The Property Couch podcast is all about helping others avoid making bad property investment mistakes and sharing the insiders guide to property investing. That is why on the 29th of June 2016, Bryce and Ben decides to hold a Live Questions and Answers Chat on Property Investing so that we can interact directly with our fellow listeners. Thank you to all of you who have joined in and if you would like to watch a replay of this, here’s a recording on Youtube:

List of questions Answered:

1. Will Sederino: My question is about claiming depreciation on an existing property that has been renovated. We are about to purchase a property (using Empower Wealth’s Buyer Agents) that has recently been renovated by the previous owner and wonder whether we can claim depreciation on this renovation even though it was not us that completed it. My gut feel is that we would be able to? Is this correct?
2. Mitch Scholard: G’day fellas, wondering your thoughts on which capital city will see the best capital growth over the next 5 years.
3. Luke Stirton: Does development and renovation provide the secret to accelerated gains in today’s increasingly harder market to get ahead?
4. Angela Cerasi: Hi guys, I am new to property investing and am currently in my research phase. Have listened to all your podcasts and enjoyed them immensely! I have 2 questions. (1) If a potential investment property is to have owner occupier appeal, then won’t you be competing with owner/occupiers when it comes to buying? From what I understand this means you could be competing with emotional buyers who could push the price up. I don’t think renovating is for me, so I would be buying a place that would be pretty much ready to be lived in by tenants. I of course want to find an area which is gentrifying, but wouldn’t owner/occupiers who are looking for a great buy also be looking for this too? (2) If a buyers agent takes a fixed fee, how much time would they generally dedicate to finding your property? Do you come to them with the city/suburb in mind or do they come to you with those details based on your personal situation? Do they keep looking for you until a property is successfully purchased? I appreciate that all buyer’s agents would differ but maybe you can give me an idea of how it works?”
5. Maria Li: Can you do a PAYG withholding variation the first year that you own investment property (based on projected cash flows) or do you have to wait a year so that you can base future withholding variations on the previous year?
6. Leisa Caines: Hi Bryce & Ben, love the podcast & your book. Hear you talk about finding an investment savvy mortgage broker but where do you find one? I’m in North west area in Sydney
7. Brad McCreadie: Would you buy now or wait to see what happens to apartment prices in Briz. Looking at a 2 bedroom as owner occupy initially but then to use as investment.
8. Karl Frank: Hi Guys. What will be the impact to the housing market if Labour win the next election and implement their changes to the Capital Gains Tax as it relates to investment properties?
9. Mark Rogal: If Labour win the election, negative gearing and CGT changes won’t kick in until mid-2017. In your opinion, what is the most likely scenario for prices of established homes between now and July 2017? Thanks for the great insights! Cheers!
10. George Kallinikos: I was wondering what is a suitable time frame is to wait it out during a period of experiencing little to no growth. I have owned a one bedroom apartment in a Melbourne blue chip location of Hawthorn since 2008 and it has barely kept up with inflation. This has left me disillusioned during a period where Melbourne overall has seen incredible growth. I understand exit / repurchase costs but also realise that the opportunity cost of this investment has been quite high. What are your thoughts?
11. Bradden Mitchell: GDay Bryce & Ben. Does an investment grade property have to be over $500K ?
12. Jack Killalea: If there is a significant price correction in the CBD apartment market over the next 2-3 years, will these apartments become potentially good investments or because they lack scarcity they will always be fundamentally not investment grade?
13. Geoff Smith: Hey guys just a quick question, how does it work with using parents equity from their homes. How does the loan get structured or would it be used as a line of credit against there property?
14. Graeme Ash: Hello Couchers, Great Show 🙂 Quick question – with banks only lending 60% for loans, do you think it is better to go for the biggest, blue chip, investment grade, growth asset you can afford using all your super or go for a cheaper property so your 40% does wipe you out and you can start saving for property 2.
15. Felix Tjandrawibawa: What’s the best way to estimate capital growth for a suburb? Are you guys looking at historical growth (if so – how long do you guys look for?)?
16. Rachel Hubbard: Hey guys. I’m now in a position to buy my next investment property. However my financial goal is to pay off my ppor in the next 5-10 years. Given that property investment is a long term strategy, do you suggest buying another investment property in an attempt to gain equity and sell in 5-10 years to pay off my ppor? Or given the high costs involved in buying/selling, should I look to invest in other ways to achieve this goal?
17. Alex Hill: Are all house and land packages dud investments? In 2013 I bought land in North Lakes QLD and built a lowest house. I spent about $50K over median price for the area, trying to maintain some owner-occupier resale appeal. It’s currently cash flow neutral but I’m concerned there will never be any growth, and I’ll now struggle to accumulate a deposit for a second investment property. What are your thoughts?
18. Amy Hambin: When building an investment property is yield calculated on land and construction costs or the first valuation on completion?
19. Daniel Stocks: Hi guys, do you often come across clients who’s properties come in at less than purchase price when applying for finance?
20. Sam Hockey: Hey guys, am I better off looking at an investment property towards the upper end of my lending capacity ($800k) to get into the better areas of Brisbane or looking further out for something around $400k to setup my next investment property purchase sooner? Love the podcast I’ve just finished it for the 2nd time around!!
21. Richard Bristoe: Hi Bryce and Ben, I just want to ask what are your thoughts on Brexit, and how it will affect the Australian property market in the short and long term?
22. Mitch Scholard: Would love your thoughts on the Sunshine Coast, I feel like it has great owner occupier appeal but not sure it has the income to keep property prices increasing.
23. Daniel Stocks: If looking for properties interstate in unfamiliar areas, what advice can you give for narrowing down investment grade suburbs?
24. Tammy Nguyen: What are your thoughts on the Logan area in Brisbane?
25. Sam Hockey: How much does a Buyers Agent cost?
26. Gaz Slater: How long do you wait for a city that’s nearing the bottom of its cycle before buying. Eg Perth.