I'm a great fan of property and used to post regularly on these treads in days goen by. But today - its a different story. I've been thinking about getting back into rentals having lost mine a few years back. But no matter how I try I cant get teh numbers to stack up. So in that context



Quote Originally Posted by samdaman View Post
- What types of properties have the best capital appreciation I can't find info on the capital gains by property type i.e flats, apartments, freehold sections etc. I don't want to over estimate this value in my calculations.

I don't see there being any serious capital appreciation in the residential property market for some time. I reckon we are now coming off highs here we wll see a flat lining with a major risk of depreciation in some areas (take Rolleston as an example of near where I live - wouldn't touch it with a barge pole)

Quote Originally Posted by samdaman View Post
- Costs for buying and selling property like realtor and legal fees. I've never bought a house so I don't know how much fees to account for.
Real estate commission 3.5% of sale give or take + plus what ever they try to rip you off by going to auction. $1 - $2,000 legal fees. Depends on complexity of transaction. I always sel lmy own propery and keep it simple. Add to this tax as you are very clearly thinking of being a trader wanting to make money on trade rather than investment. So loose 33% of any gain

Quote Originally Posted by samdaman View Post
- Any other traps for new players.

Some of the traps are shown above. The other one is considering property as your only investment vehicle. I already have my own home so well placed in "property" (and yes I do see this as a valid part of an asset portfolio). I'm moving belatedly back into shares as I see much better opportunity there. If you are looking at traps shares are great. You cant easily see your house depreciation - with shares you can so can trigger a sell at a moments notice. You cant sell property instantly. With shares you can - minimising potential loss (I've just set up a second share portfolio. In a month its up 6.9%. I'll be happy if its up 10% in a year)