House or City apartment

[newbie1]

Hi all

I'm considering purchasing an investment property with someone else, problem is, they want a city apartment and i'm a little hesitant and would prefer a home just outside the city.

We live in Perth, WA. My point of view is that a city apartment would restrict potential renters / buyers (cuts out families etc), less profit on the sale (is there really that many ppl that would want to buy a city apartment?) and most of all the fees and charges that would be associated with it.

Any ideas, options, experiences would be much appreciated. This will be our first IP and i want to make sure we get it right and something we're both happy with.

Also, i'm thinking it might be a good idea to wait until property prices start going up again to be sure that we've reached the bottom and buying in the prime time when its only bound to go up rather than buying now and not knowing how much lower it will go? Any ideas on this one?

Thanks heaps

 

[auror]

I'm concerned that you're buying an IP with someone else. have you considered what will happen if they want to sell and you don't?

City apartments are generally very expensive when it comes to strata fees etc. Also you really restrict your target market to, say, international students.

Maybe you should have a look at myrpdata.com.au and do some investigations for capital growth of certain suburbs (whether they be in the city or further out)... i think you'll find that CBD ones don't experience much CG.

 

[auror]

Hmmm, I just checked out CG for Sydney CBD: http://www.myrp.com.au/viewFreeRepo...eet_temp=&streetExt=&streetDir=&postcode=2000

(I know you're in perth but i'm in Syd so I was curious in seeing how Syd CBD does)

So you can see that some CG is experienced but you should always investigate some other suburbs.

 

[newbie1]

Thanks heaps for getting back to me so fast, just checking those links now...

I have considered the pros and cons of buying with someone else but unfortunately in my current situation this was my best option at this time just to get me started and on track. I do have every intention of making sure there are legal documents in place clarifying things like when to sell, using the property as an asset etc.

 

[auror]

There's a few brokers on this forum who might be able to help work out your serviceability. To buy a CBD apartment in Perth, you're looking at some fairly expensive apartments, right? Say $X? have you thought of buying something that costs $(0.5 X)? Ie. halve your budget and look in the outer suburbs of perth? That way you could go it alone.

 

[newbie1]

Good point but here's the thing about the apartments we've looked at in the city. Although some are very expensive, there's a few decent ones going for around 300k which is the same cost of a house in an average area. Granted there are some old established houses in low socio economic areas going very cheap (which i could prob offord on my own) but i'm also mindful of the types of tenants that these houses would attract.

Doing it on my own would be best but at the same time we're complimenting each other in many ways eg. I have the equity in my home to make this happen, the other person doesn't. The other person has a FT secure job, i only work PT. It would also halve the costs of things like rates, any out of pocket expenses and if the house happens to be unoccupied. This isn't and wont be the last house i buy so it's just "for now" to minimise risk in my current situation.

I think we're swaying towards a house now and thanks again for the link - bit tricky to interpret the info when you're a "newbie" but i'll have to sit down and drill into it more

How do i find a broker on here?

 

[Propertunity]

How do i find a broker on here?

Post a Q in the Property Finance section.