Advise me please (or dont) :-)

angelus512

angelus512

Hello all. I've been a bit of a lurker on this forum for a while flitting from topic to topic and I've learnt a little and all your advise has been very interesting to read.

In advance apologies as this topic is going to be very selfish as I really just need to pool all your collective advise to my individual situation.
Special mention to Jake Milne as I've read a number of his posts over various threads and he appears to give quite solid advise.

I would like to buy (first home) in the coming 1-4 months but I am completely torn about what to do.
My dad favours buying a property like this one
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-vic-cheltenham-118057423

Which sold prior to its auction. I inspected it and it was definitely a nice place. My budget in mind is likely no further than about 430,000 AUD however.

Another place/complex I liked but was not at all convinced on the price(s) was Kingston Park Apartments in Highett
http://www.realestate.com.au/project-kingston+park+apartments,+highett-vic-highett-600001963

A 1 bedroom apartment on or near the top floor with an acceptable view over parkland was going for about 485K

My other area of interest has been in the Western Suburbs (Altona+Altona Meadows) as given its proximity to the city, the fact you can get free standing houses that are actually on land and its all still relatively reasonable priced makes me think it has the greater potential.

However I currently live in Edithvale and my parents in Beaumaris and I've always lived in the SE or near surrounds and overall the SE simply has better infrastructure+facilities etc.

I'm looking to get some opinions to guide me to making a better decision than one I would make just by myself or with the limited advice of my dad.

I am curious if people see any value in those Kingston Park Apartments as I do like them. 10 minutes walk to Southland, 10minutes walk the other direction to Highett station.
They've wired the building with Opticomm and had the brains to actually install ducted A/C (small things I know but overall it just speaks to the build intelligence).

Overall I guess my intention is to buy a first home but with the possibility of not always living there in the future and maybe renting it out to somebody else.
Hence why the apartments attract.

But my dad's central argument which he repeats frequently is he has a very dim view of apartments because they do not have their own portion of land.
In the SE I will have to buy an apartment/unit due to price constraints but his line of thinking is that a unit like the one in Cheltenham (linked earlier in the post) is the better way to go as it actually sits on land and an apartment does not.

Its worth noting that the unit in cheltenham is on an 18 unit development with body corporate and it has 1 common wall with another unit.

In short.....educate me please :D
 
angelus512 said:
Overall I guess my intention is to buy a first home but with the possibility of not always living there in the future and maybe renting it out to somebody else.
Hence why the apartments attract.

But my dad's central argument which he repeats frequently is he has a very dim view of apartments because they do not have their own portion of land.
Click to expand...

I agree with your dad. The unit can still make a very attractive investment (esp if it has yard etc)

ALSO:

What is the OC costs for the flash apartments? If it is only estimates at this stage, double it.

New apartments have their share of excitement (problems) - have a look for posts regarding OTP

The Y-man
 
I think that high-rise apartment is amazing. I'd buy the other one and rent the high-rise to live in. Best of both worlds.

(Actually, I'd buy a house with land in the best position your money will stretch to, rent it out and rent somewhere nice for myself. I've never done that, but if I was starting out, that is what I'd do.)
 
The Y-man said:
If it's centralised AC, it can add significantly to the OC maintenance fund.

The Y-man
Click to expand...

Yes its centralized with the units on the very top of the building. Having said that I'm a bit of an OCD person around A/C related issues as I'm quite sensitive to the heat.

Too many builders create apartments with a (too small) split system stuck dab in the lounge room and the bedrooms are often snaked away somewhere else not in line of sight.
So whilst the lounge room is cool enough the bedrooms remain furnaces.

I could never understand how so many builders ignore the fact that when you go to sleep is when you want it cool.....

Hence my love of central air.
 
