Home invasions linked to short stay rentals on the rise

Post to Facebook on 12/11/2018 at 5:00 PM
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https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/home-invasions-linked-to-short-stay-rentals-on-the-rise-20181213-p50m2m.html

Posted to The Age (13/12/2018) on 13/12/2018
Commenting on "Home invasions linked to short stay rentals on the rise"
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/home-invasions-linked-to-short-stay-rentals-on-the-rise-20181213-p50m2m.html

Some apartments are for really short term stay, even shorter than Airbnb. You guess it right, they are leased out for quickies.

The owners corp MUST ban apartments for leasing out as Airbnb or short term stay, because leasing of residential apartments is under the jurisdiction of Residential Tenancy Act.

Airbnb should be considered as a commercial concern, and to that end, owners corp should step in, and apartment owners conducting Airbnb business should be responsible and liable to pay for financial loss and pain and suffering of those that have tormented by home invasion.

Thank you for reading.

RBA and ASIC call for enhanced financial literacy for young Australian

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https://www.domain.com.au/money-markets/rba-and-asic-call-for-enhanced-financial-literacy-for-young-australians-790902/

What is financial literacy and how much does one need to understand in order to be literate financially?

Financial literacy is the possession of the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial resources.

In order to make informed and effective decisions, we need information and tools.

There are so much relevant and irrelevant financial information available in various form of media, and from seminars delivered by many self proclaimed gurus or expertS. It is difficult to differentiate between the genuine and the fake. If not careful, the hard-earned money will go down the drain or scammed by the unscrupulous scum.

Investing in real estate is similar to other investments in that it carries risks. It is difficult to eliminate all the risks, but one must try to minimise as much risks as possible. The main tools for helping one to make calculated risk is mathematics.

Many people do not understand the subject, and essentially invest their money by throwing a dart at the dart board and hope that everything will turn out fine.

Let's see whether you can answer the following questions:

What are simple, compound and nominal interest rates?
Why is it important to save at an early age?
What is the financial benefit in renting versus buying?
How long should you take to pay off their mortgage?
Should one buys an investment property before paying off the mortgage of their primary residence?

Should one take advantage of negative gearing?
What is the break-even price range for investment property used for renting?
Why is the meaning of buy within your budget or means?

What is a supply and demand curve?
What is a consumer confidence index?
Should one invest on real estate when the index is low?
What are the pros and cons in investing in overseas real estate?

Young Australians learn a lot of subjects since primary school days. Do they apply or practise what they have learnt? Does it make any difference if they are taught finance?

I taught business mathematics in foundation year for several years. It covered simple interest rate, compound interest rate, mortgage, loan repayment, depreciation, indexes, currencies, present value, break-even analysis, etc.

I also taught Advanced Diploma students Excel in preparing spreadsheets for master budget which include application of financial accounting and management accounting, decision to buy or lease, loan repayment, etc.

For two semesters, I taught Diploma students economics - supply and demand curve, trends, entrance to market, tariff, trade debit and surplus, etc.

These subjects were delivered to students at different “competency” levels. Many of them did not have thorough understanding of the subjects, and even if they did, it was likely that they would forget them after their graduation.

Unless these students found employment which required the use of such mathematics and analyses, the knowledge they acquired is likely to be buried six-foot under.

These subjects are very dry subjects, and when students do not perceive them as potentially useful, they only absorb and retain the knowledge very superficially and temporarily.

Young people do know and understand about drug and substance abuse, effect of drink driving, healthy life-style and eating, environmental pollution, climate change, etc. Why are so many still thinking that these are someone else's problems, and will not happen to them?

It is more meaningful to introduce financial literacy subjects early in the school years, a small dose at a time, and packaged in such a manner the students can digest.

In later years of schooling, these subjects may be offered as short courses, or electives for those who intend to pursue real estate investment.

I hope you understand why not only information that you need, but also have a good understanding of mathematics to help in your decision making.

Thank you for your reading.

Homes slide a serious risk to the Victorian economy

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https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/homes-slide-a-serious-risk-to-the-victorian-economy-20181129-p50j4p.html

Post to The Age (2/12/2018) on 2/12/2018
Commenting On "Homes slide a serious risk to the Victorian ecoconomy"
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/homes-slide-a-serious-risk-to-the-victorian-economy-20181129-p50j4p.html

It is always easy to be a guru or expert in hindsight. Too many people were drown in huge sum of money, including the state governments, due to housing booms in various states. They blank out the negative impact of downturns Like ostriches burying their heads in sand,

Obviously it makes good reading when dollar sign flashes across one’s face, whether the story is about boom or bust. What makes real estate reading less attractive is about the human costs, or social costs that probably outstrip any gain in the long run.

Victoria state government benefited billions over the last few years, which helped enormously in infrastructure expansion, improvevent in the safety on roads, such as removal of railway crossings, and construction of underground train stations. It is definitely a great effort, and I give my thumb-up for it.

However, good times do not last forever, and I am greatly concerned that Victorian economy will go into rail spin in the next few years, and the re-elected Labor Daniel Andrew’s government will not be able to keep all his promises, and take the state into a big Black Hole of debt. Victorians will be slaves of China, moneywise!

Homelessness does not appear overnight, and the blame is always on mental illness and drugs. Why do people suffer from mental illness or go on drugs? The latter problem is more complex, and may Not has direct link to the discussion.

Has the artificial 5% unemployment rate anything to do with mental illness? My estimation of a normalised unemployment rate is close to 15-18%.

I have witnessed several relatives and friends lost their jobs years ago. Thank goodness, they found employment and lived normally again. They went into depression, short in temper, and cried for financial help without answer.

Rates on suicide, divorce, family violence are not published regularly, but these statistics are more than likely reflect on the state of economy, and link to what the article mentioned, the downturn of real estate industry.

Mental health does not affects only the older adults, but also many Generations Y and Z and millennial. The fear of losing their jobs due to companies business decline presents a bigger stress than anything else, and the mental and psychological well-being deteriorate accordingly. The health and medical costs will drain a large chunk of the state government budget, if they really care.

I started regular Real Estate blogging since 2009, and my readers would have read about my predictions on the rise and fall of the real estate market months ahead of every of occurance. I am not Nostradamus nor a doomsayer, but a spherical thinker. Unlike many experts who concern more about macro economies here and abroad, and do not factor in micro economies of the people, the plight of the people, immigration and policies of governments.

Thank you for reading.