I don't know how to settle on a strategy... First time buyer in Sydney

I would suggest you avoid the parental guarantee if you can. Borrow the deposit off them instead as there will be less risk and potential tax savings if you go down.

 

I have the deposit already, around $140-150k.
I was only considering the guarantor process as a means to retain some of that deposit in an offset

 

You could still borrow from parents and should consider it if you will rent the property

 

oh I understand now. Thanks will consider

 

Thanks back to you
Not one of the best jobs in reality
Hope I never have to require your service's
Cheers

 

Oh deary me.

don't try and "pin" down a strategy....strategies develop over time once your knowledge increases and deepens and you have your own experiences to draw upon.

All I can see now is that you're being bamboozled by information overload....and that, my friend, is a recipe for inertia.

Find an area in your budget, a property in your budget and just take the leap.

Don't be frightened of making a mistake. Time IN the market smooths out "errors" and you are fortunate that you have time on your side.

Right now, you just sound like a "wanna".....

 

Guys thanks very much to everyone for the advice so far. It's been a good kick in the pants.

Since starting this thread, I've scrapped the H&L package idea, read half of Michael Yardney's book, started Jess Peletier's course (absolutely worth the $37 for a newbie like me) and am a lot more educated than I was.
Once I have this book and Jess' course finished, I'll be in touch with a new broker and start going to inspections.

Cheers

 

Hi @stovebyo - just reading your post and you sound in a very similar position to me so thought I'd share my thoughts. I've spent a good year considering different strategies, educating myself, changing strategies, running different numbers and feasibility, bouncing ideas on here, noticing my flawed logic so changing strategies again. And of course, getting frustrated at deciphering who you can actually trust out there for advice and guidance. Glad to see you took up Jess' research tool - I'm currently using it and while my net is cast wide so it's taking me a long time to complete the research, I can already see suburbs being eliminated for reasons I didn't know earlier. Absolutely worth the investment I feel! I've also found the Property Couch podcasts to be gold. You will learn so much from them if you're interested. And of course, trawl this forum and read everything.

We still haven't pulled the trigger, but we're currently leaning towards a buy as PPOR, renovate, live there for 12 months then move out and convert to IP strategy. It's been a long process to get here, but hopefully to be buying soon. Good luck with educating yourself.

 

Thanks Harriet. My plan is the same (PPOR 12 months with Reno, then IP)

One bit of consolation I’m discovering is that no one is suggesting we have hit the bottom of this yet. So still plenty of time to get all the ducks in a row. Best of luck to you too.