Reading Up

I'm currently reading Paul Do's book "I Buy Houses". It relates mostly to investing in housing and since I'm intending on turning my live in home into an investment I feel like it's something I should take into account when considering my options.

I wanted to put in a particular quote that I just read which resonates with me. It's in a section entitled 'watch out for hidden agendas' and explains my property group to a T.

"Watch out for hidden agendas"
Although real estate spruikers explain that it is the land that appreciates while the building depreciates, they do not explain why they only spruik new townhouses and apartments...the reason is that the developers pay them a marketing commission for each property they sell to their clients.

He suggests that you balance their advice with your own due diligence and a real estate agent's advice on the established units in the area.

Food for thought.

House Hunting

I keep forgetting how influential the actual feel of the place is once you're house hunting. I went to see some townhouses today and now I really want a two bedroom place that's way out of my price range. They do have an option that is in my price range but I will have a look and see how I go with the figures. I need to talk to my broker tomorrow.

No stamp duty and a $10,000 leg up from the government is a wonderful thing.

But this is crazy. I'm buying a house! Well, not a house, but something that will be my own. My partner came looking with me. He complained about the size of the oven. I told him we could amend that. He got so excited. So was I. Not renting will be a really nice change. But it's a little intimidating - all that debt. But there's never been a better time to do it. May as well jump huh?

Oh, and by the time I finally got the agent on the phone, all the ones I wanted in the complex I was talking about in my last post were gone. Sigh.

Is it the one?

I think I've found it! I think I've found the unit I want to buy!

I am inspecting tomorrow, more details to come.

Property Investment Group

So my partner is a researcher, well not technically, it's just his personality. He has found some scathing reviews online for this group and many people claiming it's a scam. I'm not surprised. I also found much better borrowing capacity through my bank and another mortgage broker than the loans they said I could obtain. So thus far they are last out of three which eliminates them from the race.

I'm out.