My Latest Exchange TODAY! $32k, $18k reno, Val $130k (when reno'd) rent $200pw.

[kathryn d]

Really, were these purchased recently or many years ago? I know you could buy a cheapie for less than $50k but it would be way out in the sticks.

Nathan or anyone else who might know, would you get renovation quotes before you put an offer on the place?

2007 it was purchased.
We had a handyman paint and do some very minor cosmetic improvements. Cost $1000.
It will never gain a lot in CG, but it is a great little money maker.
Yes, it is a mobile home, on a rented lot.
We paid for it with a credit card.

Our best money maker is a 4 bedroom house we purchased last year.The rent from the house pays for the mortgage. The bonus is there are 4 more mobiles on this property, that were thrown in for free.(because the previous owner should have never been a landlord)
We make $2500 a month from the mobiles every month. THIS is our retirement income starting in Sept, for when we travel in Australia for 8 months of the year.

Our properties are about within 10kms radius. Not in the sticks, but you do need a car.

Properties do not need to cost a lot.Almost all of our properties had a twist to them.Made them a bit trickier for us to obtain a mortgage.Was well worth it.
We have the conventional 11 unit apartment buildings (2 of them) which we bought way under value.One was a development.
Houses with easements/right of ways etc.

As others have said here, think outside the box. Look for the ugliest house.A property that has been on the market a looong time.Sellers who have no idea of what their property is worth.

Take a very large home and rent the rooms.
We self manage, but starting in Sept we are hiring our own PM that works for us.Set rate for all the properties. Everything we need to do, we can direct them by phone and internet.

 

[our obsession]

We are cosmetic only too, paint, patch, couple of new kitchen marble style benchtops, (leftover from someone doing a bigger reno-got for a Chinese meal), clean, landscape/tidy garden...we do air condition though, good heating/cooling. So, all the painting, cleaning, landscaping is cheapest part, (me..., and partner if he is able to get there), the cooling can be up to $2500, (split system).

That is the already builts, good returns, (for us), can also be achieved by sourcing relatively cheap building blocks....bit of everything.

So, I guess no need to factor in much of $$ for renos, getting the places at relatively cheap prices, plenty of room to play, the places themselves are good solid construction..basically cosmetics and decent cooling.