Over two days we have nearly bought...

[fluffy]

A block of land , a townhouse, a unit by the sea, 2 acres with a house on in -to live in ourselves, oh and today a warehouse that had bedrooms ??

OMG HELP !!

At the end of the year we will have 200,000 -ish. we rent, we love where we are- very handy to everything. We are in our 40's -no pension or saving to speak of -we have always 'lived for the moment'
We can't decide what to do with the money

The land was half an hour away !! I really can't do that to the kids who at the moment have everything on the doorstep -no car needed. Planning permission for duplex although we were looking at 'family home' ? but as I say we love where we are.Can't even seem to find 'true' building costs.

The unit by the sea ? not sure if we were thinking of ourselves in 15 yrs ?? 3 kids and all the junk -a lot to fit in a unit so we would keep renting.

Townhouse -well that we were looking at from an 'investment' point of view -lol -what do we know really. But basicly just somewhere to bank the money whilst we kept on renting.

The 2 acre block with house -again was out a bit -20 mins from where we are -probably too much for us really -but do-able. Do we want do-able and to stretch ourselves??

Oh I could go on.............

So ugh, what do we do ?? really we are looking long term here - I think ? due to not having pension/income. Hubbie suffers with his back now as it is and I really can't see him doing what he does till he his retirement age -perhaps 6/8/10 years at most.

We can't afford the area we live in and don't really want to move from where we are.

Can anyone help my really confused brain ??? I do admit being useless with paperwork and tax and all the rest of that.

I need a long term aim and starting point ???????

 

[D.T.]

A block of land , a townhouse, a unit by the sea, 2 acres with a house on in -to live in ourselves, oh and today a warehouse that had bedrooms ??

So you're saying you have no goals at all?
When you go travelling do you rock up at the airport and throw a dart at the map to choose which plane to jump on?

 

[pinkboy]

How are you coming into this cash? Gift? Windfall? Will there be tax consequences for you or the entity where it comes from?

You say you have no savings to speak of (I'm guessing YOLO type of lifestyle here), so your first step is to open a high saver account and sit on the cash until you know what to do with it properly, and maximize it's effective potential.

pinkboy

 

[jim1964]

OMG HELP !!

Quite a confusing post to read.You have come into some money,and its burning a hole in your pocket,and you have in 2 days nearly bought 4 to 5 properties.

Take a deep breath....................................................

 

[WattleIdo]

fluffy,
Do you work and/or would you consider working?

If you like where you're living, then why change for now?

You could buy a few IPs and think about PPOR later, if at all. You could always move into an IP if you really needed to.

You'll need to do some more investigating of different places, where they are in the cycle, how far they've already grown and how much further they're likey to go.

You could buy close to you if need be but research the best area first. Don't just buy 2 kms away because that's just what you saw. It might be the best place or it might not.

You have to get yourself educated, girl.

Good on you - have fun.

 

[Bantam Roosta]

As above, slow down.

You haven't even received the money and you are trying to spend it. You have ~6 months before you receive the money and even then you don't have to do anything with it straight away.

You need to establish your end destination and then work out a path to get there.

Regarding the details of your post:
1) If you can't afford to buy in your current location but don't want to leave, then keep renting and cross off buying a house to live from your list.
2) Land is half an hour away and as above, you don't want to leave the area. Reinforces the fact that you should cross buying a house to live in at this stage.
3) 'Do we want do-able and to stretch ourselves?' No. Based on what little you have described of yourself so far, I would not encourage you to push too closely to the limit.
4) Take the next 6 months to research property investments and you may find that you do begin to understand the basics of property investing enough to delve into an investment property. You are certainly in the right place to begin your journey.

Welcome to the forum.

BR

 

[fluffy]

So you're saying you have no goals at all?

Goals - to not be struggling in 10/20 years and have a 'house' of our own -paid off. But yes, we are very late in planning but now looking forward and trying to plan how to make the best for ourselves, the best we can.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful replies. Yes ,we don't have the money yet -but I thought why wait till we have it when I can be doing the thinking now. Yes I will slow down -lol. And we won't be just buying the first thing we see, I am here as I am looking for our plan !!

