G'Day All,
My name's Ron and this is my first post in here after joining a week ago. I must say it is such a great and helpful online forum for property investors in Oz and elsewhere.
Let me introduce myself. I am a single 34yo male from Parramatta NSW, and work fultime as an architect in Sydney CBD. I am currently sharing a place with a dude for $170p/w and have racked up $200k for my first investment property.
I have read Robert Kiyosaki's fab books 'Rich Dad Poor Dad', 'Cashflow Quadrant', 'Rich Dad's Guide to Investing' and Steve Mcknight's '0-130 Properties in 3.5 Years'. So basically now my mindset has changed for the better and I now realize that to get rich I need to shift from an employee to a business person or investor. Else I remain a slave to the system as currently and as with 90%? of the global population.
I have now sort of convinced myself that property investing is what I am more in touch with from the heart and that is what I want to take up. I would say I am quite a good saver and I would like to go down the positive cashflow path with capital gains a bonus if it happens. But my focus is on cheap (for starters) +ve cashflow properties in Sydney and its outer fringes.
As I have basically have nos experience whatsoever in this game, please allow me to bombard you guys with questions..
I realize +ve cashflow property is next to impossible to find in Syd, hence my idea is to buy a 4 or 5 bedder with generous land space and convert that to two flats with the addition/removal of a few walls, toilet, sink etc. Then build a 1/2 bedroom granny flat at the back and rent the whole property out while I stay in my current arrangement of sharing. Is this an okay plan??
The areas I am looking at is Mt Druitt and surrounds like Rooty Hill, St Marys etc. I would like my first and subsequent properties to be close to each other and along the western train line. Now I know these aren't 'good' areas at all, but thats where I can find these kind of properties for cheap.
Any warnings / recommendations anyone? What should I look out for? Will I get okay tenants there or the rough type who will make a mess of the place and not pay rent etc. Anyone with experience?? I have also considered as my second option the Southwest corridor like Minto, Ingleburn, Macquarie Fields, I know Warwick Farm is also cheap, are these no-go zones and why?
Next is loan type - should I go Principal only or Principal plus Interest?? Is it better to invest a large 150k deposit and let the tenants pay the rest ( I am looking in the 200-300k price range , the cheaper the better as I HATE debt, never had any) OR should I pay a min deposit hence more debt and more time to pay, but it will then be positive cashflow. What is a better plan taking into account my scenario and goals of cashflow cashflow and cashflow??
Which lenders should I consider - among the cheapest interest rate (I hate the big four greedy banks), low exit fees, minimal fees, least expensive overall in long run considering all fees -- I know this is not an easy question as everyones situation is different but please just give me a few 3-5? places to choose from and I will research further..
Finally what else should I consider and is this plan ok? I'm an architect so dividing the property into flats, adding a granny flat etc should be no hassle, but I dont know how these go with the council as I havent done this sort of thing before. What are the rough costs of doing this ( I know building a gran. flat is around 50-65k for a basic 2 bedder?), but what about a rough cost for dividing a 4 bedder into 2X2 bed flats?? How are the councils with this idea, anything to watch out for etc?
I know I sound like a total noob, but its better to be prepared than burnt isnt it? Is my strategy ok and what other strategies should I look at?? I know theres way more chances to find better value cashflow properties in the regional areas, but let me try my Sydney plan initially as I am not confident with investing far from my location at the moment considering I have no experience, its just so hard to imagine how you guys are sitting behind the computer, clicking and buying property after property at such a rapid rate all over the country as if they were apples at woolies !! How you manage so many properties, the massive debt, tenants, headaches - all from a distant location...
Anyways I guess I have asked too many questions and am hoping some kind people will show me a bit of light. Thanks very much for reading and have a great night..
My name's Ron and this is my first post in here after joining a week ago. I must say it is such a great and helpful online forum for property investors in Oz and elsewhere.
Let me introduce myself. I am a single 34yo male from Parramatta NSW, and work fultime as an architect in Sydney CBD. I am currently sharing a place with a dude for $170p/w and have racked up $200k for my first investment property.
I have read Robert Kiyosaki's fab books 'Rich Dad Poor Dad', 'Cashflow Quadrant', 'Rich Dad's Guide to Investing' and Steve Mcknight's '0-130 Properties in 3.5 Years'. So basically now my mindset has changed for the better and I now realize that to get rich I need to shift from an employee to a business person or investor. Else I remain a slave to the system as currently and as with 90%? of the global population.
I have now sort of convinced myself that property investing is what I am more in touch with from the heart and that is what I want to take up. I would say I am quite a good saver and I would like to go down the positive cashflow path with capital gains a bonus if it happens. But my focus is on cheap (for starters) +ve cashflow properties in Sydney and its outer fringes.
As I have basically have nos experience whatsoever in this game, please allow me to bombard you guys with questions..
I realize +ve cashflow property is next to impossible to find in Syd, hence my idea is to buy a 4 or 5 bedder with generous land space and convert that to two flats with the addition/removal of a few walls, toilet, sink etc. Then build a 1/2 bedroom granny flat at the back and rent the whole property out while I stay in my current arrangement of sharing. Is this an okay plan??
The areas I am looking at is Mt Druitt and surrounds like Rooty Hill, St Marys etc. I would like my first and subsequent properties to be close to each other and along the western train line. Now I know these aren't 'good' areas at all, but thats where I can find these kind of properties for cheap.
Any warnings / recommendations anyone? What should I look out for? Will I get okay tenants there or the rough type who will make a mess of the place and not pay rent etc. Anyone with experience?? I have also considered as my second option the Southwest corridor like Minto, Ingleburn, Macquarie Fields, I know Warwick Farm is also cheap, are these no-go zones and why?
Next is loan type - should I go Principal only or Principal plus Interest?? Is it better to invest a large 150k deposit and let the tenants pay the rest ( I am looking in the 200-300k price range , the cheaper the better as I HATE debt, never had any) OR should I pay a min deposit hence more debt and more time to pay, but it will then be positive cashflow. What is a better plan taking into account my scenario and goals of cashflow cashflow and cashflow??
Which lenders should I consider - among the cheapest interest rate (I hate the big four greedy banks), low exit fees, minimal fees, least expensive overall in long run considering all fees -- I know this is not an easy question as everyones situation is different but please just give me a few 3-5? places to choose from and I will research further..
Finally what else should I consider and is this plan ok? I'm an architect so dividing the property into flats, adding a granny flat etc should be no hassle, but I dont know how these go with the council as I havent done this sort of thing before. What are the rough costs of doing this ( I know building a gran. flat is around 50-65k for a basic 2 bedder?), but what about a rough cost for dividing a 4 bedder into 2X2 bed flats?? How are the councils with this idea, anything to watch out for etc?
I know I sound like a total noob
, but its better to be prepared than burnt isnt it? Is my strategy ok and what other strategies should I look at?? I know theres way more chances to find better value cashflow properties in the regional areas, but let me try my Sydney plan initially as I am not confident with investing far from my location at the moment considering I have no experience, its just so hard to imagine how you guys are sitting behind the computer, clicking and buying property after property at such a rapid rate all over the country as if they were apples at woolies !! How you manage so many properties, the massive debt, tenants, headaches - all from a distant location...Anyways I guess I have asked too many questions and am hoping some kind people will show me a bit of light. Thanks very much for reading and have a great night..
