From delivering property investment finance strategies to trusted property partner.

We welcome you to Portfolios. When it comes to property investment and finance you can rely on us as a great source of knowledge, real life wisdom, cutting edge information as well as a sound community base of active property people to help you grow your property portfolio.

With Portfolios - Property... Make it Happen

For more than a year, Portfolios has had an alliance with McGrath Real Estate Agents and their mortgage broking arm Oxygen Home Loans. In conjunction with them we provide services throughout the Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Port Macquarie regions.
We get access to John McGrath and his views on property and we thought that this market review for Winter 2011 will be of interest to you. Let us know your feedback. Happy reading!

Click here to read McGrath Market Review Winter 2011.

FREE For a limited time!

Get along to this seminar – we know it will help you with your property investment aspirations.

Great News!
The team from Renovating For Profit are speaking LIVE in upcoming events in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne & Perth with the fantastic team at Think And Grow Rich.
Make no mistake, the wealthiest people in the world have generally made their fortunes via property. If you’re someone who believes that property is the way to wealth, then you’ll certainly love Stuart Zadel’s Property Entrepeneur’s Conference where you’ll hear from a number of Australia’s top property experts including us.

The team from Renovating For Profit are speaking LIVE in upcoming events in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne & Perth with the fantastic team at Think And Grow Rich.

This Property Pays You – Roma Qld Property of the Month
We’ve scoured the Australian investment property market and found it, an investment property that will pay you from day one.
Roma in South Western Queensland is a small town offering big opportunities with high rental yield and good capital growth potential.
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Now with a positively geared property to add to your portfolio you could build on your strategy to pay off your mortgage sooner. Roma offers the benefits of long term growth and high rental yields. A well connected town, the urban centre is also a regional hub boasting schools, retail and other essential community services. Roma also has a relatively low unemployment rate of around 3% with property occupancy rates below 1%
With a population around 7,000 people, Roma is also located in the Suarat Basin in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland approximately 480kms WNW from Brisbane. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways and is the centre of a rich pastoral and wheat-growing district.
The local agriculture industry is worth approximately $620 million annually, 64.3% being generated from crops. 58.7% of businesses in the Maranoa are in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which employs 32.7% of the region’s workforce.
But the industry mix is changing.  The “mining boom” is creating towns that are producing exceptional
rent and capital growth. The Queensland Resource Council estimates more than 18,000 new jobs will be created in coal seam, gas and LNG industries and another 23,000 in the minerals sector.
Since 1906 natural gas from the local area was used for lighting in Roma. The industry is now expanding exponentially, particularly with coal seam gas.
Origin Energy’s Spring Gully Coal Seam Gas Development is located about 80 km north of Roma and its projects include an 87 km gas pipeline to Roma’s neighbour town of Wallumbilla, Queensland to connect with the 434 km Roma-to-Brisbane gas pipeline hub there.
The Proposed Spring Gully Power Station is an $870 Million, 1000MW power station will provide electricity to South-East Queensland.
If you prefer positively geared property to balance out your portfolio, contact us quickly as there are a limited number of these properties available. In the fields below leave your name and phone number – this will be sent to our private server and we will be in contact.
Add Roma to your portfolio today.

This Property Pays You – Roma Qld Property of the Month

We’ve scoured the Australian investment property market and found it, an investment property that will pay you from day one.

Roma in South Western Queensland is a small town offering big opportunities with high rental yield and good capital growth potential.

