An interview with Kathryn D

[Rockstar]

Thanks for sharing Kathryn,

Very different strategy to us though I can see a lot of similarities with our situation. ie:

Living simply
Property in own names
Buying property in our own area
Finding a niche and repeating successful formula
Not great business planning (working on this)
Hubby/Wife team
Don't invest in shares, etc.

Grateful for your continuing input to SS forum.

 

[kathryn d]

Mobile homes would be similar to transportable homes here. Ours are the older models and are generally 14'x60' in size.Newer models are $100k+
The first one we paid $21k for our daughter. (3 bedroom)
The little one bedroom was 11K (1 bedroom)
The last one we bought was 10K ( 3 bedroom)

We pay $170 month each for them to stay in the mobile home park. This only includes cold water. No electricty. They do not permit small caravans or short term stays.

It is getting harder and harder to find a mobile home park that will permit these older mobiles. We can easily buy them for $5k but we have no where to move them to. We tried to buy land to set up our own park,but the regulations are too costly. We can buy single plots of land, and then add water and sewer etc, which we have considered.
Here's one, just a few mobiles from ours listed.http://truro.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAdLargeImage?AdId=425084488 Notice they have a nice TV...instead of putting on a new roof

The "4 on the block" are grandfathered claused in. If one needs to be replaced, it can't be any larger than the original one. We aren't permitted to do this on another piece of land, the limit is 2 mobiles (I think)

In Canada, we are not permitted to have negative gearing, as a long term stategy. For us it is essential everything is CF+. If we have too many deductions, they are carried forward.
Capital Gains takes a lot longer in our area.

The ugly mobile on it's own land was $20k. We paid the owner $1k month, for 20 months at no interest.All the while we are renting it out for $750 month, with no maintenance or repairs. In 10 years, if tenant doesn't default, he will own the property. We will have made $60k+ profit.

If we do nothing, except pay off our current mortgages in the next 15-20 yrs, we will be collecting $25k a month- less rates,maintenace,insurance etc.That's when we hit official pension age.

If anyone bought 4 cheap mobiles in a mobile home park, paid them off, they could essentially quit work, assuming they are on a basic wage.

There are pictures of our properties on our website, if you are interested.
58E Dominion is where we live now...cozy
94 Peppard was our family home...we downsized a lot
www.dockreyapartments.com Just click on the boxes to see pics

 

[Ed Barton]

Here's one, just a few mobiles from ours listed.http://truro.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAdLargeImage?AdId=425084488 Notice they have a nice TV...instead of putting on a new roof

I like how the external door has a ~ 1m drop to the ground with no stairs.

If that was oz there would be a cop car, a gaggle of safety inspectors and two high court judges descending on the place quick smart.

Are safety regulations more relaxed in Canada?

 

[kathryn d]

I like how the external door has a ~ 1m drop to the ground with no stairs.

If that was oz there would be a cop car, a gaggle of safety inspectors and two high court judges descending on the place quick smart.

Are safety regulations more relaxed in Canada?

It is considered an emergency exit door, and are rarely used.
It has be off the ground a certain height before it is required (not sure of height)
We have added doorsteps on ours, when a tenant has asked for one.

 

[redwing]

http://www.squidoo.com/most-expensive-motorhomes



Note: I think the Palazzo is an ugly piece of $%!#@
I'd be happy with the Newmar or Monaco.

The Y-man

The Aussie version would be

 

[devank]

I visited Canada in 2005. I thought Canada was a larger scale of Australia. I could find many similarities. Now, I'm amazed how our worlds (Aus & Canada) are different when you look a bit deeper.
Thank you very much for sharing your brilliant story.

 

[redwing]

Just thinking about some of the caravan parks here that have provided cash flow in the early years and then many years later have been turned into profitable development sites

 

[EstateCentral]

The idea about getting cashflows from mobile homes is fascinating even though it's all new to me. I'm not sure how viable it is to copy the same strategy in Australia.

Is it hard to rent out? given that it's in a caravan park, a bit isolated and it's a mobile home.

What are the demographics of tenants in mobile homes?

 

[kathryn d]

The idea about getting cashflows from mobile homes is fascinating even though it's all new to me. I'm not sure how viable it is to copy the same strategy in Australia.

Is it hard to rent out? given that it's in a caravan park, a bit isolated and it's a mobile home.

What are the demographics of tenants in mobile homes?

In our mobile home parks, there are usually 100-300 mobiles in the park.
They are just on the outskirts of the town. Many are owner-occupiers.The newer models can cost about the same as an older basic house, which is on it's own land. ($100K+). Personally, I'd rather any older house, but some people like everything new.

Owners are usually regular waged workers. Sometimes their partner works.Buying is cheaper than renting....if you can qualify for the loan.

In the wintertime they are more difficult to rent because of the cost of heating. This is why we try to have our leases end in summer.

 

[EstateCentral]

Thank you Kathryn for giving some more insightful information.

I am still new to property investing, so I need to do more research to find different ways to find positive cash flow properties here in Australia
especially in Sydney. I found it hard to find one for many reasons. I have neither the time to travel far every Saturday for house hunting,
nor a big deposit to find an under-valued house in a high rental demand area.

 

[MIW]

I have been away for a while but I think those interviews will always bring me back in.
It is amazing how creative you are so thank you for sharing your story!
I have noticed that I am unable to help our family or dear friends when it comes to investing into property, yet by meeting new people in the last 3 years and talking to them (a school mum and a newsagent I shop at) managed each to invest just the last quarter.
Perhaps you too find that when you talk to and deal with people? I agree if a person is not open minded or is biased from the start it would be pretty hard to invest, right?

 

[kathryn d]

I have been away for a while but I think those interviews will always bring me back in.
It is amazing how creative you are so thank you for sharing your story!
I have noticed that I am unable to help our family or dear friends when it comes to investing into property, yet by meeting new people in the last 3 years and talking to them (a school mum and a newsagent I shop at) managed each to invest just the last quarter.
Perhaps you too find that when you talk to and deal with people? I agree if a person is not open minded or is biased from the start it would be pretty hard to invest, right?

Thank you for reading it, and the kind words.
I think people need to have the right mindset. Property investing is not for the faint of heart. It can all go wrong very quickly, and at times it did for us.

I just keep thinking it will get better...and it does.
Just as we get one vacancy filled, another pops up....
or we are forced to evict someone.

Good luck on your journey