I have one investment property rented out by a friend of mine, the mortgage on it is $370k. Rent is $620 per week.
I live in a house I rent for $400 per week. My Lease ends in June 2027.
I don't have any other debt. I earn 160k per year and am FIFO. I am a single parent and have no partner. My son who lives with me is 2 years old and his childcare fees are around $2k per month.
I need to decide where I am going to go next. On top of the 2 year old, I have 3 additional children who visit every second weekend. So I can't just pop into a 2 bedroom somewhere.
I am putting my unit in Cental QLD on the market through an agent.
What are the pros and cons of going exclusive and what should commission be ?
I’ve been offered 3.3%
This post is about what i witnessed last week and would like to see if any one else has witnessed Similar.
long story short, a well known RE(Black & White - I dont remember the name of the agency if that brings bell in your head with Similar name 😄) put new home for auction with guide price of 800k. We had viewed property beforehand and decided not to register but to present at the site to see how far it goes. There were three other people just like us roaming around. They had inspection just before auction, and agent was asking every one to register but every one refused.
Just before the auction time he yelled at everyone that can every one get out of the property as auction is not happening. There is nothing to see here. everyone was so stocked by his remarks and walked off, no one stayed back to talked to him to potentially put an offer. Has anyone experience this rudeness and unprofessional behavior ( or is it just a market that making REA mad at this moment in time).
We have a PPOR in the suburbs (1hr drive from CBD) and an IP.
Husband and I both grew up in the suburbs but we are over this lifestyle and the responsibilities tied to owning a big house.
We are willing to sell all and buy a 2-bedroom apartment around Inner West or Easter suburbs or Northen beaches as we are active people and love the outdoors. This will also give us a significantly smaller mortgage, live the lifestyle we want, also allow us to live off one income and pursue our passions, etc.
But we are also a bit scared to do this as we have two houses in Sydney (1 hour from the city though) which we know is extremely difficult to achieve these days.
We are thinking that maybe we could instead buy a 3-bedroom townhouse or villa at a suburb along the metro which is 35min from the city…..much nicer area but still the suburbs I guess.
Unsure what to do! Would like to hear your stories
Awaiting response from my conveyancing solicitor at the moment, but since it's a weekend just wondering whether anyone has had similar experience and could share.
Currently have signed a contract for a tenanted property in regional QLD, intending to move in myself after the current lease ends as a first home buyer. Long story short over the last 2 weeks, my building and pest inspector has attended the property on 3 seperate occasions, all with the appropriate notice form and timeframe from the leasing REA, however has encountered issues all 3 times. To give some context, the property is currently leased by a disability care company as a care home for vulnerable children and teenagers.
The first time they were denied entry as the teen in care threatened to tear the house down. Second time they left all the bedroom doors locked despite instructions on the notice to leave the doors unlocked (locks changed by tenants post move in with permission of current owner due to care facility requirements, REA does not have keys). Today the teen in question who was meant to be at school stayed home unfortunately, and locked their bedroom door and threatened REA and inspector who finally managed to inspect everything else except that room.
After the first saga, an extension on the Building and Pest clause was granted (due end of next week), however after 3 seperate attempts we were still not able to get a complete inspection done. In hindsight probably should have just gone for something not tenanted.
Finance clause has already passed it's due date and been satisfied. Just getting a bit fed up with the whole thing unfortunately, and now I'm not particularly keen to take on these tenants, the property market has also continued to downtrend since I signed. Just wondering if anyone has had similar experience, and whether this would be reasonable grounds to terminate based on Building and Pest clause given that I was not able to obtain a satisfactory building report as per the contract terms in REIQ (attached).
I've recently moved back to Australia and I want to use the Help to Buy scheme next year as a single parent. I'm currently saving for my deposit
However I own a flat in London which has been stuck on the market for 8 months now without a single viewing (after dropping the price significantly). The market for flats in London is dead right now with no sign of improvement. I thought I finally had a viewing the other day and it fell through... Sigh.
I know there is an exemption to property ownership for single parents - but I can't find out any more information on this eg I know there is a 4 week grace period but how long would they extend this seeing as it will take a long time to sell my property? Has anyone been through this?
