Hi All,

Treat me gently now as I am a newbie...

We came to NZ from the UK 2 years ago now and something has got to change in terms of investment and savings for our future. So, property is currently attracting us and I have a few questions:

We have researched some possible areas of investment for our $250k max budget and come up with a shortlist.

Flatbush is a prime contender as there is much development happening and due to happen over the next 10 years or so. Plans to build 7 new schools have been widely reported.

Question that's nagging us is: is now a good time to buy an investment property. The sentiment on the board suggests otherwise I feel?

Because we are new to this, our plan is to use the services of an agent to manage the administration; is this a good move and do they provide a good service for us; any recommendations?

I know there are good deals to be had outside Auckland, but our feeling is to stay local, at least with the first purchase. The tax incentives seem to be greater if we are able to 'drive by' to check the property every so often. I guess this could enable us to extend the area we consider down to Hamilton.

What is the ideal yield figure. I've seen 8% or 9% as the target to aim for. Using the yearly rental figure divided into the purchase cost, I have actually seen properties of 15 and 16% yield. Is this the right formula to use or am I going wrong?

We have a meeting with our own mortgage broker to discuss the whole approach next week so should be a lot clearer then, I hope.

Thanks in advance for any valuable advice offered.

toffee.