Intro / buying interstate as 1st time investor

Hi all,

Before I bombard with questions I just wanted to give a bit of background around my current situation. As my name would suggest I am a first time investor. I am 25 years old living and working in Sydney and I am looking to start investing in property in the very near future with the medium term goal of purchasing a number of investment properties over the next 5-10 years to set me up for retirement.

My investment strategy will be to purchase for CG and hold long term, negatively gearing. Based on my rough calculations I think my initial budget is ~$600k

My reasons for posting are I was hoping to get some advice on (a) where to buy; and (b) recommendations on buyers agents / investor services.

(a) where to buy: Given this will be my first investment property would the forum recommend buying in Sydney so I can manage the process more effectively? I am cautious of buying in Sydney given its strong growth over the past few years I don't want to be buying at the top of the market... From everything I have read it seems that Brisbane is the higher growth city and will likely provide better returns so ideally I would like to buy there... but is it too risky buying interstate for my first investment?

My other issue is that I consistently work 90+ hour weeks being a junior in banking and have very little time to do anything let alone conduct thorough research and DD finding an investment property. This leads me to question (b)

Can the forum recommend any property investment advisors in Sydney or Brisbane, although preferably Brisbane based as that is ideally where I would like to buy, that will effectively hold my hand throughout the entire process (i.e. find me the right property, help arrange financing, negotiate and buy the property, manage the property etc etc) I understand I will have to pay a substantial fee for these services but for me I have no other option if I want to invest in property as I simply do not have the time. Has anyone used advisor services before or heard of any reputable advisors from others?

Sorry for the long winded post I really would appreciate any advice/help anyone can offer.

Thanks in advance!
 
Heya,

Welcome aboard. Sounds like your doing very well for yourself mate. Got a fair few mates (im 25 too, studied finance in Sydney) in similar positions.

Regarding buying in Sydney v Brissy - Sydney appears to be near the top of the boom. Supply is coming online quite fast, rental yields are falling strongly and median incomes aren't rising (price to income ratio in Sydney is approaching absurd). Combined, its in line with top of the cycle frothy conditions. Brissy on the other hand has much stronger yields - and that is likely to drive investors there over the medium term.

Re Investment agents - i've never dealt with him, but Andrew Allen (?) has great reps on this forum. Pretty sure their just BA though. Generally its most prudent to have a 'team' on your side thats not a 'all in one shop'. The incentive structure of an all in one shop is all over the place and may work contrary to your interests. E.g. a finance broker that sells property is motivated to source the quickest and easiest finance to get the property deal done - rather than the finance that suits your plan.

Good luck,
Redom
 
Hi OP,

Welcome! Though it's hard with a 90-hour week, one suggestion would definitely be equipping yourself with as much knowledge as possible. Read lots and lots on books and SS first.

I'm a newbie too but a few points you might like to consider:

1. Think about why you are investing in property. What is your end goal, in what timeframe, and how do you plan to get there. (Your strategy will change over time and that's no problem, but good to have an 'initial aim')

2. Consider contacting mortgage brokers (plenty of great ones on this forum) to work out how much you can borrow. This more or less can affect where you buy I presume.

3. As Redom, and probably many others on here can say, Syd is likely to be near the top of the boom - if you've read a few other threads - the trend is certainly BNE or ADL.

4. Andrew Allen who's the director of Allen Real Estates has a very solid reputation on this forum - you can do more searches on this. He's also the director of Rental Guardians so you could possibly have BA service and PM into one.

Hope all goes well mate!
 
Hi

Hi Firstly welcome to the forum :)

Well done on so far, and the good thing is at one stage in our lives we where all first time investors too and to be honest we are always learning.

I am 30 and bought my first IP in Melbourne when I was 20 but I was time rich and like your self I work allot so having the time to look and research can be hard.

Andrew Allen is a great bloke and really good guy to work with and if you need to get in contact with some one in Melbourne, I am more than happy to help you out.
 
Great thanks for the advice guys... will get in touch with Andrew Allen after conducting some more research.

hey mate I've just used andrews services! i'am first time interstate buyer, i defiantly feel i got my moneys worth and learnt so much from the way they work. he's very approachable , you've gotta be pretty lucky for him to take you on tho in the current market tho! good luck any questions just send me a pm!
 
hey mate I've just used andrews services! i'am first time interstate buyer, i defiantly feel i got my moneys worth and learnt so much from the way they work. he's very approachable , you've gotta be pretty lucky for him to take you on tho in the current market tho! good luck any questions just send me a pm!

