OK...sorry this hopefully is going to be a short tale of woe but I'll try and paint a picture that isn't too glum. After several years (oh God yes years!) of very ugly divorce and custody battles and a lot of money going to lawyers (and I won't even go into the issues with the ex!) I find myself fast approaching retirement with a small pot of cash, no assets and some super.
Here is where I am sitting at the moment - Late 40's, single parent of a 12 year old, $200K in cash, approx. $120K super, salary of $140K. No other assets, no debts. I currently hold two trusts with no assets but with capital losses I can utilise. Despite my woeful finances I am actually a fairly educated investor
Difficulty 1 - my current employment contract finishes in about 2 months with no guarantee of continuing employment. The industry I am in has had massive redundancies (yes I work in mining) and I work in a niche field which is not easily transferrable to other industries. So in the short term (6-12 months) I cannot rely on my income to service loans and I need to keep around $50k accessible as a buffer
Difficulty 2 - I need to stay in the Brisbane State High catchment for the next few years (South Brisbane, Highgate Hill, West End)
So I've been investigating buyers agents in Brisbane (Metropole, Cashflow Capital, Propell) to get some idea of strategies. Do I buy a tired apartment in my area and live in it whilst I do it up (this way I can immediate use the cash I have available - no additional debt repayments as the mortgage replaces my rent) then one income going forward is assured though work start investing in capital growth properties
Do I continue to rent and invest in cashflow properties or cashflow neutral properties?
Firstly I would like some opinions on buyers agents (I am time poor and as I can can't afford to make mistakes so don't mind paying for expertise in the short term).
Secondly I would love thought on strategies/ideas.
Sorry for the long post. I've been on and off this forum for many many years. Thank you all for your continuing contributions and sharing of knowledge.
Berry
Here is where I am sitting at the moment - Late 40's, single parent of a 12 year old, $200K in cash, approx. $120K super, salary of $140K. No other assets, no debts. I currently hold two trusts with no assets but with capital losses I can utilise. Despite my woeful finances I am actually a fairly educated investor
Difficulty 1 - my current employment contract finishes in about 2 months with no guarantee of continuing employment. The industry I am in has had massive redundancies (yes I work in mining) and I work in a niche field which is not easily transferrable to other industries. So in the short term (6-12 months) I cannot rely on my income to service loans and I need to keep around $50k accessible as a buffer
Difficulty 2 - I need to stay in the Brisbane State High catchment for the next few years (South Brisbane, Highgate Hill, West End)
So I've been investigating buyers agents in Brisbane (Metropole, Cashflow Capital, Propell) to get some idea of strategies. Do I buy a tired apartment in my area and live in it whilst I do it up (this way I can immediate use the cash I have available - no additional debt repayments as the mortgage replaces my rent) then one income going forward is assured though work start investing in capital growth properties
Do I continue to rent and invest in cashflow properties or cashflow neutral properties?
Firstly I would like some opinions on buyers agents (I am time poor and as I can can't afford to make mistakes so don't mind paying for expertise in the short term).
Secondly I would love thought on strategies/ideas.
Sorry for the long post. I've been on and off this forum for many many years. Thank you all for your continuing contributions and sharing of knowledge.
Berry
