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169 | Alan Oster – NAB’s Group Chief Economist – on Interest-Rate Rise, Tax Cut and The Future of Residential Property

Let’s get down to business, folks! Today we’re tackling the past, present and future of Australia’s economy…

And who better to help us out than Alan Oster, Group Chief Economist of the National Australia Bank (NAB)!

Alan sure knows his stuff, folks — as Group Chief Economist, Alan is responsible for NAB’s global economic and financial forecasts. Not to mention, before he started at NAB (which was in 1992, mind you), he worked as Senior Adviser in Treasury specialising in economic forecasting and modelling for an impressive 15 years. Oh, and in 1987 he was seconded for nearly four years as Counsellor-Economic and Financial with Australia’s delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development — OECD — in Paris.

Yes, he’s definitely the man you want to speak to if you’ve got a question about Australia’s economy!

 

Hold on to your seat folks cause here’s what you’re in for:

  • Where is the economy going in the next 12 – 18 months?
  • Rather than mortgage stress, what’s the number one issue at present?
  • What’s going to happen, on average, to house prices?
  • Will your wage increase any time soon?
  • Federal Budget 2018: What’s in store and will we see tax cuts?
  • Who will struggle most with postcode restrictions?
  • What needs to happen to benefit the economy?
  • Is the Australian economy going to be better or worse?
  • How do foreign buyers and the Chinese market fit in?
  • Will APRA keep tightening the lending regulations?
  • When’s the cash rate likely going to increase?
  • Is inflation on the rise?
  • What’s in store for interest-only loans?
  • What’s happening in the US with the 10-year bond rates?
  • Why do banks care about outer city living and inner city living?
  • Is the demand in Sydney and Melbourne slowing?
  • What’s the riskiest sector should unemployment starts to rise?
  • What’s the difference between “the bricks” and the “the clicks”?
  • What do banks ALWAYS look for before handing out loans?
  • Who owns most of the apartments in the capital cities and what are his thoughts on the future of the apartment market?
  • What about the second-tier cities (Brisbane, Adelaide etc.)
  • Which states are having the fastest rental growth?
  • Is Perth now an investment-grade location?
  • Where would Alan invest his money?
  • What happened when then Treasurer Paul Keating removed negative gearing?
  • What will be the economic impact and consequences if negative gearing is removed again at the current time?
  • How should we tackle housing affordability?

 

p.s. Looking for the special reports mentioned in today’s show?

 

168 | Q & A on What % of your Income should you Spend, Borderless Investing and Smart Money Management Tips

It’s our favourite day of the month folks… Q & A Day!!!

And we’re covering quite a bit in a short & sweet amount of time today— including AN EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT for our Couch listeners!!! (As it so happens, this was dropped with, “Yeah, go on, let’s tell ‘em” and a nod of the head… so an absolute scoop.)

Not only that, but also we answer 3 solid questions, thanks to the legends who leave us a SpeakPipe voicemail message (remember: we prioritise your Q if you do this too)!

But back to today’s episode — if you want to know what we think of investing in Hobart, and down in good ol’ Tassy in general (it’s been getting a bit of attention from a fair few property investors), OR you want to find out if now’s the time to invest in Perth … tune in.

But 100% TUNE IN if you’re keen to get on top of your Money SMARTS — we give you a rough rule of thumb for the amount of income you should allocate to your spending habits ie. How much you should spend on Bills, Living and Lifestyle and your Loan/s!!

 

The Q’s we’re answering are:

 

Question about investing in Perth vs Melbourne from David:

Good morning Ben, Bryce & The Stig,

I’m a keen Property Couch listener and thank you for your time generously sharing all your knowledge — it’s much appreciated. Just about myself, specifically: I’m a property investor with 3 properties — 2 in Perth, one in Brisbane. I’m a medical specialist with a good income and I’m looking to go again. I have a 900K pre-approval and looking at either Perth or Melbourne through a Buyers Agent. Clearly the Buyers Agent have biases… the Perth guy things Melbourne is a terrible place to Invest and the Melbourne guy thinks Perth is a terrible place to invest. If you had 900K, you wanted to go now and are a Buy and Hold investor that lines up with your ideas around a good quality growth asset, what would you do?
Thanks very much & come on the Dockers!

