Defence Housing Authority

[WebBoard]

Reply: 3.1
From: Joo Joo


never mind, I have just read terry's email,your a genius; that answers my question, mine is a pre-96 lease. However the owner was in the middle of a divorce so I managed to drop the price 10,000. I was really getting worried as my settlement draws near that I was getting ripped off.

joojoo

 

[Robert]

Reply: 3.1.1
From: Robert Forward


Ahh well, your buying a DHA property second hand. That is better then, as the first owners would have paid top market rates to buy it in the first place. And now you should be picking it up and normal market rates.

Cheers
Robert

 

[NigelW]

Reply: 1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1
From: Nigel W


Terry

I would have a personal aversion to using an LOC for everyday living unless it has an interest free period like a credit card.

Isn't that just converting good debt ie debt to acquire income producing property into bad debt?

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1
From: Terry W


Nigel

If you hold enough property and it is growing faster than you use the equit=y, then you should be right. You also have to factor in the extra interest =which won't be a tax deduction.

Terry


>>> [email protected] 12/12/01 10:24am >>>
From: "Nigel W" <[email protected]>

Terry

I would have a personal aversion to using an LOC for everyday living unless= it has an interest free period like a credit card.

Isn't that just converting good debt ie debt to acquire income producing pr=operty into bad debt?



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[WebBoard]

Reply: 3.1.1.1
From: Joo Joo


you brought a smile to my face, thanks........I hope u dont take that the wrong way

joojoo

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1
From: Trina Blum


Hi again,

You mentioned that you are going to target houses for officers so you don't get the young tenants. In my experience there are a lot of officers who are very young as they go through the academy for their education so buying houses suitable for officer grade is not going to guarantee that you get a mature tenant.

Regards
Trina

 

[Michael Croft]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.1
From: Michael Croft


Which "army" was that? And was all property theft?

Michael Croft

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.2
From: Terry Avery


OK some more clarification needed here. Young officers and young soldiers
only get a DHA house if they are married (otherwise known as a married
quarter). So you not only have a young (early 20s something) person renting
but their spouse as well. So quick question here, how many of you rented in
your early 20s and did you all have Sergey's attitude of trashing the place?
(sorry Sergey but you did say you didn't care if the door fell off
'accidentally'). I am paraphrasing Jan Somers here as she points out that we
have all rented at some stage and the majority of us were responsible (we
wanted our bond back thanks very much!).

Secondly, most young officer and soldiers are not married and therefore live
in barracks or rent on the private market and not through DHA. Therefore you
are talking about a very small portion of the military population.

Oh, and if DHA does not have a military family needing the MQ then they can
rent on the open market. You might be interested to know that in that case
they will rent at market and possibly below what they are paying you in
rent! Confused? Well the way it works would take a long post to explain but
the military member pays a set amount to Defence who then pays DHA. If DHA
has long term leases and military numbers have dropped in an area then they
rent it for whatever they can get. You, however, receive the agreed rent
according to the lease.

Cheers

Terry

 

[cathyb]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.2.1
From: Cathy Baxter


Well the MQs are about 1000% better than what they were 20 years ago. We used to pay $35 per week rent and then got $1 off per week for every deficiency in the house eg: no separate toilet, no insulation, no carpet. We only paid about $15 per week. And people looked after them back then even though they were crap (NSW Housing Commission), 'cos we were all scared of the white glove treatment.

Cathy

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.2.2
From: Amber Kay


Well said, TA,

I just have two points to add to discussion, being a military member, (but hopefully not too biased).
1. The military is not an exact reflection of society, (with all the nightmare tenants) due to entry requirements and recruitment screening, but problems tenants do and will always exist.
2. The military has a additional safety net that normal landlords cant rely on - that being that DHA has access to commanding officers within ADF units who will always 'counsel' soldiers/officers on any problems that they pick up. Also, serving members cannot run away from their problems (well, not without a great deal of effort and forethought) as DHA can simply find the next unit they have been posted to, or chase them up through civilian channels should the damage occur prior to discharge.

As T A pointed out, the average age of a married quarter occupant would be about 25 - the 18 yr olds are not married and therefore not entitled. I would say that generally speaking, the level of tenant in the military is above that of the public market. However factors such as management fees and initial purchase costs may not out weigh this benefit.

I agree that buying DHA second hand is the way to go, but be wary as DHA will often update standards and those that are aware of this (and don't have an investment property that meets the standard) will sell it off with a few years remaining on the lease as they know it will not be renewed. Whether it would receive the equivalent rent on the public market would therefore need to be researched.

As always, caveat emptor!

 

[WebBoard]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.2.2.1
From: Joo Joo


any idea what these standards are???

george

 

[Greg Loucos]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.2.2.1.1
From: Greg Loucos


Amber

Thanks for the tip on the change in standards for housing.

Regards

Greg

 

[Greg Loucos]

Reply: 3.1.1.1.1.2.2.1.1.1
From: Greg Loucos


Joo Joo

Listed on the DHA web site are their current criteria for housing, some features are mandatory while others are optional.

Follow the links for leasing.

I would think that the more optional items included in the property would be looked on favorably when renewing the lease!

Regards

Greg

 

[geoffw]

Reply: 4
From: Geoff Whitfield


Sorry to come in so late.

I have a DHA property. I'm generally quite happy with it management-wise.

But I missed out on the king and queen.

It's in an area where there's lots of land still available. So capital growth has been low (king) (10% as valued by the bank last year- the first growth for four years).

Valuation is down because people who want to buy in the area want to live there. So as well as the high entry cost (already mentioned in the thread), there's a high exit cost before the end of the lease- the house would be valued at $10,000 (5%) higher if it was available for people to live.

After 4 years, it's almost cashflow neutral (queen).

A good first property, peace of mind, well maintained- but I could have done a lot better if I'd had a place like this forum first.

 

[WebBoard]

"Geoff, Welcome back to the forum"

Reply: 4.1
From: The Wife


You have been missed!

TW
~Life is a daring adventure, or nothing at all~

 

[geoffw]

"Geoff, Welcome back to the forum"

Reply: 4.1.1
From: Geoff Whitfield


Thanks TW.

The taxman has kept me busy for a while.

Happy New Year to all.