Going Around in Circles, Central Coast to North Coast NSW

[HomeBuyAU]

I'm really finding this difficult to work out what I'm going to do and I don't know any of the places up this way very well as I lived in Sydney most of the time in past. I'm looking at buying my first IP. Trying to work out which area to concentrate on is the hardest part as I really need to work that out before I do anything. I live in Raymond Terrace, NSW and I live in my own PPOR but I don't really want to buy here again as I would like to spread things out a bit at this early stage. Although this area is growing rapidly and house prices could rise a lot here in the future due to new industries & employment recently announced in Heatherbrae. At one stage I was even considering buying two cheaper places but I think I might be better to just concentrate on one good quality property well at least in my price range.

I also don't own a car and will need to hire when I'm ready to go look at houses so most of my research will be done online.One reason I have managed to save a deposit in a short time is by not spending my cash on a car and my last car cost me a lot of money so I will put a rain check on a car until I have the keys to my IP. Lucky I work at home and have plenty of time for researching (when I'm not renovating my house or working on my home business). I also want to find a home pretty quickly for various reasons, like in the next 2 weeks at the most.

I need to find a positive geared property up to around $350,000

Some possible areas I have considered are:

Anna Bay and Nelson Bay
Pros: Good quality homes & land size for price, Close to where I live, close to beach, possible PPOR in future, looks a good area from pictures I have seen and I would enjoy buying here as I like beach towns but I'm worried I won't be able to get anything + Geared.
Cons: Lower Rents, less tenants to rent, maybe difficult to rent in winter, Mostly negative geared

Central Coast:
Pros:Good number of properties offered, closer to Sydney
Cons:Quite far away from where I live, Not that familiar with the area

Newcastle Suburbs:
Pros: Higher number of renters, close to everything, Close to where I live, possible + geared
Cons: Lots of Competition, Not that familiar with the area, Very few good properties for my price, prices seem excessive compared to a few months ago, many older homes with tiny land size that could have lots of structural issues.

Sydney:
Pros: Lot's of opportunities, high number of renters, familiar with the area in general
Cons: Far away and competitive

I'm just touching on a few things and there are a lot more pros and cons for each of these locations.

I'm really just getting nowhere and I need to work out which location I should concentrate on. Please offer some tips and feedback to make this easier

 

[BV]

I also like coastal areas but rental vacancies could be high.
I'd stick to areas with high tenant base.
Perhaps you should engage a buyers agent?
Propertunity works up your way
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/member.php?u=11368

 

[HomeBuyAU]

thanks, yes it might be better to go in areas with a high tenant base as it must be positive geared. I know Propertunity and he knows his stuff but I can't afford buyer agents at this stage as I don't have the cash as it's all tied up in my deposit, the little amount I have.

 

[virgo]

Running in circles?

Hiya

Like you i was going round and round; couldn't decide which areas to buy; finally i bit the buller and got a buyer's agent who gently guided me and bought a property.

The price it has gone up by far outweigh the buyer's agent's fees...i would have happily paid twice the amount. (plus it is tax deductible too!)

The fees alone got me out of my analysis paralysis...would i pay a buyer's agent for my next property??? YES! YES! YES!

all the best.
P/S: i can also vouch for Propertunity's professionalism and knowledge of the local area; oh dear i hope no one accuses me of "plugging" him?