 

Question about Money Management Habits from Nerida:

What percentage of my income should be allocated to living and lifestyle account, primary account and payments account?

 

Question about investing in Tasmania from Stuart:

Hey guys, I just wanted to get your opinion on whether you’re focusing your attention on Tasmania? The reason for that question is I was just on a work trip to Tasmania last week, and there was a lot of commentary on the radio about shortage of supply in rental accommodation; even talk of people living in tents. I didn’t really get full across it … but something to do with legislation taking a long time to release land or planning approvals taking a long time, so bureaucracy essentially. I just wondered if any of this shortage of supply means your Buyers Agents were looking a little more closely at Tasmania, certainly on Hobart … I’m not sure whether somewhere like Launceston comes into that. But yeah, really interested in your take on what’s going on in Tasmania at the moment, especially people looking to make an investment entry sub- $500,000 as places like Melbourne and Syd make that harder to achieve. Interested on your opinion. Thanks very much!

 

P.S. The webinar we mention:

Webinar: Property Hotspots & How To Find Them: CLICK HERE to Watch

 

Season 3 is out! The Property Couch + RealEstate.com.au

Season 3 is back in full force

Alright folks, here we go again! With over 831,900 views in the previous two seasons we are aiming for big stuff this time around! This season is all about the numbers and recent changes in the Australian Property Market so make sure to tune in and find out more!

Here we go!

 

And of course, here are the trailers!


 

Here are all the episodes from previous seasons!:

Season 2:

  • Investing in property can help you retire comfortably | Watch here >>
  • Need a home loan? Here are the 5 Cs the banks looks for  | Watch here >>
  • What makes for an investment grade property? | Watch here >>
  • The other “C” in property! What and How do you compromise on what you want? | Watch here >>
  • The 4 ways you’ll pay as a property investor? | Watch here >>

Season 1:

 

We’d love any feedback or suggestions on which videos you’d love to see! So get in touch with us here: [email protected].

 

All the best,

Bryce, Ben and Stiggy

 

 

167 | When you SHOULDN’T use a Buyers Agent?

Alright, folks! Let’s bring on Episode 167!!

Today is all about Buyers Agents… and when you SHOULDN’T use one!

Yep — it might seem a bit strange considering Bryce is one… but we’re going there! And why? Well, we’ve received a couple of questions recently about the cost of a Buyers Agent, and whether or not this represents value for money

So, how much (in $$) is a reasonable Buyers Agent fee? — and WHY exactly do they charge what they do?

More importantly, how can you tell if you’re dealing with a Spruiker?

 

… just a heads up before we jot down the 2 questions we’ll be answering Folks, the 2nd question is particularly long, so if you can’t catch everything Bryce says on the podcast, we’ve got you covered below 🙂

So, the questions that came in are:

 

1st Question:
“Good afternoon Team. I have organised an interview with a Buyers Agent and they told me what I should do, which has been in line with the fundamentals of The Property Couch. But the bottom line is it’s $15,000 for them to find my first investment house! I wanted to think about the best way forward, and ever since they keep ringing, and picking on my FOMO, which has since turned me off using them. What I want to know is, what risk do Buyers Agents hold and are accountable for? Because as far as I can see, they don’t hold any risk in regard to a return on the investment I am left with. Should people place an act against its members to ensure a warranty or guarantee in place to hold these business accountable?”

 

2nd Question:
“Hi Ben. I have a question on using Buyers Agents. I am genuinely considering using a Buyers Agent; but the cost is much higher than other property professionals. I think that if the price was affordable, very few people would fall prey of the spruikers. Here’s what I mean: solicitors are equally important partners in buying a property and they are appropriately trained and their role is important — it’s actually mandatory to use a solicitor or a conveyancer and yet they don’t take advantage of the fact that you can’t buy property without them. Most charge around $2000 — and one can pay even less with conveyancers — I’ve used conveyancers twice in Victoria and paid $770. They arranged settlement, made sure your bank doesn’t delay to settle, they advise me on the contract, their fee is NO WHERE NEAR that of a Buyers Agent. BA charge around 10K when buying a $450,000 house, this is more than 3% — that’s a very high price to pay for financial advice. The other important person for a property investor is a building and pest inspector — and yet they are nowhere near what a BA charges… $100 will get you a building and pest inspection. Another important person — around $600 will get you tax information from an accountant so one can have a clearer picture on how one’s decision will affect one’s position, one can see whether they can afford the investment, they can also do the tax … and yet they charge nowhere near the BAs. Financial Advisors are equally important. They charge about $700 – $2000 their fees are around 1% of investment, the rate charge for investments in SMSF is also around 1%. This includes financial advice, assistance with selecting, usually investing in shares, which can be more risky than property. This is why I think BAs are overpriced and are very good at instilling fear in property investors when they fall into the hands of Spruikers.

