[help needed] 1st home in Sydney for under 330k.

B

bessiebenny

Hi All, 1st time ever posting here and first time ever trying to buy a home.
So please go easy on me as I'm a total noob right now. :)

Here's my current needed / situation:
- I'm buying the place to "live". My wife, Me, baby. Possibly another baby soon.
- Conditionally approved by ING for $340k (But I prefer sub-330k)
- Looking for 3 bedroom 2 bathroom 1 car or as big unit / townhouse / duplex.
- If it's west of Parramatta, I prefer to be close to station. (~10min walk)
- If it's inner-west such as Lidcome, I can live by with a bit further away.
- I prefer to be along the westen train line if possble. (Although I work at NSYD)
- I plan on living there for maybe 3-8 years. (depends on selling price)
- My hope is to one day move to bigger place by renting it out later on.

I've so far looked at Guildford as there's some around. Not 100% sure yet.

I also was looking at Woodcroft "Edgewood" Mirvac duplexes.
- Walk to Doonside station, 3 bed new duplexes, cheap maintenance fee etc.
- But I have no idea how good of a investment it will be in say 5 years time.

I want to know where looks good to buy, what I should look for etc etc.
I know everyone will say something different but this is good for me. =)

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!! Hope my Q wasn't too noob....
 
alexlee - I would prefer it to be as modern as possible. Or at least very clean / nice.
I'm willing to spend up to around $10000 for new carpet etc etc.
I also am willing to move as far back as Woodcroft and not any more.
(But to move this far west, I really want the house / transport to be nice and/or has great prospects. hehe)
 
That BRADBURY house is impressively well maintained, looks as good as new, immaculate. Just needs a pressure clean on the driveway and it would look new, not a single crack on the concrete either.

Spider
 
That's what I thought as well Spider.

Since you're a Syndey sider - can you tell me how long it would take to get from Bradbury to the CBD? By car and train? Interested to know.
 
Sub $330K market you have a lot of choice, but will be restricted to older housing (if you want freestanding) or townhouses/villas/duplexes.

For value for money, I'd be looking at the following suburbs:

Seven Hills, Toongabbie (harder), Quakers Hill, Wenty, Pendle Hill, Girraween etc

I'm sure others will suggest more. You will have trouble with the 2bths, however, especially if you look at older houses. Most only have one- but do you really need 2bths? I'd rather go for the land myself, and add value down the track when you can afford it, as you can always add a bathroom with an extension when ready.

Don't forget to factor in strata and community fee costs for duplexes, villas, townhouses as well as they can vary enormously.
 
steveadl said:
That's what I thought as well Spider.

Since you're a Syndey sider - can you tell me how long it would take to get from Bradbury to the CBD? By car and train? Interested to know.
Click to expand...

Bradbury (just past Campbelltown) is approx 65km from Sydney's CBD and would take varying amounts of time by car, depending on peak hours etc. I'd easily allow an hour+ 10mins as minimum. Long way :)
 
Hi

If you lived in Sydney you would realise why the Bradbury house is so cheap. If you remember the trouble in McQuarie Fields, its only a stones throw away.

Not the most desirable part of Sydney and long way from the CBD. Commuting by car to CBD/ North Sydney minimum of 90 minutes each way.

I think Jacques picks for the money are very good. Guildford/Merrylands/Granville etc are in your price range but a last resort.
 
Thank you all for your comments so far. =)

Any comments about that Edgewood place in Woodcroft? (walk to Doonside station)
Would I be regretting later on? or would it hold its value or be good down the track?

I can live with 1 bathroom if the place is really nice. hehe.
It's not a necessity but i do like my creature comfort that's all. =P
 
bessiebenny said:
Any comments about that Edgewood place in Woodcroft? (walk to Doonside station)
Would I be regretting later on? or would it hold its value or be good down the track?
Click to expand...
I'd say you would end up regreting it. Woodcroft is an estate that they made into a suburb becasue nobody would have bought there if they kept it as Doonside. Pretty dodgey place and no sign of it changeing in the next 10-15years.
I see more chance of the Merrylands/Guilford area and Seven Hills/Toongabbie are changing than Doonside.

I used to own 2 health food store, Healthy Life Franchise, 1 was in Westpoint Shopping Centre Blacktown and the other I still have in Seven hills Shopping Center Blacktown is 5 mins from Woodroft/Doonside and I'd much prefer to buy in Blacktown itself than Woodcroft, for capital gains that is.
 
BB

Since you've mentioned Woodcroft have you looked at this?
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2005986135#

If it was me though and considering the age of the kid/s
I would have gone for a 2 bdr unit or a townhouse like this one.
http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2007123794#

In comparison to the top 1 you will save $140/week in interest
and in a few years time when the kids are older you can turn this property into an IP
or use it as a stepping stone to buy a bigger place.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
evand said:
Hi

Not the most desirable part of Sydney and long way from the CBD. Commuting by car to CBD/ North Sydney minimum of 90 minutes each way.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. But as a stepping stone for a FHB, I think it looks pretty nice. They can always move closer to CBD in a few years, plus, not everyone works in the CBD.
 
If you are looking at Guildford, I would go for Merrylands instead, particularly if you work longer hours. I used to live at Guildford and the station was not a nice place to be after 6.30ish. Lots of young kids hang around there and the streets nearby are not very well-lit. Not too many people get off at the station after that time. When I used to work back, i would always drive to Merrylands station, was much busier and lighting was much better. The liverpool line is much worse than the western line, less frequent trains in the afternoon and there are usually delays when having to change lines at Granville. I would recommend jacque's advise and live further out on the western line.
 
Thank you eeryone for so many tips / ideas~!

So it seems buying a house + land is a better choice than buying a unit?

Just say if I has a choice between these two around Granville / Merrylands.
- 3 bedroom 2 bath 2 car townhouse (~200sqm all up with courtyard + car)
- 3 bedroom 1 bath 1 garage+ drveway house (~500sqm land, decent but non-brick)
If both are at around $330k, I should 100% go for the house with land?

I also looked at houses around Doonside station and seems I can maybe even get a proper 4 bedroom 2 bath 2 car brick house for around 330-340k. (~500sqm land) Would this be a decent buy also?
 
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