Bribie Island Australia

The Pioneer Street Cabin Project

http://www.forpropertyinvestors.com
While living in my Campervan on sight I project managed this cabin build from end to end. An owner builder application was submitted and accepted at the Australian Building Commission, a Council Building Permit. I drew the working drawings, and elevations and submitted to council and they were accepted. To do a septic tank and realm drain plan to handle all toilet and household grey water this first an engineer had to be consulted and a septic design drawn up and approved, because there is no town sewage to the property. I found the cabin for sale on ebay. It was only 6 kilometres from the site. It was just what i was looking for at $30,000. It had all the relevant certificates issued on the cabin, electrical certificate of safety, plumbing certificate, insulation, five star energy ratings, compliance plate from the original manufacturer. As always there were delays and problems but you just work through everything until you get through to the end. That's what a developer does. They work through problems. I submitted basic plans to the Origin Energy and they quoted to instal a 22 metre underground electricity line to the cabin from a pit installed new at the base of a existing power pole at the front of the property. This cost $2200. There were delays and problems with the electricity company. After the cabin was finished AirBNB was new and i had just heard about it so i put it on AirBNB and it worked awesome people came and stayed for weekends and nights during the week from all over the world to my little cabin. It is still there now and currently rented to a permanent tenant as a fully furnished cabin. 
For finding "splitter blocks" and sub division projects and renovations in Brisbane and a project manager for a Joint Venture Project so http://www.forpropertyinvestors.com for more details and to begin building a relationship with me.

My first home in Australia.

Bodged Council Valuation across the board

Bodged Council Valuations


[caption id="attachment_1780" align="alignleft" width="118" caption="Puzzled"][/caption]I was pleasantly surprised when the bank commissioned me to run over to the Council Offices and grab a current rates notice to include in a recent 'top up' equity cash loan application. Glancing over the valuation it was registered as $168k when it was purchased two months earlier for 72k. I would not have known this had the bank not asked. Then the next Saturday's local paper had a full front page article of Council valuation going haywire across the board.

Though a higher valuation is good it's not realistic. Myself and bank knew that! So i lodged a compliant to the Council whom called a week later saying that the land value alone was at least 80k and from a desk peeking at Google street view said "i can't see much of it" i replied, "yeah, that's because of the big hedge out the front, but it's a 2BR weatherboard house and lots of shedding and new double garage". On chatting to neighbors down the road they alluded to be willing to have paid 110k - 120k if they had known it was getting auctioned. I didn't even know that, i heard about the property after no-one had put there hand up at auction and submitted a simple short text maximum  offer 72k.

I suggested that it's probably more in the vicinity of 110k to 120k. The valuer verbally said over the phone, "how about we change it to 110k or 120k."... yep that be good!

That sent me into thought and then realized that two other properties owned by myself have had internal works done and the valuations are way under for these. Since Council does these only every two years and they currently taking complaints from bodged valuations. I think with a five minute visit to Council again and a five minute phone call and i could get on paper Council valuations that will add 100k over the three properties across the board.

I do not mind paying the higher rates provided the valuations are increased realistically with market movement where as most of those that are complaining will be home owners with one property in most cases even though some of them need to go down. As mentioned two of mine need to value up.

If banks bare the weight of Council valuation to determine my proposed livelihood then i want the best change to reach goals quicker with higher access to equity.

Have you double checked you Council valuations and "yes" Council valuation bare a weight on their decisions to borrow money contrary to the conception of some property investors. Particular in my case with one of the majors an a most recent application.

Planning ahead Property Options

Hi,
    I've been interested in property options for some time now and planning ahead to travel up to either N.S.W or Queensland on a leisurely road trip with no time limits. I'd like some input and help from someone with experience in the trenches doing property options on residential townhouse lots or units.

I've studied and understand the concept quiet well and also written up my own property option document and know how to crunch the numbers having crunched the numbers on hundreds of deals and developed my own feasibility calculators.

Though because it's still relatively new to me and having not actually done one for REAL i was wandering if i could appeal to the good nature of someone reading this site to help gain some more knowledge and or a mentor to guide me and oversee me into the feasibility and concept of taking out an option with the view to on-sell to the market.

I'd be looking at areas going ahead with development potential in large regional towns of residential townhouses and or units but not in large cities. Towns with populations of 30,000 or more.

Obviously i have learned much about the development process having put one Development Application through council myself and worked closely with my Draft person putting that through to completion and completed the project as well as a five townhouse development in process right now as a long term project.

I'm skilled at putting a team together also have a Sydney based solicitor (family member) that has a Real Estate License and doing conveyancing for both Victoria and N.S.W.

