Please, please, pleaasssseeee no trolling, bitching about agents, character assissinations or any of the other garbage you see in threads about Frankston/Frankston North.
Jan 2009 to around June 2009 Choosing a location
Researching where to buy, how to buy and learning about residential property investment in general. This stage involved joining this forum, doing lots of reading and asking a few questions.
Started with a list of possible areas that included Melton, Frankston, Frankston North and a few other areas where you could get a house on a 600sqm plus block for 300k or less.
Narrowed the field down to Frankston/Frankston North by June.
March 2009 Chose a mortgage broker
After asking around, making some phone calls and getting recommendations, I settled for Peter from Sage Lending Solutions who is also a forum member here.
June 2009 Chose a buyers agent.
Needed a buyers agent (living in China) so spoke to 5 or 6 and settled for Cameron Charles from McRae Property. Chose this mob because a respected buyers agent recommended them to me, Cameron has an office in Frankston and has worked there as an RE and the impression I received from emails and phone calls.
July 2009 Trip to Auss
Met Cameron and had a guided tour of Frankston/Frankston north. He came across as professional and competent.
Met Peter and sorted out a lot of loan details.
July 2009 to Dec 2009 Waiting
Sorted out more loan details and waited, and waited, and waited………. During this time Cameron only found one property worth making an offer for. Offer was not successful.
10 Dec 2009 Found a property
A 650sqm, 3 bdrm, 1 garage property on Monterey Boulevard in Frankston North. The initial asking price was a bit over 270k.
After a few inspections by Cameron, emails, phone calls, negotiations between the owner, RE and Cameron, an offer was made and accepted for 268k.
23 Dec 2009 Building and pest inspection
Inspections were completed and no problems found.
12 Jan A conveyancer was brought in
Used Balbata & Associates who were recommended by Cameron.
14 Jan Arranged PM
Made a list of possible PM’s, called around, made a thread here, compared rates, did some reading and finally signed on McRae Property as the PM.
22 Feb Settlement
Money paid, loans sorted out, papers signed and IP bought.
10 March Tenants
Cameron was pretty careful to find good tenants. Did history check, went over employment details etc. Renting out for $250 a week.
The property – Is IP number two. The block and location make it suitable for future development as two units which is essential for my long term goal. IP number one is the same. The location is close to schools, shops etc etc
Was it a good buy at 268K? Judge for yourself. The PM says it is worth 300k as of the end of April. Not sure how accurate that figure is.
Mortgage Broker - Peter was absolutely brilliant. His replies to my questions were fast, complete, easy to understand and gave much more information that I asked for. He was always willing to take phone calls and never ran out of patience with my questions.
When it came to completing the paper work for loans, he stuck stickers every where, made notes/instructions and it was very difficult for me to fill the forms in wrong.
Trying to get a loan with out Peters help would have been a night mare. I’d recommend him if you are looking for a good mortgage broker,
Loan type – The loan was an ANZ PAYG lo doc loan. No choice with using a lo doc loan because of working overseas.
Buyers Agent - Cameron was professional and I am happy with the job he did. My main problem with him is communications were not good. In the period when he was looking for a suitable property, 3-4 weeks at a time would go by with no word from him. I would not get a response until I emailed him asking for an update.
The purchase went smoothly with no hiccups so he took care of that part well.
Did he in the end do a good job and find a good property? I think so but be your own judge on this.
The commission was 2.75% of the property value.
PM - Cameron Charles and McRae Property. The tenant selection was careful and well done. So far communications as a PM have been good. Only one problem so far (expensive stove replacement) was handled well.
The PM fees are an initial – 1 week rent + GST, $110 for advertising, $55 for condition report and an ongoing - 6.6% of rent
Conveyancer - Balbata & Associates did their part smoothly and most of the emails I exchanged were with the firms secretary not Leo Balbata. Being a Conveyancer must be a good job
Their fees were $720- $780
Pest Inspector - This was a guy called Nick from Metropolitan Pre-Purchase Property Inspections who was organized by the PM. Did a reasonable job. A twit though because me emailed me asking for payment but did not give me the reports.