The irony of this that the equity they normally use to buy an IP is usually from their home, which they bought themselves. I think that if a BA charged around $2,000 more people would use them and spruikers would be out of business. I’m also aware that some BA provide financial and strategy advice and, therefore, feel as if they should charge more. I don’t think most of them are qualified financial advisors, but they charge more than financial advisors. To be fair to them, they don’t call themselves as financial advisors but, rather strategists, which is the additional serving to source a property. I don’t think mum and dad need a strategy plan every time they buy a property, and yet they pay for this every time they buy a property through a BA. And the ones I have spoken to say they charge so much because they don’t only do sourcing. Financial Advice can be done once, and one can pay, say, $1000 – $2,000 session for the planning, formulation of the strategy and the sourcing … be not more than $2,000, which is less than a lot of property investment professionals. I think the high cost of BAs and the fear in which they instill in investors make those who can’t afford their exuberant price fall into the advice of spruikers.

I’ve identified a region I want to buy in Adelaide and want someone who can view properties for me and buy for me. I’ve already seen a Financial Planner and strategist and what is remaining is the property. I’ve done my adequate research, I’ve contacted a BA and the average price is $10 – $15K and I fail to find justification in this fee. I know that a provider of this service can charge whatever they want as someone on the other side of the transaction is willing to pay that much.

My question is: I wanted to ask you as a Financial Advisor whether you find Buyers Agents fees reasonable?

166 | How to Avoid the 7 Common and Costly Settlement Mistakes when Buying a Property – Chat with Nicole Faid

Back by popular demand! We heard from today’s guest back on Episode 107, and joining us again is none other than Nicole Faid, Principal and Founder of Accord Conveyancing, who has handed out accurate legal advice for over 25 years of industry experience! Just a heads up — we covered her awesome back story in that episode, so if you want to hear it (and it’s well worth the listen), go back and check it out!

So — Conveyancing — let’s take the mystery out of it, folks! Because a lot of people out there don’t know what happens once the documents have been handed over to a Conveyancer, especially one like Nicole!

And we jump straight into it, folks! So get pumped for the 7 common & COSTLY mistakes you really DON’T want to make…

(If this episode doesn’t cement the fact that it’s crucial to get a contract review BEFORE you sign, very little will!)

 

So, let’s hear it. What exactly are you in for?

  • In a nutshell, what does a conveyancer do?
  • What is the most important document that underpins a contract?
  • How many people don’t get the amount of land they thought they would when purchasing a property?
  • What happens if the discrepancy of this land is less than 5%?
  • What REAL LIFE EXAMPLE happened in Brunswick? (And how much did this mistake cost the buyer?!)
  • Why shouldn’t you rely on your own interpretation of “wear and tear”?
  • Are “back to back settlements” a bad idea?
  • What happens with the conveyancing rules if you’re a borderless investor?
  • What is a “caveat”?
  • If you’re purchasing through a SMSF, what title requirements do you need to be aware of?
  • What can happen in the settlement period that will seriously shock you?
  • Why is it important to distinguish between major and minor issues with the settlement process?
  • When should you conduct a Building and Pest Inspection?
  • How does the art of negotiation fit into all this?
  • What is the best risk management?
  • What do you need to keep in mind with the final inspection?
  • What is the legal requirement about having a granny flat?!

… Yep, it’s a hairy and very serious episode folks, because the mistakes we talk about in this episode can be VERY EXPENSIVE!!

 

TODAY’S TEASER:

P.S Missed yesterday’s Facebook Live?

We answered a couple of questions on your lunchbreak (in 15 minutes)!

WATCH it here.

 

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