We are constantly being asked why we put so much of a focus on Queensland when there are great deals around the country in property investment.
Ar Portfolios we scour the entire Australian property investment market, and will be bringing some properties in other areas soon.
In this article we will show you why Queensland show great potential in property investment and why we have chosen to offer such a large proportion of our property selection here.
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Firstly you will you note that all Portfolios Property is measured against our strict property selection criteria. In selecting these properties only properties scoring more than 15 out of 20 even make our short list, with the majority of our offering being 18 or above. See our previous article on property selection.
When we show you Queensland’s benefits, perhaps you might ask yourself – when looking at your potential investment – whether the area you are investing in stacks up.
What About Queensland?
The real Gross Domestic Product growth in Queensland is the highest in the country. When placed on the international stage, GDP in Queensland even out performs global competitors like UK, USA and Japan. This is staggering for one state. Much of this is on the back of the resources sector but there is also heavy expenditure right across the state in infrastructure.
Following on from above, Queensland is home to the largest public infrastructure spending program in Australia’s history. You only have to take a drive through Brisbane to see the massive expenditure taking place, but outside of the metro areas ports, roads and rail are being constantly upgraded to meet the growing market.
Queensland is home to a growing young and entrepreneurial workforce fueled by numerous world-class educational institutions. In step with this is Australia’s fastest growing consumer market, being buoyed by the relatively young affluent population. Not to be outdone many parts of Queensland are experience growth in the retirement market with favourable climate and low cost of living.
In terms of trade and economy, Queensland has the 2nd highest number of international arrivals into Australia behind Sydney. The East Coast now known as Australia’s trade coast – connects Queensland to global markets (through many ports including Gladstone, Cairns) There are over 127,000 businesses and the number is growing daily.
Queensland has been ranked by KPMG as one of the world’s mos cost-competitive locations. With the fastest growing population in Australia – major domestic inward migration – as well as from outside Australia, it is unlikely property prices will stop growing in the near future.
So there you have it – we believe Queensland is a great market for property investors. We encourage you to consider your next investment in Queensland and as always are happy to discuss your unique requirements and investment strategy to help your investment property portfolio grow.

We are constantly being asked why we put so much of a focus on Queensland when there are great deals around the country in property investment.

At Portfolios we scour the entire Australian property investment market, and will be bringing other property opportunities from other states, but it is true, we have seen the most potential to date in Queensland.

In this article we will show you why Queensland show great potential in property investment and why we have chosen to offer such a large proportion of our property selection here.

Read Now Or Ready Later? What’s Your Preference?
There is much terminology surrounding the housing sector.
This month we take a brief look at investment properties that can be purchased off the plan and those that are turn-key that is ready to move into.
Which is better? We look at the pros and cons of both.
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Off the plan properties, usually a sales method found in apartment developments, have typically not yet been built. The purchaser is literally buying an apartment “off the plan” based on perhaps a completed prototype or even on the developers history in the development game.
On the other hand a turn-key property is as the name implies, ready to “turn the key” and move in.
It is important to note that in both cases we are talking about new properties yet to be lived in – although turn key does technically apply to any property ready for tenants.
Off The Plan
So lets look at the pros and cons of off the plan first.
Pros:
- you secure a property at today’s prices with minimal cash in (sometimes as low as $1000) and dont have to worry about mortgage repayments for some time – or any other cost for that matter – BUT – you also dont have income from a tenant
- depending on lead time (some as long as 18 months) you could experience substantial capital growth and sell for a profit at time of completion
- You can sometimes determine basic inclusions and colours – usually from a set range so you may have the opportunity to connect with the market better than your developer
- You are gurranteed the property will be brand new and fresh.
Cons:
- there is a risk that a decline in the property market could spell trouble for values and a drop in your LVR. You may not be able to finance the full loan.
- in conjunction with property values, the rental yeild of the property may have falling since
- The developer is only as good as their last project – you need to be sure that the quality of construction and fitout will be in keeping with the price you are paying and the market your development will be aimed at.
- Buying off the plan can be difficult for someone who does not visualise well – being clear on what you are getting, sense of space and functionality will be important.
- you could start paying your mortgage long before a tenant moves in – sometimes the builders work on a progressive scale of work completion – particularly if you are building a house for investment. You could be paying your mortgage months before a tenant moves in. Generally though in apartments you do not start paying the mortgage until the development is completed.
Turn Key
Turn key properties are ready to be tenanted immediately. You will notice that properties listed by Portfolios Property are always turnkey.
Pros:
- You can start your investment cycle almost immediately. Once you have settled you can start earning money from tenants. The only issue is getting the first tenants in – we advise you to work with local agents during the exchange phase to ensure a tenant is ready when the mortgage repayments start.
- Turn key properties in many states attract stamp duty concessions – you need to check in your local state – stamp duty concessions can wipe thousands off the purchase costs.
- You can see what you are getting in terms of investment – you can go through the normal process of getting a building inspections and of course take advantage of the maintenance period of the new property from the builder.
There are not a lot of cons with the turnkey option – at the end of the day you get to choose the property that best suits your situation and market and with the assistance of Portfolios can even look at how the investment plays out over the coming years.
We look forward to being able to work with you to make property investment happen.

Ready Now Or Ready Later? What’s Your Preference?

This month we take a brief look at investment properties purchased off the plan and those that are turn-key.

Which is better? We take a look at the pros and cons of both.