Bought somewhere wish we haven't

[missbehaving]

Hi, i need a bit of moral support and advice

We just bought a place, a really nice unit, great grounds, swimming pool etc, it's in a suburb one from Dulwich hill (hurlstone park), however with this crazy market we only saw it once, made an offer, pretty much signed the same day (agent kept saying loads of buyers interested etc usual stuff), it's our first house and we've been looking in eastern suburbs for ages, just accidentally found this place, not in an area we've ever been really but took a punt. Long story short we've got a rail line running at the back of our house. I reckon we've overpaid but mainly concerned about re-sell value as it's a small townhouse so we'll need to upgrade in a few years. Any ideas what can we do to make sure we do sell? ie add double glazing? Is there a chance that council or rail lines would add a noise reduction wall in between rail and our house? We're separated by a lane and a tree area, i'd say we're about 10-20m from the line but freight trains can be a nuisance (don't care so much about electrical passenger trains they hardly make any noise).

Thanks for your advice! i know we should have done more research but we're naive first time buyers, that's my excuse

I know dulwich hill is going up so hopefully it'll catch up on the hurstone park as well... We paid 10-14% more than what units in this block went in 2011-2012

 

[Giuseppe]

Hi Missbehaving,

No matter what, don't stress. Make the best of the situation and learn from it. This experience might just be the catalyst to make you really learn about property investing. in relation to the property, maybe plant some nice trees at the back where the train line is so as to disguise it somewhat. Keep the property in perfect condition and know what other properties are getting in the area. You'll be fine.

 

[depreciator]

Welcome to the inner west.
It's called 'post purchase dissonance'. Often people buy something and then have second thoughts - I feel like that after I have a Big Mac.
I don't think you can go wrong in Hurlstone Park. That village shopping centre is much better than it was a few years ago and it will keep improving. The Dulwich Hill light rail line opens soon, too.
You bought it with a train line and that would have been factored into the sale price. It's not as if the train line appeared after you moved in. When you sell, the train line will be factored into the sale price.
But perhaps you won't sell? maybe you'll move out and keep it and rent it out.
Now, relax and enjoy your new home - go and have a walk along that river.

 

[Louisianna]

Hi, i need a bit of moral support and advice

We just bought a place, a really nice unit, great grounds, swimming pool etc, it's in a suburb one from Dulwich hill (hurlstone park), however with this crazy market we only saw it once, made an offer, pretty much signed the same day (agent kept saying loads of buyers interested etc usual stuff), it's our first house and we've been looking in eastern suburbs for ages, just accidentally found this place, not in an area we've ever been really but took a punt. Long story short we've got a rail line running at the back of our house. I reckon we've overpaid but mainly concerned about re-sell value as it's a small townhouse so we'll need to upgrade in a few years. Any ideas what can we do to make sure we do sell? ie add double glazing? Is there a chance that council or rail lines would add a noise reduction wall in between rail and our house? We're separated by a lane and a tree area, i'd say we're about 10-20m from the line but freight trains can be a nuisance (don't care so much about electrical passenger trains they hardly make any noise).

Thanks for your advice! i know we should have done more research but we're naive first time buyers, that's my excuse

I know dulwich hill is going up so hopefully it'll catch up on the hurstone park as well... We paid 10-14% more than what units in this block went in 2011-2012

Can you hear the trains pass your place when you are inside the house? If you can and are sensitive to the noise (disturbs you from your sleep) then I would look at double glazing the windows.

I also agree with the earlier post and would plant some trees to hide the train line.

 

[luckyone]

If you have any inkling that you will turn this into an investment property in the future, make sure you don't contaminate your home loan by putting extra money into your loan and then redrawing in later for non-investment purposes. This will save you a lot of headaches in the future.

 

[missbehaving]

Thanks everyone.

There are quite tall trees there so you can't see the line thats why we didn't even know it was there when we came to see it. When i close the door i can't hear passenger trains only freight. Freights are not super frequent maybe 2-3 an hour and hopefully it won't increase in frequency but yeah we're looking at double glazing. At least we can't hear the planes, thats a positive i guess

 

[missbehaving]

If you have any inkling that you will turn this into an investment property in the future, make sure you don't contaminate your home loan by putting extra money into your loan and then redrawing in later for non-investment purposes. This will save you a lot of headaches in the future.

thanks, we have an offset set up so i hope could use that in the future towards our next house deposit...

 

[Louisianna]

Don't have buyers remorse. You probably went through all the pros and cons before you placed an offer on the place. Just remember the reasons why - probably it was the best place you could afford at the time - and just celebrate the fact that you have your foot on the property ladder

 

[saiman]

I bought my first place on a whim and regretted it for a while.

The 'pain' became a stepping stone for me to learn everything I need to know about property investing, formulate a strategy and have grown a decent portfolio within a 4 year period

the property in question has gained $100k, topped it up to buy another property, and have made it my PPOR with no regrets!

