Hi Gang,
I was just reading this old thread.
In regard to Rent Vs Buy carefully consider if you are likely to have to move within a few years of purchasing a PPOR. We had always been raised with our parents drumming it into us that rent is dead money. So we fell into the trap of automatically purchasing a property when work required us to move cities etc. Unfortunately we had little interest and knowledge of investing etc at that stage. Well due to having to move a few times we lost tens of thousands of dollars. And one property we had lived in for over 5 years. These were also quite well located quality properties. It was more a case of unfortunate timing.
So an ever increasingly important reason for many choosing to rent nowadays is due to the need to be transient often because of work opportunities. Statistics if you can believe them suggest that the average aussie family moves house every 7 years. So unless you were fortunate enough to get your timing reasonably okay it is very possible you could lose money after taking into account the very hefty transaction costs associated with buying and selling a property.
I have also lost count of the number of friends who finally thought they were able to settle in one spot but for one reason or another have had to move on much sooner than expected and in the process lost money.
So if you are going to purchase your own PPOR then it is worth considering these issues. Of course there are those who can time the market and/or add value through renoes etc in the short to medium term. But for more passive investors or novices then the decision to purchase a PPOR needs to be carefully thought through.
I have to admit to still being the sort of person that likes to own our PPOR. However due to experience and our circumstances we only rent nowadays but we make very sure that any funds saved through renting are invested into IPs and shares etc.
Cheers - Gordon