If you would like to help and possibly meet up or chat via email please send an email to daniel@forpropertyinvestors.com


P.S. I'm no spring chicken in the industry and I'm sure i will be able to offer you some kind of knowledge and or experience or some other arrangement that you will benefit from for a win/win outcome. Email to sort out an arrangement that I'm sure you will benefit from.

[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Daniel Cameron"][/caption]

Secret 2% NAB don't tell you

[caption id="attachment_1746" align="alignleft" width="76" caption="Interest"][/caption]You'll notice if you have a bank loan the bank will make sure you receive a letter and also a message in your online banking plus a note in your account once any rate increases. But they won't tell you that you can get an extra 2% on your savings.

This is a kept secret by the NAB bank that you need to ask about. I found out by chance but do it regularly now to get that extra 2% on any savings.

The bank will not tell you how to get a extra two percent unless you actually ask them yourself. It's a secret the banks don't openly advertise. But if you open a new account you will be rewarded with a four month introductory rate currently 6% with NAB once the four months runs out it automatically reverts to 4%. You will not receive a letter saying it's gone to 4% or that you could come in and change it so that you get 6% again.

Here's the secret - if you go in after the four months and ask them to close the account and open a new one. Bingo you will suddenly get the extra 2% again. Though this may be a pain every four months, money's money. It all adds up!

For five minutes to visit the bank you might make 100's or 1000's more in interest if your holding cash as deposits until your next buy.

Happy Banking

P.S. Subscribe to receive other tips like this as they come to hand!

House values 2008 - 2010

What's been happening with Australian house values? This article below is from my favorite Newsletter out of every property newsletter there is out there. I can tell you i have read many many many of them. This one also never try's to flog you any products.

This is interesting for this web site and myself because it overviews what has happened to property values in the last two years while i began investing 2008 when i was living in a car and fully homeless and began documenting in this web site with goals, videos etc.

See you get my best secrets here at FPI. Anyway the  source is from here. And the article below.

Australian home values changed little in the month of July, according to the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index.

The Index shows that Australia's capital city home values remained relatively flat in the month of July recording a modest, seasonally-adjusted increase of 0.4 per cent.

The July results follow a 1.0 per cent seasonally-adjusted decline in the month of June; the first negative movement in Australian capital city home values in 17 months.

RP Data's research director Tim Lawless said that the results are further evidence that Australia's housing market has experienced a controlled soft-landing after a resounding recovery during the course of 2009.

"In the period between end 2008 and March 2010, Australian home values rose by 16.3 per cent. Yet monthly growth rates have declined consistently since the start of the year. RP Data and Rismark expect to see the market track sideways over the second half of the year. There is the possibility of modest gains if mortgage rates remain in check and economic conditions continue to improve," he said.

The deceleration in capital growth rates is evident across the cheaper, middle and more expensive suburbs tracked by the `stratified' version of the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Index.

This index shows that while the most expensive 20 per cent of suburbs realised the highest capital growth between end 2008 and March 2010, these same suburbs have suffered the largest falls in home values in the period since.

Mr Lawless remarked that the top-end of the market is showing higher volatility than lower priced markets.

"Home values in Australia's most expensive suburbs fell more in 2008, rebounded quickly in 2009, and are now tapering at a more rapid rate than cheaper property markets", he said.

"Home values in the most expensive 20 per cent of suburbs were down 2.0 per cent over the three months ending July 2010 compared with smaller declines of 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent in the cheapest 20 per cent and middle 60 per cent of the suburbs, respectively."

RP Data-Rismark's Rest of State Hedonic Index, which tracks the 40 per cent of all homes not situated in the capital cities, shows that regional markets have also experienced a synchronous slow-down with house values off -0.2 per cent since April 2010. In recent times, the Rest of State markets have underperformed the capital cities. For example, between end 2008 and July 2010 house values in the Rest of State areas rose by 8.5 per cent compared with much stronger 16.1 per cent growth in the value of detached houses located in the capital cities.

Christopher Joye, Managing Director of Rismark International, said that the data paints an encouraging picture.

"After falling from historically high 70-80 per cent levels, national auction clearance rates have now leveled at around the 60 per cent mark", Mr Joye said.

"While outstanding inventory levels have expanded in response to the weaker demand, they have recently settled.

"Looking forward, I would expect to see the major banks pushing housing credit growth a little harder as profitability gains dissipate", he predicts.

"An increase in credit growth back to reasonable single-digit rates will provide further support to the market in the next 12 months."

Mr Lawless agreed that substantial falls in Australian home values look very unlikely.

"The number of homes being advertised for sale across Australia is only 5 per cent higher than what we saw at the same time last year", he said.

"We aren't seeing a blow out in stock levels and properties are taking on average about 40 days to sell, which is only a little higher than recent experience.

"And while we have noticed an increase in vendor discounting, this is coming off the very low base we recorded during 2009," Mr Lawless concluded.