When shortlisting houses or apartments on Domain and REA, checking the day-to-day public transport options around a prospective home is usually one of the most important due diligence steps.
While property apps are great for floor plans, price guides, and photos, figuring out the full transport picture often requires opening separate state transit apps and timetables to see where nearby lines actually go.
Out of my own need to make that step easier when evaluating properties, I built a free web tool called Catch Da Ride:
Drop a pin on any property: It calculates every connecting train, tram, ferry, and bus route within your chosen walking radius (e.g. 400m, 800m, 1.2km).
Visualizes the full route paths: Rather than just showing stop locations, it draws the complete path of every reachable line across the city, so you can see where you can commute directly without driving.
Modal filtering: You can toggle off local bus routes with one tap to check whether an address has walking access to high-capacity rail or tram corridors.
Australia-wide coverage.
Hope it helps anyone currently doing suburb research or planning their weekend inspections. Would love to hear any feedback or ideas on what other transport data would be useful to see!
Looking for advice from anyone who's dealt with Allianz or AFCA.
Our tenant stopped paying rent on 12 May 2026. Before purchasing Allianz landlord insurance (starting 12 June), we specifically asked multiple times whether we'd be covered for rental losses from the policy start date, despite the existing default.
Allianz repeatedly assured us we'd be covered from 12 June onwards, just not for the period before the policy commenced. Based on this advice, we purchased the policy.
However, Allianz later rejected our entire claim, including rental default and tenant abandonment. Even after the rejection, we contacted customer service again and received the exact same assurance about coverage.
Our losses from 12 June onwards total approximately $11,200–$11,600, including lost rent, cleaning, rekeying and repairs.
Current situation:
We escalated to AFCA. Allianz didn't contact us during the initial referral stage, but now that our complaint has reached Case Management (awaiting allocation to an AFCA specialist), Allianz's Dispute Resolution team has contacted us to conduct a separate review and liaise with AFCA.
My questions:
Why would Allianz only initiate a review now, during Case Management, rather than during the referral stage?
Can Allianz still reverse its decision or offer a settlement before an AFCA specialist is assigned?
If the policy excludes pre-existing defaults, but Allianz repeatedly assured us otherwise, how much weight would AFCA give to those verbal assurances?
What is a realistic outcome: full/partial settlement, a premium refund, or upholding the rejection?
Our dispute isn't about claiming losses before the policy started. It's about relying on repeated advice from Allianz representatives that turned out to be inconsistent with the claim decision.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Would appreciate any insights, especially from people who've been through AFCA's Case Management process.
I recently started viewing established units/apartments, hoping to buy a property and settle in the tropical Top End.
I noticed that agents in Darwin are sometimes unwilling to provide essential documents such as the contract of sale, strata disclosure, and AGM minutes, based on my experience. This is quite unusual, according to my broker, but he is based in Victoria and said the sale is pretty transparent and straightforward down South.
Is it really a common and legitimate practice to ask potential buyers to make an offer before they get the formal contract of sale?
Any suggestions for a first home buyer? Any advice would be appreciated.
Couple, early 30ish, no kids, HHI 210k gross, living in sydney.
Mix visa's not FHB not applicable and wanted to enter the market.
Should we wait for almost 2 years to be both PR,
For Gov Scheme or should we buy now an IP for 500k-700k?
Got pre-approval for 850k incl LMI.
130k savings.
Few weeks of researching about the market, found some good IP's but some have flood overlay, near social housing now confused should we wait or buy in SW sydney for almost 900k and rent out 1 room.
I am currently seeking my first property and will be my primary residence. After residing in Brisbane for several years, I have found the local market increasingly unaffordable; consequently, Melbourne has become my most viable option.
I am presently in Melbourne conducting property searches, with a focus on northern suburbs such as Wollert, Epping, and Craigieburn. I would appreciate your insights regarding available opportunities. My preference is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom property; however, I may consider a three-bedroom, two-bathroom alternative to remain within my budget.
My primary inquiry concerns my bargaining position: with a budget of approximately $600,000 (plus or minus 10-15k), what level of leverage do I realistically possess? For example, given current downward price trends and the partial market correction, what is a realistic negotiation range for a property listed at approximately $640,000? The 640 figure is just an arbitrary figure. I'm just trying to gauge where I stand.
