Ballarat

hi guys, i am planning on buying my first investment in the coming months and have been looking around ballarat.
i notice a lot of older houses on large blocks and am wondering if anyone has any experience developing large blocks in the area with say 1 or 2 units to the rear of existing house, or even knocking house down and building new units?
What areas are council more likely to approve such development?
Thanks
 
i Just got a rates notice for my property, $1100 odd, which was expected,

but also got a quarterly watter/wastewater access fee of $305!!

is this correct?? I was told by council that water was like $400 for the year,

makes the returns very poor based on a $170k purchase price
 
i Just got a rates notice for my property, $1100 odd, which was expected,

but also got a quarterly watter/wastewater access fee of $305!!

is this correct?? I was told by council that water was like $400 for the year,

makes the returns very poor based on a $170k purchase price

Looks right according to this

http://www.chw.net.au/CHW/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=499&Itemid=

Maybe they only told you the water access fee and not the waste water?
 
i Just got a rates notice for my property, $1100 odd, which was expected,

but also got a quarterly watter/wastewater access fee of $305!!

is this correct?? I was told by council that water was like $400 for the year,

makes the returns very poor based on a $170k purchase price


Yep that Central Highlands Water for you! I wish we could pass these wastewater/ access fees directly to the tenant. They have to pay elec, gas & phone access so why not water? Rents haven't increased as much as CHW rates have.
 
I just got a postal balot form for the local council elections, and a couple of form letters from the candidates addressed to a 'non residing rate payer'. Never had this before, and I own two in ballarat, so I wonder if I get 2 votes?....
 
have been looking at ballarat in Soldiers Hill,any thoughts?

Soldiers Hill is one of the best pockets in Ballarat.

It has quite a good socioeconomic mix compared other areas ie Sebas, Redan, Delcombe.

It also has one the lowest rates of unemployment in Ballarat.

With beautiful streetscapes, good consistency of period architecture and close to Ballarat Central you can’t go wrong, providing you buy at the right price.

Vacancy rates in Ballarat are circa 1%. I purchased a few properties in Ballarat last year and I have increased rents between $15 - $25 p/w per property, while my Melbourne properties remained flat from a rent perspective!

Very happy with the performance of Ballarat– was a little sceptical about investing regional as I have only stuck to major cities, however I have come to discover that there is quite a large trend in people relocating to large regional cities. Check out latest ABS stats which also supports this

I also noticed that REIV published its September median house price numbers. The qrtly changes were quite interesting:

• Melbourne: +1%
• Geelong: - 6.1%
• Bendigo: -2%
• Ballarat: +1.8%

Given Ballarat’s low entry point compared to other major cities, I think there is quite a bit of scope for Capital Growth, particularly once the pipeline of major infrastructure project (which currently are a WIP, eg regional rail link, Hospital expansion, BWEZ) are completed.

Good luck with your search.
 
Soldiers Hill is a great area. Walking distance to the lake and to the train station. Nice streetscapes. I think the area is under valued.
 
What makes Ballarat special compared to Geelong or Bendigo? Lower entry price?

Given Geelong fell 6% in the previous quarter, it may be worth having a look there too.
 
What makes Ballarat special compared to Geelong or Bendigo? Lower entry price?

Given Geelong fell 6% in the previous quarter, it may be worth having a look there too.

Correct, lower entry price, lower, vacancy rates and better yields with comparable growth rates.

Also, the local economies are quite different
 
For those of you who have invested in Ballarat would you mind explaining why? I am familiar with the area as my parents live there and kept an eye on the area.

The houses sub 250k usually need restump, kitchen, bathroom so there is little depreciation benefits. And the rent is usually 250 pw or less. Which is roughly a 5% return. But after rates, water, PM fees etc it is less than 5%. I am also presuming the maintenance to be higher - painting weatherboards, replacing guttering, old plumbing etc

To get a higher rent you can reno but for example sake the 20k reno makes the house cost you 270k and the rent is only slightly higher? 20k doesn't fix the major problems an old house has.

So when you buy these houses - how do you approach it? Maintain it enough to keep it tenable? Hope the stumps last 10 years? Hold on until it doubles in value? I am not criticising peoples choices here I would like to understand the approach and method.
 
For those of you who have invested in Ballarat would you mind explaining why? I am familiar with the area as my parents live there and kept an eye on the area.

The houses sub 250k usually need restump, kitchen, bathroom so there is little depreciation benefits. And the rent is usually 250 pw or less. Which is roughly a 5% return. But after rates, water, PM fees etc it is less than 5%. I am also presuming the maintenance to be higher - painting weatherboards, replacing guttering, old plumbing etc

To get a higher rent you can reno but for example sake the 20k reno makes the house cost you 270k and the rent is only slightly higher? 20k doesn't fix the major problems an old house has.

So when you buy these houses - how do you approach it? Maintain it enough to keep it tenable? Hope the stumps last 10 years? Hold on until it doubles in value? I am not criticising peoples choices here I would like to understand the approach and method.


i'd also love to hear some opinions on these questions. Ballarat looks good for an entry level IP but im not sure for the same reasons listed above
 
i'd also love to hear some opinions on these questions. Ballarat looks good for an entry level IP but im not sure for the same reasons listed above

Not sure which parts of Ballarat you’re looking at, as I wouldn’t touch anything with the numbers mentioned in your post.

I purchased a 3 bedroom Victorian in Ballarat central last year for $240K spent $13K on a cosmetic reno – kitchen, bathroom, paint, floors and is now renting for $330 p/w.

Really comes down to the property and how well you buy. This will greatly influence whether CG can be manufactured through adding value and whether it is feasible to do so.

The propositions mentioned in your email appear to be behind the eight ball from day one so you might want to look at other parts of Ballarat and different products.

Also, the entry point into Ballarat is quite modest compared other regional centres eg Geelong’s median $473K (source API Sept 12).

Geelong’s been a great success story in the regional space given its proximity to Melbourne. As Ballarat is the 2nd closest major regional centre to Melb and as people get priced out of Geelong, I believe it will have a spill over effect on Ballarat which is already occurring.
 
Hi Jetstream

Would you mind sharing the street the property is in and what the rent was before you did the reno or PM me. What sort of improvements did you make?
 
Hi Chaos,

Happy to share the streets I bought in: Humffray St North, Drummond St North and Shirley St (Wendouree).

The renovation I did wasn't structural, new kitchen and appliances, tiles, new bathroom - shower, vanity, tiles, painting throughout and floorboards.

Happy for you to drop me a PM if you want to know specifics as I'm happy to share the knowledge.

Good luck!
 
Had to revive an old post (I cant start a post or cant find option to start a new post)
I recently visited Ballarat and was very impressed with what I saw.
I am now looking to buy an IP somewhere in the Ballarat area with the option to relocate to the area in the future.
I was wondering what the current market is like, is it a buyers/ sellers market?
I have a budget of approx. $280,000, and like the areas of "old" Alfredton, Newington, redan (parts closer to Newington). But also open to suggestions.
I like decent sized blocks (say around 600sqm) and love the older post war double/ triple fronted brick houses.
Any feedback/ comment would be greatly appreciated :D
 
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