 

[Tonibell]

Hi, i need a bit of moral support and advice

I reckon we've overpaid but mainly concerned about re-sell value as it's a small townhouse so we'll need to upgrade in a few years.


I know dulwich hill is going up so hopefully it'll catch up on the hurstone park as well... We paid 10-14% more than what units in this block went in 2011-2012

Sounds like the a typical inner-west purchase.

It will only take a few weeks until something similar sells for more and your world will be right again.

 

[cadence]

Try to hold it for as long as possible
in 7 years time you'd wish you bought 2 of these

 

[hobo-jo]

I rent within earshot of a train line, you'll probably not hear it after the first week, but it could limit the buyer pool in the future.

But why purchase a home with the intention to live in it a few years and then sell? Even if you did overpay and break even on the price paid or get a little more, chances are you will still be out of pocket after additional costs such as LMI, stamp duty, agent costs to sell, etc. Will it have been worth it?

Blogged about this exact situation the other day: http://www.bullionbaron.com/2014/01/dont-encourage-first-home-buyers-to.html

Anyway hope it turns out for the best.

 

[missbehaving]

Thank you.

The reason why we bought something smaller now is cos that's what we could afford and the intention was to pay it off as much as possible with as little interest to the bank as possible (we could have afforded something for say 800k but all the money would have been going to pay the interest plus necessary payments rather than extra payments every month). In 2-3 years when we need more space we were planning to sell and with the bigger equity afford buying something better. Or possibly if we can afford it - then rent this place out and buy somewhere bigger but i imagine that will require a lot of money so we'll prob need to sell... That was the idea...

 

[Scott No Mates]

As you're unsure what you intend doing in the future (ie sell and use profit for next purchase or use this as an ip) you need to structure your loan correctly. Consider having an offset account so that you can reuse the extra money paid off, minimising your interest charges (just like paying off your mortgage without the hassle of having to redraw if you need the funds).

If you do look at upgrading in the future, you have instant access to funds as the deposit etc (but you haven't reborrowed for a non deductible debt if it is your new ppor).

If you need to do some planting, contact Transport for NSW regarding getting a 'beautification licence' which will allow you to plant some (approved) trees on the railway land. You will need to fence off this area to prevent access to the rail corridor. (It always looks better when it comes to selling, then rip it out once the sale is done - they can't do anything about it as it is licensed not on your title).

 

[Rolf Latham]

Thank you.

The reason why we bought something smaller now is cos that's what we could afford and the intention was to pay it off as much as possible with as little interest to the bank as possible (we could have afforded something for say 800k but all the money would have been going to pay the interest plus necessary payments rather than extra payments every month). In 2-3 years when we need more space we were planning to sell and with the bigger equity afford buying something better. Or possibly if we can afford it - then rent this place out and buy somewhere bigger but i imagine that will require a lot of money so we'll prob need to sell... That was the idea...

dems all sound plans

Id take a deep breath, and go for a walk.

My experience tells me you are suffering from normal buyers remorse...........


It will all be fine !

ta
rolf

 

[missbehaving]

Thanks everybody. It makes me feel a bit better i hope it'll be a stepping stone to something bigger and better. It's a nice area and loads of greenery so not like it's terrible to live here I've heard Canterbury will get a revamp and Dulwich hill is coming up already so fingers crossed it will go up in value at the same rate as beach suburbs for example...

 

[ritchie77]

Agree with above comments on Dulwich Hill... It is doing well and will only get better with ripple from marrickville and light rail... the local public school also has a very good reputation in the area (behind Summer Hill in the IW).

The future prospects and developments at Canterbury are also exciting if (or likely when) they take off with large developments, shopping centres, river walks/cafes etc.... I would say Hurlstone Park is fine being in the middle with its own station

 

[iamjames]

It's called buyers remorse. When I was 22 I bought a townhouse site unseen interstate. The price and yield were good but that was all. When I inspected I found out it back onto the rail line as well. But within 5 years I had doubled my money. I still own it 12 years later.

You are lucky you bought in a rising market. I would just hang on and wait for the rising tide. You've bought in a great area.

 

[missbehaving]

Thank you. I didn't know about shopping center in canterbury, that will definitely lift up that area, it looks a bit drab at the moment.

So is there anything that can be done to ensure the resell value ie would double glazing help? It's quite renovated already so the only thing I can think of is double glazing and maybe adding a second bathroom (it's just a second toilet at the mo with no sink).

 

[missbehaving]

Hi, I thought I'd write an update.

We've done the double glazing and it helped a lot - that's the good news. The not so great news is that there is a unit for sale in our complex now in similar condition (maybe with a slightly older kitchen and bathroom) and the price guide is the same that we paid few months ago. Considering market has moved since it's not great. The agent might play a role but People are mainly concerned about the rail noise. Honestly after living there for a bit I can say it's really not that bad, trains are really quiet compared to planes or living on the main road but less people interested for some reason.(I'd pick a train over road any day).