Have you ever been through a period where everything that could go wrong does go wrong, all at the one time? You know what they say. No news is good news. So when I saw those emails start coming in from property managers I knew there had to be a problem. The first few weeks…
Articles by Lauren Day
Lauren Day is the former deputy editor of Australian Property Investor Magazine and an avid property investor.
API goes behind the scenes and takes you through a day in the life of one of the hardest jobs in the property industry. Jayne Nancarrow is a psychologist, a plumber, an electrician and an accountant. She’s a friend, a carpenter, a receptionist, a police officer and a peacemaker. Oh, and she also happens to…
There are so many people who want to buy one property, per year, for the next 10 years. It’s a fantastic aspiration and there’s nothing wrong with having that dream at all. In fact, I’ve had the very same dream myself in the past and still love the idea of building a portfolio and holding…
Is buying a blue-chip inner city pad better than the blue sky of a regional property? It’s a question often asked by investors, is it better to negatively gear in a blue-chip area, or purchase something more affordable, but perhaps with less chance of capital growth, in a regional location? This debate goes around and…
Imagine being threatened legally on an almost weekly basis, being called about ‘urgent’ matters every day and having one person in every single unit block who just never leaves you alone. Not many people could cope with the huge demands of being a body corporate, owners’ corporate or a strata manager, but for 55-year-old Andrew…
Working as a journalist for Australian Property Investor Magazine over the past three years has given me much more than just a salary. It has also been a huge learning curve and life lesson about how one simple choice on where you invest and what you buy can either put you leaps and bounds in…
We’ve kept the rent low, gifted our property managers and tenants with presents at Christmas. But enough’s enough – it’s time to let go. I’ve learnt the hard way that a bad property manager can cost you thousands. And putting up with a bad egg for months, perhaps years, will cost you even more. But…
From a smaller pad with ocean views to a mansion in the ‘burbs, API takes a look around the country to find out where you’ll get the most bang for your million bucks. One million dollars is a lot of money, but thanks to the property boom in Sydney and Melbourne, the number of million-plus…
Super rules for many investors at the moment. Those with a self-managed super fund (SMSF) are quickly discovering it can be an exciting way to increase a property portfolio and also help create super wealth. Mix a new pad, with tax benefits, and it’s easy to see why the word ‘SMSF’ is the new ‘sexy’,…
There’s good and bad news when it comes to this year’s tax return. Have you sifted through dozens of pieces of paper yet, sorting out bills and receipts as you prepare for your tax return? I did it just the other day and there’s good and bad news this year for me. Normally, I expect…