Buying a renovated fire damaged house

C

Coconutwheels

G'day All,

Have been looking for a suitable block in Sydney 2770 to do a GF on. Think I've found one suitable, however the main house on it has been renovated after severe fire damage.

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with this and if there are any potential traps to watch out for e.g dodgy cover ups.

Also any recommendations for building inspectors out that way?

Cheers,

Ben
 
That could be Nathan's house you are looking at. In which case it wouldn't be dodgy (and videos on youtube to prove it).

Send the link and we can see (not me as I have little experience) if the reno looks dodgy or not.
 
Coconutwheels said:
Hey MsAli, the house in front is for sale too. Do you think it's just too rough in that particuliar pocket?
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Coconutwheels, I've been to Willmot only a couple of times. I don't like the vibe of the area. There are stray dogs...it just doesn't feel right. Call me emotional or short sighted, but I wouldn't buy there hoping for CG in the near future....unless you were getting a bargain which made the property positively geared and get decent equity.

Is this just an addition to your portfolio? Or are you starting out and attracted to the area? I'm guessing since you are from Darwin you are in process of researching these areas. Initially when we came back into the market in September last year we went to quite a few open homes considering the "granny flat" potential. We thought we could get on the bandwagon and checked the sewer diagrams for various properties. But decided against it - there are a few other threads about those around. The yield looks attractive, but is it really worth the hassle? is it really worth the risk? Is it really worth the outlay? I personally don't think so.

I wouldn't buy a house, just because you can renovate or just because you can put a granny flat. I would instead consider how well am I able to buy this property? What is it returning? Will it be costing me more outlay to purchase and to renovate well? Will some other property albeit smaller may be a bit dearer, needing a small reno, has some equity and has a great rental return? Something I learnt from a few posts of Rixter's that I read. I understood that it's about the end goal not the house itself.

From what it seems, you don't know the area well and would help to check out the surrounding area. There are people who know the areas well here...from what I understand Whalan and Tregear are better and in my opinion Mount Druitt is the best of the lot.

Also for inspectors DaveMSydney recommended Steve from AusInspect (http://www.ausinspect.com.au/) and I really liked the service and the price was reasonable.
 
In terms of the area - the surrounding suburbs are all the same - pretty crap.

As an investment though - pretty good - though prices have gone up in past 6 months and the HC's subs aren't very good value anymore imo - so make sure u get a bargain or look in 'better suburbs' which are starting to offer OK value - or better yet look in other areas apart from West Syd
 
JWR said:
In terms of the area - the surrounding suburbs are all the same - pretty crap.

As an investment though - pretty good - though prices have gone up in past 6 months and the HC's subs aren't very good value anymore imo - so make sure u get a bargain or look in 'better suburbs' which are starting to offer OK value - or better yet look in other areas apart from West Syd
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Have you been there? Just go to Willmot and go to Mount Druitt. Both have DIFFERENT feel.

In 2010 Mount Druitt was in the top 10 suburbs for FHB's. A lot of investors out there..but lets look at the cencus data for 2011.
 
Yes have been there. They all are bad places to live imo - Willmot may be the worst (or maybe not) but it doesn't matter too much. We are not living there but instead investing there. So as long as the returns are there the 'feel' has little to do with it.
 
As with all areas, Willmot has its good and bad pockets.

Having lived literally right across the park from Willmot for 5 years, in the whole the area is not *that* bad. There are some streets you want to stay well away from, but there are others that are fine.

Willmot is further away from Mt Druitt itself, but the public transport is fairly good and it's almost quicker to catch a bus to St Mary's and then a train to Mt Druitt than just a bus.

I do agree however that the prices of late have significantly increased, and finding the right sort of return is getting a little tougher.

Do your research and decide from there.
 
Great info there guys, thanks.

In answer to your question MsAli, this is an addition to our portfolio. Looking for cash flow to aid our serviceability.

We just finished a GF on a house in Newcastle (will eventually be PPOR) and it turned it around from an awful 3.5% to a more tolerable 6% return.

We are now figuring if we can find a property that is going to give a 7%+ return straight of the bat, then add a GF and deliver a 9.5-10% return it'll help us continue purchasing. These areas seem to deliver those returns, I guess just need to weigh up the risk.

Lil Skater, which streets do you think need to be steered clear of?

Cheers,
Ben
 
JWR said:
Yes have been there. They all are bad places to live imo - Willmot may be the worst (or maybe not) but it doesn't matter too much. We are not living there but instead investing there. So as long as the returns are there the 'feel' has little to do with it.
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Willmot probably is. If I had no choice and had to live in Mounty county I would. There are some very successful investors who live in the area and skater is one of them. Where you live doesn't define you. What defines you is who you are. Tell me what's bad about living there if there is a Westfield, train and a changing area? For me travel to city wouldn't be great...but I don't agree with you on if the area is unliveable.

I've met people who say the want to buy an investment in an area they want to eventually live in. That's people in their late 20's. I thought to myself well then they can keep dreaming as you may want to live in coogee but that doesn't mean you will be able to buy your first IP in coogee...unless of course you have parents/family willing to fund.
 
JWR said:
In terms of the area - the surrounding suburbs are all the same - pretty crap.

As an investment though - pretty good - though prices have gone up in past 6 months and the HC's subs aren't very good value anymore imo - so make sure u get a bargain or look in 'better suburbs' which are starting to offer OK value - or better yet look in other areas apart from West Syd
Click to expand...

They are definitely not all the same.

Even the price reflects the difference in different suburbs in the 2770 area.

As mentioned some suburbs are better and also some streets are no go zones too. Willmot would not be my first choice but I did end up buying one there as it had nice street appeal (across from Ropes Crossing) with mostly private houses. And the price was right CF+.

First thing I look at is googlemaps. Then I look at how many housing Comm houses in the street. If there are too many you can have difficulty keeping tenants.
 
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