Investing close to train lines. Buying Grandma’s house. ‘Til divorce do us part.

And then this… Should You Buy “The Worst House In The Worst Street”… IF It’s In The BEST Suburb?!

In this Q&A episode we’re giving you the answers to the property investment questions that keep you up at night. (Quite literally. One listener was pondering LMI at 3am!)

We’ve got everything from how to invest in property as a divorcee, using loan redraws, whether or not you should purchase your grandparents’ property for investment purposes, ways to release equity, tips if you’ve only got fifteen years of working life left, what impact train lines have on the value of property… the works!

Suss out the exact questions we answer below.

Otherwise hit play and learn how NOT to push your “CROSS”-ing luck! 😉

Question About Buying Grandparents House From Lucy

Hi Bryce and Ben, Long time listener of the show. Wanted to reach out to get your opinion and views on a couple of things related to investing in my grandparents’ home in Brisbane and whether or not it is a good idea to:

1. a) buy your grandparents house as an investment property and
2. b) investing in Brisbane (suburb, Stafford).

My grandfather built the house 60 years ago. He recently passed and my grandmother is moving to a retirement home. I have an opportunity to buy this property and have always wanted to. I know you shouldn’t invest for emotional purposes, but it’s not just that. This property is right by the brook, at the end of a cul-de-sac and is inner city Brisbane (less than 10km from the city). I’m from New Zealand and have seen the suburb and city change so much over my 30 years of visiting them there. The house is on a large piece of land. I think over the next few years the prices are only going to continue to rise and desirability in that area is only growing so I see great capital growth potential. The house is an odd configuration and built in the 60s. It really needs to go at some point sadly, and if sold, I know a developer will bulldoze and rebuilt 3 townhouses on there as they are doing in the surrounding area. My current plan would be to rent it out as is for a few years, and eventually replace it with a nice family home to have as a rental to a family. The house is estimated to be around $660k from research and houses on that street are getting up to $1m in some cases. I have one investment property in New Zealand that has been a great asset to build equity in. I see my grandparents’ house as a low yield, high capital gains opportunity to buy, hold, renovate. Would love to hear your thoughts Thanks, Lucy.

Question About Tips For Divorcees From Cathie

I have recently separated from a 25y marriage and about to begin the property settlement process. I’m hoping to keep the family home and then begin my property portfolio. Where should my first stop be to make sure I set my finance and PPOR correctly? What tips or suggestions would you have for someone who may have 15 years of working life until retirement? I have just started your Money S. M. A. R. T.S and Start and Build program and am working my way through your podcasts(loving then ALL!) I would like to have my PPOR paid off and generate enough passive income of about $1000/W. I want to get this right from the beginning. This is a new stage in my life and I want to be able to feel comfortable in my financial choices and also be able to provide and be a role model to my children. Thanks Guys!

Question About Investing In Properties Close to Train Lines from Yannick

Hey guys, 2 questions:

1. Just wondering, how does a train line across the road or backing onto the backyard affect the property value?
2. Also we’ve all heard the saying, worst house in the best street, does this hold true for the worst house in the worst street of the best suburb?

I’m looking in Ballarat so being a regional area I’m not sure if all these factors are the same as in Melbourne. Thanks very much in advance!

Question about Using Funds in Redraw from Andrew

Hello, My wife and I have owed our first home for 2 yrs. Currently we have a redraw on our mortgage and have paid off an extra $100,000 (available for redraw) after a bit of research and listing to your tips, I am in the process of organising an offset account instead. Now, how can I use the current available funds in our redraw? We want to buy our second home in the next 6 months. This 2nd home will become our primary residence and we will start to rent out the first house. Can I simply move the available cash over to the offset once set up and then use it later on to purchase the second house?

Question about  Why Does LMI Even Exist from Mark

If LMI is an insurance that protects the bank in the event you can’t pay, why would the lender need to charge it if the buyer/investor can prove they have income protection and could always pay their mortgage? Just a thought I had at 3am this morning. Lol.

Also, can you use equity in your PPOR to purchase an investment without actually withdrawing it? A bit similar to a parent being a guarantor. Thanks guys keep up the good work.

How do property investors Find and Finance their investment properties?

Let’s face it: Asset Selection (aka finding the property) and Borrowing Power (aka financing the property) are two of our Four Pillars of Mastery for a reason… they’re crucial!

So with this in mind, how do property investors make sure they get these two things right?

Well, that’s where today’s episode comes in. We’re unpacking heaps of listener questions on these two topics so you get the insider’s guide into what to buy and how to set up your loan structure and strategy correctly!

We’ve dubbed it “The Game of Loans” and we think there’s quite a few takeaways in here, and even a few bits of gold we’ve never discussed before…

Listen now so you can learn how to find and finance your assets!

Free Stuff

• Episode 302 | Back To The Future: Lessons From 50 Years At The Top Of His Game – Chat with Scott Keck
• Episode 005 | Four Pillars of Mastery – Asset Selection
• Episode 004 | Four Pillars of Mastery – Borrowing Power
• LocationScore – Get your free Suburb Demand Score here
• Free Book – The Armchair Guide To Property Investing (just pay postage)
• Free eBook – Make Money Simple Again

The Questions

Question about “Investing in Victoria During COVID-19” from Trav:
Hi, gents, just a quick one. I haven’t yet mustered up the courage to do any investment in property. I’m looking to do my first one, hopefully within the next six months. And just want to get your views on the current environment here in Victoria. And if you think it’s a good time to invest in Victoria, the area that I’m looking at is Chelsea, down by the beach there, close to train line three bedroom, townhouse, one bathroom, own title, nobody corporate in a secure, parking area. I tick all those boxes that you guys talk about. I have low debt, zero debt effectively. I own my own property. I’m in a secure government style job around the 120K Mark and regular high-rises, and I’m quite a good money manager, yet to do the last little part of my structure. And that is obviously getting in touch with a good savvy mortgage broker rather who’s savvy around investments. So I just, your thoughts on that and let me know, keep up the good work and I hope to hear from you, sir. Bye.

Question about “Closer In And Smaller or Further Out And Bigger” from Violet:
Hi, Bryce and Ben we’ve been conditionally approved for our first home to the value of $750,000. We live in the North Eastern suburbs of Melbourne way. Wondering whether we should buy a two bedroom property with the potential to add an extra bedroom, which definitely needs a little bit of work, but we can get in for, you know, under $600,000 we believe, or if we should max out budget right up to the $750,000 and get a house that needs very little work and already has three bedrooms, which would be the best option here?

Question From Tom:
Hi Bryce and Ben, I’d just like to ask a question regarding timing on principal and interest payments on an investment property. We currently have four investment properties, which are all interest only payments. We still plan to purchase another one or two properties in the future. We’ve recently just refinanced our investment properties to take that to maximum borrowing. And we drew the equity to purchase our primary place of residence. That primary place of residence has an offset account. The old wages and our rental income goes into. I’d just like to know at what time do the investment properties turn from interest only to principal and interest repayments? Thank you.

Question From Shashank:
Hi Ben and Bryce, my name is Shashank Pande, and I’m based in Adelaide. I’ve been a regular listener of your podcast and would like to thank you for the amazing knowledge share and experience share that you do for the wider community. My question relates to auctions and my question is about the feasibility of an auction, from a seller’s perspective, in getting the best price for the seller, because it’s predicated on the reserve price for the seller, which is the lowest price that the seller would sell the property for and not on finding the highest bidder for the property. So I just wanted to get your views on whether an auction is the best for the seller to sell a house. Thanks, Bye.