His fee was $600 (from memory)
Jan 2009 to around June 2009 Choosing a location
Researching where to buy, how to buy and learning about residential property investment in general. This stage involved joining this forum, doing lots of reading and asking a few questions.
Started with a list of possible areas that included Melton, Frankston, Frankston North and a few other areas where you could get a house on a 600sqm plus block for 300k or less.
Narrowed the field down to Frankston/Frankston North by June.
March 2009 Chose a mortgage broker
After asking around, making some phone calls and getting recommendations, I settled for Peter from Sage Lending Solutions who is also a forum member here.
June 2009 Chose a buyers agent.
Needed a buyers agent (living in China) so spoke to 5 or 6 and settled for Cameron Charles from McRae Property. Chose this mob because a respected buyers agent recommended them to me, Cameron has an office in Frankston and has worked there as an RE and the impression I received from emails and phone calls.
July 2009 Trip to Auss
Met Cameron and had a guided tour of Frankston/Frankston north. He came across as professional and competent.
Met Peter and sorted out a lot of loan details.
July 2009 to Dec 2009 Waiting
Sorted out more loan details and waited, and waited, and waited………. During this time Cameron only found one property worth making an offer for. Offer was not successful.
10 Dec 2009 Found a property
A 650sqm, 3 bdrm, 1 garage property on Monterey Boulevard in Frankston North. The initial asking price was a bit over 270k.
After a few inspections by Cameron, emails, phone calls, negotiations between the owner, RE and Cameron, an offer was made and accepted for 268k.
23 Dec 2009 Building and pest inspection
Inspections were completed and no problems found.
12 Jan A conveyancer was brought in
Used Balbata & Associates who were recommended by Cameron.
14 Jan Arranged PM
Made a list of possible PM’s, called around, made a thread here, compared rates, did some reading and finally signed on McRae Property as the PM.
22 Feb Settlement
Money paid, loans sorted out, papers signed and IP bought.
10 March Tenants
Cameron was pretty careful to find good tenants. Did history check, went over employment details etc. Renting out for $250 a week.
The property – Is IP number two. The block and location make it suitable for future development as two units which is essential for my long term goal. IP number one is the same. The location is close to schools, shops etc etc
Was it a good buy at 268K? Judge for yourself. The PM says it is worth 300k as of the end of April. Not sure how accurate that figure is.
Mortgage Broker - Peter was absolutely brilliant. His replies to my questions were fast, complete, easy to understand and gave much more information that I asked for. He was always willing to take phone calls and never ran out of patience with my questions.
When it came to completing the paper work for loans, he stuck stickers every where, made notes/instructions and it was very difficult for me to fill the forms in wrong.
Trying to get a loan with out Peters help would have been a night mare. I’d recommend him if you are looking for a good mortgage broker,
Loan type – The loan was an ANZ PAYG lo doc loan. No choice with using a lo doc loan because of working overseas.
Buyers Agent - Cameron was professional and I am happy with the job he did. My main problem with him is communications were not good. In the period when he was looking for a suitable property, 3-4 weeks at a time would go by with no word from him. I would not get a response until I emailed him asking for an update.
The purchase went smoothly with no hiccups so he took care of that part well.
Did he in the end do a good job and find a good property? I think so but be your own judge on this.
The commission was 2.75% of the property value.
PM - Cameron Charles and McRae Property. The tenant selection was careful and well done. So far communications as a PM have been good. Only one problem so far (expensive stove replacement) was handled well.
The PM fees are an initial – 1 week rent + GST, $110 for advertising, $55 for condition report and an ongoing - 6.6% of rent
Conveyancer - Balbata & Associates did their part smoothly and most of the emails I exchanged were with the firms secretary not Leo Balbata. Being a Conveyancer must be a good job
Their fees were $720- $780
Pest Inspector - This was a guy called Nick from Metropolitan Pre-Purchase Property Inspections who was organized by the PM. Did a reasonable job. A twit though because me emailed me asking for payment but did not give me the reports.
His fee was $600 (from memory)