Also not sure if I'm including this correctly but for Kingston Park they left me a sheet with Budget Proposed.
It was 272,940 for one of the buildings as a total.
And on the other side of the sheet it has quarterly costs for various Lot Numbers. but the quarterly costs from what I can gather run from 450 to 650
 
Why not look at Edithvale? or do you not like living there? Some good houses still for sale, might stretch your budget a bit, more in the region of 500-550.

I agree with your Dad too, I grew up close to Weatherall Rd, that unit is in a pretty good spot, though perhaps a bit far from the station if you're commuting daily to the CBD. It's on the border of Beaumaris too.

Wouldn't go near the Nepean Hwy Highett units, owners corp would be a killer plus not sure it's the right product for the area. Do people really want high rise apartment living that far out from the city?
 
simtr said:
Why not look at Edithvale? or do you not like living there? Some good houses still for sale, might stretch your budget a bit, more in the region of 500-550.

I agree with your Dad too, I grew up close to Weatherall Rd, that unit is in a pretty good spot, though perhaps a bit far from the station if you're commuting daily to the CBD. It's on the border of Beaumaris too.

Wouldn't go near the Nepean Hwy Highett units, owners corp would be a killer plus not sure it's the right product for the area. Do people really want high rise apartment living that far out from the city?
Click to expand...

A) Edithvale is quite nice but I'd prefer to move up further. Its an area I look in from time to time but so far nothing has grabbed me within my price range. Which is 430K I simply can't go beyond that.

B) Regards your question about high rise apartments far out from the city....they've been jumping up all over the place in Mentone, Edithvale, Highett, Cheltenham etc so I would say yes. I was also interested to note the apartments in Highett were (so they said) 80% owner occupied. Said it was mostly folks who lived in highett already who sold their existing properties and moved to the units.
 
TMNT said:
how much is that one with the balcony, looks pretty darn nice!
Click to expand...

That showcase one? Thats about 780K. It looks swish but in my opinion no wonder they haven't sold it. Look to the right and straight ahead. It has a huge cavernous lounge room that is in full view of the other 2 apartment blocks.

Voyeurs paradise.

If you scroll down further you'll see the various other apartments they have and the prices.
For what I consider acceptable (looking at parkland or something that ISNT another neighbour) the prices are about 450-485k
 
angelus512 said:
Yes its centralized with the units on the very top of the building. Having said that I'm a bit of an OCD person around A/C related issues as I'm quite sensitive to the heat.

Too many builders create apartments with a (too small) split system stuck dab in the lounge room and the bedrooms are often snaked away somewhere else not in line of sight.
So whilst the lounge room is cool enough the bedrooms remain furnaces.

I could never understand how so many builders ignore the fact that when you go to sleep is when you want it cool.....

Hence my love of central air.
Click to expand...

As long as central = all rooms. My flat (Victoria Point, Melb Docklands) has central aircon - chilled water (metered) fed through a bulkhead fan coil unit in the living room. The selling agent made a big thing of it being built in and not an el-cheapo split system with box sitting on the balcony as CE do, and I failed to note that it serves the lounge only not the bedroom. A second fan coil at build time would probably have cost $1000; am now looking at a retrofit and contractor has said not economic, just extend the lounge duct to a grille in the bed - so overnight I'd be cooling the whole place, not just bedroom <sigh>
 
Tony3008 said:
As long as central = all rooms. My flat (Victoria Point, Melb Docklands) has central aircon - chilled water (metered) fed through a bulkhead fan coil unit in the living room. The selling agent made a big thing of it being built in and not an el-cheapo split system with box sitting on the balcony as CE do, and I failed to note that it serves the lounge only not the bedroom. A second fan coil at build time would probably have cost $1000; am now looking at a retrofit and contractor has said not economic, just extend the lounge duct to a grille in the bed - so overnight I'd be cooling the whole place, not just bedroom <sigh>
Click to expand...

Serves all rooms. There are ducts in the roof (maybe can be seen in the pics on RE.com.au as well.
Duct in lounge, bedroom and bath.

