What would you do in our situation?

[prometheia]

I'm looking for inspiration. We've got 8 empty fully serviced sections and a house in West Auckland. Debt level is 35%. Our income is average (<120k). What would you do in our situation in the current market?

[DaveW]

I would build and sell, one at a time.

[MargVan]

I would sell the sections one at a time. The money is in the land. Building is both a cost and a time drag on your finances. If you want rental properties, however, I'd sell the house, then build 1-2 rentals (as many as I could afford at a time), rent and start again. Or a combination of the two - sell sections to release cash, use this to build rentals. But unless the house is up to both building code and the higher rental code, I'd sell this first.

[Rosco]

Hi

1) can you do leasehold on the sections? Just something to consider. Someone else builds a house, and pays you a ground rent. Gets reviewed every so many years. Expires in X years, at which point you could take back the property

2) What are the tax implications of selling the sections? Also GST?

3) Most likely I would do a combination of selling some sections and building some rentals, but you need to investigate all the numbers first, to see which is best for you and also which is possible.

Ross

[Beano]

I'm looking for inspiration. We've got 8 empty fully serviced sections and a house in West Auckland. Debt level is 35%. Our income is average (<120k). What would you do in our situation in the current market?

Are they on Lincoln Rd by central tce where the new "Ikea type " superstore is being built ?

[DaveW]

Building to rent would consume more finance than building to sell. You can sell off the plans, or near completion, but with rentals you need to landscape, curtains, furnish, etc.. Often a developer sells first and then may decide to keep the last 1 or 2 as a rental.
I gather you are not a builder. So just take one step at a time and do your due diligence. Get a plan from a subcontractor and price incl permits, and also ask an agent how much it would be worth complete. Do the high level maths.
To fund the project you can ask for a developers loan so that money will be released at each stage, including for covering the interest payments.
Also research how much to sell the sections vacant and compare the two approaches.

[donna]

Yeah I'd say sell the lot as land only unless you reckon you've got the stomach for development. It's no picnic but with the right support and advice can be rewarding. I'd say just don't go it alone. There are experts out there they are worth paying for their consultation etc. e.g. Matthew Gilligan is a seasoned property developer, property investor AKL based etc.

cheers,

Donna

[Nick G]

Relocate 8 houses on there and hire a builder to go around fixing them up for a few months.