First Investment Property Brisbane suburbs

[Paddyinoz]

Hi all myself and my partner have just bought our first investment property. We decided to go for the kingston area in Brisbane suburbs. The property is brick and tile and on a 750m block. 3 bedroom 1 bathroom car port. Good condition just needs freshening up. Minor building work to be completed. Little bit of pest damage repair. landscaped garden that needs attention. We paid just over 245000. Was recently speaking to a RE agent and she reconed we should easily get $310 a week for rental. If anybody has any knowledge of this area it would be great to hear your opinions on our purchase giving the current economic status. Would be keen to here peoples forecasts for the area. Thanking you. Amature invester.

 

[letiha]

Paddyinoz,

Given that you are on the Gold Coast you would be already aware of the area's reputation. Other than that this area will always be in high demand, its just the type of tenants in the area.

So the one piece of advice I can give is LANDLORD INSURANCE !!!

 

[urban cowboy]

So the one piece of advice I can give is LANDLORD INSURANCE !!!

and plenty of it!! hehehe

 

[Gee Cee]

Hi there . Congratulations on your first investment.
I actually owned a place in Kingston in the 80's.

Back then there were good and bad areas.

I do not know the area that well now but I think Les (one of the mods) would have a good idea of the place.

Gee Cee

 

[Paddyinoz]

yeah maybe landlord insuranse would be a good option. would anyone know how much this would cost me. thanks for the comments.

 

[urban cowboy]

depends on the property and location. should only be a couple of hundred bucks though.

give these guys a ring...

http://www.terrischeer.com.au/

there are plenty of others, but most agents will recommend them as they are a specific landlord insurance mob.

 

[boomtown]

Im with Suncorp.

The amount they pay me for lost rent is tied to how much contents insurance I took over the IP. I took out 20k contents insurance (cost me $20) just to double my lost rent coverage from 1 month to 2 months.

 

[Paddyinoz]

depends on the property and location. should only be a couple of hundred bucks though.

give these guys a ring...

http://www.terrischeer.com.au/

there are plenty of others, but most agents will recommend them as they are a specific landlord insurance mob.

thank you urban will check it out

 

[Les]

G'day Paddy,

Well, as long as you don't mind a positive geared investment, you're probably OK. I must admit that, although I've LIVED in the area for many years, I've never overly invested there (had one in Woodridge and another in Crestmead - both a few years back - but never really looked in my own back yard).

As others say, Kingston is really TWO parts - one is good, while the other is not quite so. Still, after having a quick look on "re.com.au" I was amazed to see the kind of rents on offer - and yours is in the middle, so no probs there.

I also am a believer in Jan Somers - and her comments go along the lines of "buy something that ANYONE can afford to rent" - so buying in these areas can work. The flip side is to buy where only 20% can afford to rent - and there, you can be waiting on a tenant for weeks (while you continue to cover the mortgage). So, I believe, when starting out, buying in these "lower" areas can make a lot of sense.

Re Kingston itself, I've lived there for ~25 years, and I'm still there. So it really is not that bad. Over that time, I've been amazed to watch the value scream from $45k to $95k (between 1984 and 1990). But then, it dropped to ~$75k ..... and took a LONG time to crank back up again. Virtually all of the '90's saw little to no growth. But then, in 2002, the place was on fire, and values screamed up to around $170k by 2004. Ah well, that's it (said me) - but, I was wrong again, as values got a new breath in 2006, and today my place is ~$270k. And rents? Well, tonight I checked re.com.au and was gobsmacked - so maybe your agent got it right !!! ~$300 a week now seems to be "the norm" !!

There is something to be said for "buying where ALL can afford to rent" - it gives a LOT of choice of tenants. As others have said, though, it's also one of the areas where those less desirable can afford to rent too.... So do look to using the tools at hand (Landlord Insurance, TICA, etc.)

I don't see Kingston developing into a "no go zone" any time soon (not in my area) - but, yeah, there are always those that don't quite fit the mould.

Good for you for getting in. I hope you achieve that kind of rental return - sounds good to me,

Regards,

 

[Paddyinoz]

Thank you Les for your comments. Great to hear from someone that is as familiar as you are with the area. I must admit that my biggest fear is undesirable tennants. I have heard a lot of horror stories. Where we bought was away from the housing comission and close to the college in the area so from my research this is not too bad of an area. I just hope we are lucky with our tennants. But for now it is get our hands dirty and tidy the place up. I work on the principal of 10% growth average per annum. If I achieve that I will be more than happy with this purchase. I think I will try to source more of these properties that are as close to neutrally geared as possibe, with growth potential.

 

[Paddyinoz]

Paddyinoz,

Given that you are on the Gold Coast you would be already aware of the area's reputation. Other than that this area will always be in high demand, its just the type of tenants in the area.

So the one piece of advice I can give is LANDLORD INSURANCE !!!

Hi Letiha I do live on the gold coast but have only lived here for a few years I am from overseas.