding the property is quite narrow (around 70m) and given the road is fairly level tells me the depth of the...

Hi all, Well as you may have read from this thread http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?p=245373, I just got a pest inspection done on a property I am looking at purchasing in Yarraville, Melbourne. The price I negotiated with the vendor is $290k and I was planning to spend around...

Hi all, While wandering around the CBD today during my lunch break I came across a book shop that specialises in investment books only. I didn't know there were such shops around. They seem to have a good selection of books. Anyway, I just thought I'd share. 'Educated Investor' bookshop is...