Hi all,
Would love all your comments and experience on this.
I'm currently considering purchasing off the plan 1BR in this development for owner occupation. Its 7 stories high with a total of 77 units.
Their webpage is at www.ecosquare.com.au
The brochure says its "student living", but the first home buyer's grant may apply, so I guess owners can stay there?
My story's quite complicated; There are a few reasons why I'm considering this place instead of the 40sqm+ 1BRs a bit further south in St Kilda East, Balacava etc which have a much larger land component and more CG.
1) I'm just a contractor (not perm) and I've only been working full-time for about 6 months. So I don't want to assume the financial burden of a loan yet, and the banks don't want to extend me a loan anyway because I don't have documentation. That means I need to pay in full using cash.
I can access about 250K in cash now, which means after deducting purchasing costs I can afford about 230K only. That puts me well below the 250-280K (and with the FHB frenzy I guess the auctions will push that figure up even more) needed for a 1BR in the St Kilda East area.
2) I'm a foreigner currently on a bridging visa (which means I have applied for permanent residency). Thus I can buy second-hand properties for owner occupation only - i am not allowed to collect rent at all.
In the *very* unlikely case that my application is binned, I can continue to rent out my 1BR, since it is brand new and not second-hand, instead of being forced to sell or keep it vacant.
3) By the time of settlement in Dec 2010, I will have recieved my PR and will be able to access the FHG of 7-9K. This offsets the cost of me renting from now till Dec 2010.
4) I know the opportunities for CG are limited with so much student housing in the area and the low land component.
But right now, I just want a place to live in a good location, I don't really care about capital gains YET. I work on St Kilda Road, the place has great facilities, transports and shops.
My wife will grad from uni in 6 months and then we will be double income; hopefully I will make perm in about a year when the apartment is ready.
So when our incomes can support it, I plan to use a LOC to borrow against the existing equity in the 1BR, and only THEN get a proper, 40sqm apartment in the st kilda east area to start enjoying some CG.
My only fear is that the banks might not accept such an apartment as security for a LOC because :
1) its only 30 sqm
2) it's "student housing?"
Comments and feedback welcome.
Would love all your comments and experience on this.
I'm currently considering purchasing off the plan 1BR in this development for owner occupation. Its 7 stories high with a total of 77 units.
Their webpage is at www.ecosquare.com.au
The brochure says its "student living", but the first home buyer's grant may apply, so I guess owners can stay there?
My story's quite complicated; There are a few reasons why I'm considering this place instead of the 40sqm+ 1BRs a bit further south in St Kilda East, Balacava etc which have a much larger land component and more CG.
1) I'm just a contractor (not perm) and I've only been working full-time for about 6 months. So I don't want to assume the financial burden of a loan yet, and the banks don't want to extend me a loan anyway because I don't have documentation. That means I need to pay in full using cash.
I can access about 250K in cash now, which means after deducting purchasing costs I can afford about 230K only. That puts me well below the 250-280K (and with the FHB frenzy I guess the auctions will push that figure up even more) needed for a 1BR in the St Kilda East area.
2) I'm a foreigner currently on a bridging visa (which means I have applied for permanent residency). Thus I can buy second-hand properties for owner occupation only - i am not allowed to collect rent at all.
In the *very* unlikely case that my application is binned, I can continue to rent out my 1BR, since it is brand new and not second-hand, instead of being forced to sell or keep it vacant.
3) By the time of settlement in Dec 2010, I will have recieved my PR and will be able to access the FHG of 7-9K. This offsets the cost of me renting from now till Dec 2010.
4) I know the opportunities for CG are limited with so much student housing in the area and the low land component.
But right now, I just want a place to live in a good location, I don't really care about capital gains YET. I work on St Kilda Road, the place has great facilities, transports and shops.
My wife will grad from uni in 6 months and then we will be double income; hopefully I will make perm in about a year when the apartment is ready.
So when our incomes can support it, I plan to use a LOC to borrow against the existing equity in the 1BR, and only THEN get a proper, 40sqm apartment in the st kilda east area to start enjoying some CG.
My only fear is that the banks might not accept such an apartment as security for a LOC because :
1) its only 30 sqm
2) it's "student housing?"
Comments and feedback welcome.