I'm curious though if people think the prices for Kingston Park are appropriate in their view and what ARE the benefits of buying an apartment?
Versus say a similarly priced old 1980's brick unit thats been reno'd in a body corp block?

Also in their spec's list I can't seem to find any talk about sound insulation but the thermal is supposidly.
R1.5 for walls and R3.5 for roof if anybody has a view on that? Google gives me mixed messages.
 
Last edited:
What's your plan for the next few years
Family?

If not then I would buy a house on a decent sized block - 600 would be a minimum, could be developable in future

Then just rent where you want to live.
 
Apartments have done really well in Sydney for the last 6 or 7 years because they're cheaper! They've been out-stripped by houses now that the boom is here but will no doubt have their time again.
Probably it will be the same in Melbourne - though I keep reading that there may be an over-supply.
I would guess that a unit with a little piece of land could be a good idea.
If you were going to get an apartment, I agree with your dad: I like the first one. It has a courtyard and is north facing. Apartments are all about air-flow and light. You have to find ones with the windows and doors that open and allow the air to flow from one side right through to the opposite side. This one doesn't look like it has enough windows in the picture but when you read it, it has a courtyard. Hopefully there are more windows elsewhere.
I like the 2nd one too.
 
I also forgot to ask when buying direct from the developer what are people's opinions on the % movement on price?
I assume buying from the developer is a bit more flexible. There is an apartment for 470k for example that is very nice but i would need that to ideally be 30k or 20k less...
 
I spent my teenage years at Edithvale beach. It was a daggy little suburb back then. Things have changed.

An apartment is an apartment--whether you're on the ground floor or on the second floor. The link you showed does not show the ground floor apartment as having any land attached to it anyway. My personal view would be to get a house with some land on it. Buy something structurally sound, even if it's not aesthetically pleasing. I don't know how handy you are, but you may be able to add value to it and fixing it to your liking. Another possibility is buying an old house on a block and subdividing it down the track.

Have you checked on the body corp fees on the apartment that you like? Sometimes they are hefty.

Ultimately, it is you who has to live in it. Is your dad experienced in property investment? If he is, listen to him.
 
Last edited:
Land will always win

It can't be replicated
Apartments can

Units are ok
But not as good as a whole block because you can't really add much value to your investment, your relying on capital gains

Just think - you buy a 600 block in the west near some amenities. If it's in the right spot one day you should be able to build a few units on the block

I'm not a fan of the west but I think as the population grows it may outperform the already very price south and east

I think the north is a bit out of your budget, except for say epping lalor
 
angelus512 said:
Also not sure if I'm including this correctly but for Kingston Park they left me a sheet with Budget Proposed.
It was 272,940 for one of the buildings as a total.
And on the other side of the sheet it has quarterly costs for various Lot Numbers. but the quarterly costs from what I can gather run from 450 to 650
Click to expand...

Like I said, double it to be sure.

The Y-man
 
angelus512 said:
I also forgot to ask when buying direct from the developer what are people's opinions on the % movement on price?
I assume buying from the developer is a bit more flexible. There is an apartment for 470k for example that is very nice but i would need that to ideally be 30k or 20k less...
Click to expand...

Depends how desperate they are.

Also, who is doing the build? Where are their previous projects (not the developer!)?
The noise insulation is a huge issue - and you can't tell until you move in. Not just from neighbours but the traffic nearby.

The Y-man
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
SE Melb - best value up to $720K? 600sqm land
Replies
1
Views
1K
strongy1986
S
Beelzebub
Melbourne 2030 changing demographics and the unit boom
Replies
2
Views
1K
Beelzebub
Beelzebub
J
Is this a crazy idea? Advice wanted...
Replies
10
Views
4K
INVSTOR
I
J
Great apartment, crap location (Melbourne CBD) - advice needed
Replies
19
Views
3K
jerrybee
J
S
Newbie Here - looking for Advice
Replies
10
Views
3K
smokyjoe
S
Back
Top