What to do next in the face of bad economy? 1 PPOR & 4 IPs

This is because we bought 3 IPs late last year, with the last one settling mid Dec. Luckily the tenant wanted to stay on for a $30 price hike on the rent.

Out of the 3 that I bought, 2 have already gone up in price against comparable properties so I'm quite happy with one increasing 10% in 2 months.

I'm just a little worried about buying more this year because of the sinking dollar against USD and constant news of layoffs in fortune 100 companies, albeit I think I'm safe for now.

Note:
Remember we only started out 5 years ago when we were 26, 27. We weren't earning as much back then. It was very difficult to save for the original 20% down payment and still have a little saving left for decorating. My husband also thought it would be fun to quit his job and sit at home for a full year. Also for all the IPs we bought through a mix of equity and cash down payments and borrowed 80% - 90%.
 
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You'll be right.


Buy some cash flow props to offset the neg geared growth props

Yous earn an awful lot of money to be hand wringing

I do a lot of hand wringing. Hence still up now pondering if and how much investment I should put in now to renovate our PPOR or just do it before we sell it later on (say in 5 years time).
 
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I'm just a little worried about buying more this year because of the sinking dollar against USD and constant news of layoffs in fortune 100 companies, albeit I think I'm safe for now.

Is that something we missed? You are subject to exchange rate fluctuations & the US economy? Is it still viable to be buying there with the weaker AUD?
 
Is that something we missed? You are subject to exchange rate fluctuations & the US economy? Is it still viable to be buying there with the weaker AUD?

No no it's just the general economy. I work in a fortune 100 so that's why I hear it more often when people are talking about a competitor cutting staff by _%. Makes me nervous :) I'm not a foreign investor if that is what you are asking.
 
What would you suggest waiting for? There are opportunities in lots of locations outside of a hot Sydney market

Each have their own niche.. My number and goals are different.
We skip perth and bought syd since 2011, melb + brisbane since 2012.

I always counter cycle.. Syd double now, and bris up 60% since then.
Although a lot of opp out there, but not as many in buyer market. Hope this explain
 
Yes it does explain, it depends on your perspective I suppose and which market you are looking at. Many have done practically nothing for 5 years
 
No no it's just the general economy. I work in a fortune 100 so that's why I hear it more often when people are talking about a competitor cutting staff by _%. Makes me nervous :) I'm not a foreign investor if that is what you are asking.
What is the industry?
 
If you are concerned about the economy and potential housinig market/rental issues, increasing your cash buffer would be one good step.

300k income and only 60k savings, review your expenditure as that seems very disproportionate
Agree 100%
we only started out 5 years ago when we were 26, 27. We weren't earning as much back then. It was very difficult to save for the original 20% down payment and still have a little saving left for decorating. My husband also thought it would be fun to quit his job and sit at home for a full year. Also for all the IPs we bought through a mix of equity and cash down payments and borrowed 80% - 90%.

To be honest, with the income you are on, you should be able to still invest AND have a decent lifestyle while living on only one income. Many families are living on less than half of what you are bringing in, so.....if you are worried about your job, or you think your Hubby might want to stay at home again, get used to living on only one income.

Then, invest like a poor person. Look for stuff that is neutral/positive in cashflow. Yes, they are out there! Yes, they get CG too, but don't cost you an arm & a leg to hold. There are way too many people on huge incomes that buy something with, say, a 2% yield to 'save tax'.

Now, I'm not saying this is you, but take a good look at what you are investing in.
 
Thanks skater. I'm just a worry wort, is all. Just putting out feelers to see what people think of the market right now in Sydney.
I think we live pretty comfortably and within our means. We splurge out once in a long while also like our 4 month trip to Asia and Europe.

I think we have done okay so far. I buy intending to have both good CG as well as good net rental return. I like to at least break even after all expenses are paid. I agree with what you said, that there are some people out there just buying IPs for the sake of NG which is kinda silly.
 
If handwringing is taking more energy than buying more IP's, why not hold steady and pay down your PPOR (into your offset) till you feel like you don't need to handwring anymore. Once paid down to a level you are happy with, save up for another IP.

Sometimes, we need to get ok with the level of debt before we are ready to go on. Otherwise its easy to sabotage what we have.
 
I'm concerned about the economy and have similar income , though my job is as secure as they come , and if we have issues we can always move to our Weekender and rent the PPOR so we have lots of buffers.

I'm getting closer to retirement , but I think now is a good time to be buying in several markets in Australia and that's what I intend to do. Aiming to buy enough with the view to sell so reasonable cap growth over the next few years will enable us to clear debt on our core portfolio.

Cliff
 
i havent read all replies but if you are concerned could you sell one to free up some equity that it has made pay off more of your house loan then draw that equity out to purchase another one.
 
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