I suppose its knowing where to start. I have been reading and reading and have much more ahead of me. I am so glad I stumbled upon this forum and you all seem a lovely friendly bunch. Some of the post are so inspirational and I take my hat off to you all.

 

[fluffy]

fluffy,
Do you work and/or would you consider working?

.

Not working myself but if you have a job going ??????????

 

[WattleIdo]

hahaha no. But will make things easier, won't it?

Good luck with your research. I'm a late bloomer too. Hopefully not too late It feels good to have your own place.

Cheers!

 

[Blacky]

Ok - Fluffy - as someone else said... take a few deep breaths and relax.

Firstly - you are counting your chickens before they hatch. Your expected $200,000 is not guaranteed...yet. and until it is cold hard cash in your account its not guaranteed... so dont spend it.

You say you cant afford to live where you live...but dont want to move. Hmm (alarm bells ring).

Your age is not a restriction. You are not "late". There is no hurry. If you want to "get rich quick" send me all your money now. Better I have it than some other spruiker. 10/20 years is a LONG time. Provided that you plan for it.

Ok - now - take a pen and write down what/where you want to be in 20 years time, or 10years time.
Now work backwards from there. What do you need in order to get there? ie, based on your (reasonable) estimates, how many properties, what is the value/return of these properties, etc etc etc.
Some of these will be broad estimates, which if you post up here, will be sruitinised to hell and back (but may still be worth while and may give you some ideas). And everyone will have a different opinion/idea. But thats ok.

So, now you can break the plan down even further into annual goals/objectives and monthly forecasts.

While you are at it, you should also have a look at your current position. Assets/liabilities, and cash flow (money in/money out). This may scare you.

Once youve done all that, you should have narrowed down your search peramiters.
In the meantime - dont do a thing. Dont buy anything, and dont sign anything.

Blacky

 

[fluffy]

You say you cant afford to live where you live...but dont want to move. Hmm (alarm bells ring).

In the meantime - dont do a thing. Dont buy anything, and dont sign anything.

Blacky

Lol -won't be signing anything and I shall be working on the plan as per the all the good advice. I may also buy a tin hat for when I post the plan on here !

When I said we can't afford to live here -I did not mean the rent we pay. I meant in terms of buying a property in the area . (or am I missing something? We are not being naughty or squatting or anything -we are lovely to have in a rental -we never complain and always pay ! )

 

[fluffy]

hahaha no. But will make things easier, won't it?

Good luck with your research. I'm a late bloomer too. Hopefully not too late It feels good to have your own place.

Cheers!

It sure would make things easier . I was lucky with my last job -I was able to work term time hence have the kids hols off and if one was off ill that was fine too. Jobs like that are as rare as but who knows whats round the corner...working on that one.

 

[wylie]

So ugh, what do we do ?? really we are looking long term here - I think ? due to not having pension/income. Hubbie suffers with his back now as it is and I really can't see him doing what he does till he his retirement age -perhaps 6/8/10 years at most.

We can't afford the area we live in and don't really want to move from where we are.

I need a long term aim and starting point ???????

I think others have given good advice. Plan, plan and plan. Get the excitement out before you get your hands on the money and do something impulsive.

I'd suggest you speak with one of the brokers here or a financial planner.

With only 6/8/10 years or work life left for your hubby my first thought was to stay renting, but use the $200K as deposit for one or two IPs. If you can get them to pay for themselves, then they can tick along in the background and not affect your available cash week to week. You would need to buy carefully in an area that could show good growth. In ten years hopefully they will have grown in value and you should have another income stream.

Or invest that money into shares or something else (with advice from a financial planner) for the same result.

If you buy IPs, you can continue to rent where you love to live.

 

[nhg]

As for not buying first property you see. You should apply that to the 2-100th property you see as well.

I was talking to a fellow investor. He mentioned for his last investment he looked at over 1000 properties online to gauge the market. Put in about 400 offers until he got one. Seemed OTT to me, yet the price he paid was ridiculously low.

Don't rush. Know your market well.