Great thanks for the feedback mate have just sent you a PM
 
I've just used Andrew Allen as well for my first time purchasing an investment property interstate. He and his team were excellent. Andrew provides suburb analysis with a property that he presents and they also provide a wealth of information and guidance.

If you're after a motgage broker, I recommend Rolf Latham from asap financial.
 
My investment strategy will be to purchase for CG and hold long term, negatively gearing. Based on my rough calculations I think my initial budget is ~$600k

My reasons for posting are I was hoping to get some advice on (a) where to buy; and (b) recommendations on buyers agents / investor services.

Welcome 1sttimeinvestor.

As above posts outline Brisbane is a good option, and your budget would allow good inner/middle ring options there.

I agree Sydney is probably past best time to be buying. It might also be worth considering 2 more affordable 300k properties in 2 locations to spread risk. This would allow 1 in Brisbane and 1 elsewhere. The ripple is moving out of Sydney and can be used to advantage if you know what, where and when to buy.

All the best with your hunting.
 
Thanks again for the feedback guys appreciate it.

I've been reading a lot about the Northern suburbs over the past few days and had a few questions for any of the Brissy experts out there...

1. Stafford vs Kedron

According to realestate.com.au Stafford has a median house price of 530k versus 613k for Kedron however both are similar distances away from the City. From what I have read Kedron has advantages in transport (Nthn Busway, airport link and Clem 7 tunnel) although they both appear to be similar distances away from train lines on the map... Median rent is almost on par but Kedron has enjoyed higher price growth over the past 5 years... Just wondering if there are any other particular reasons for the difference in value? Given the yields are quite similar, does anyone have an opinion on which suburb to buy in if your main criteria was capital gain? or would it be more a case of assessing each individual property on its merits?

2. Chermside v Wavell Heights v Northgate
Again its probably a case of assessing each property on its merits, but if you were to rank these 3 in terms of capital gain potential or value how would you order them? It seems that Chermside has enjoyed higher growth over the past 5 years but the median price is still ~50k less than the other 2, and to me looks like slightly better value. It is slightly further away from the CBD than Wavell but about the same as Northgate... Further away from the train line than the others but I like the sound of the big westfield mall being close. Can anyone provide a locals perspective on the three?

Thanks in advance!
 
Welcome 1sttimeinvestor.

As above posts outline Brisbane is a good option, and your budget would allow good inner/middle ring options there.

I agree Sydney is probably past best time to be buying. It might also be worth considering 2 more affordable 300k properties in 2 locations to spread risk. This would allow 1 in Brisbane and 1 elsewhere. The ripple is moving out of Sydney and can be used to advantage if you know what, where and when to buy.

All the best with your hunting.

Thanks knightm... I like this idea however as i have little or no knowledge of property markets elsewhere I would need buyers agent in the other market plus all the other costs that come with the purchase... and the extra time needed for proper research and DD... I think I will start off slow, really focus on finding the right investment initially, learn the process etc then look to add 1 or 2 more over the next couple of years!
 
TI think I will start off slow, really focus on finding the right investment initially, learn the process etc then look to add 1 or 2 more over the next couple of years!

This is a solid plan. Take your time, read, research, learn etc etc. Its not rocket science but it requires that time investment to get it right. If you want to speed up the process then by all means consider BA's but if you are patient and dedicated there is no reason you can't success with the above plan.
 
Happy Hunting

1sttime, you seem to have your head screwed on right and are asking good questions - keep this up. Being in banking you most probably already have good contacts and knowledge, something I lacked.

I agree with J_aco about working out your borrowing capacity early as well as the best way to structure the investment - which will depend on how aggressive you want to be in acquiring properties.

By all means use a BA, but do take the time to do your own research so you are in a good position to brief them and a good position to play devils advocate.

I'm Sydney based and purchased 2 in Brissy last year, I didn't use a BA, but I talked to a lot of people, did lots of research and visited twice to get a feel for areas.

By wanting to use a BA I assume you are comfortable with paying for that advice rather than paying via commission to a REA?

Trev
 
I am also in the same position as yourself, on the market for an investment property but in Melbourne. Very interested on seeing how you go..
 
I also used Andrew Allen's services - both as buyers agent and Rental Guardians as PM. Very happy with the outcome.
 
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