Looking for Melb IP $300-350k - Ardeer?

Hi all,

Firstly, I just thought I would introduce myself to the forums after lurking in the background for awhile. I must say I have learnt alot about property investment from sifting through the SS forums, but still have alot to learn aswell.

Between now and July next year, my brother and I are intending to buy an IP in Melbourne up to around the $350k mark. We currently have a 10% deposit but will increase to 20% come ~ July next year if we delay the purchase.

Areas I have had my eye on in particular are Albion and Ardeer from my own research and also areas such as Sunshine, Melton, HC and Werribee from recomendations from other SS forum-ites.

The reason I like Ardeer and Albion in particular is for the fact that:

- They are between 12-14 kms from the CBD
- Easily accessed by public transport (20-25 mins to the city - although Ardeer is V-Line accessed Zone 2)
- Near the ring road and bike path
- Close proximity to 3-4 schools
- 3-4 kms to Sunshine shopping strip
- Most probable that nearby train line (Melton..I believe from memory) will be electrified soon when the Caroline Springs station is commisioned.

I am aware that Sunshine has taken off over the last year or so and therefore base my assumption that Ardeer / Albion will follow suit in the near future. In terms of its relative distance to the city, the median house price of ~$320k seems like a good buy for future gains.

I have spoken to an agent who claims that it wouldn't be too hard to rent out a 3-4 bedroom house for $300-310 /wk. From subsequent study of rental prices on domain / RE.com.au, $300 /wk seems pretty attainable.

The one house that has caught my eye has been:

- A neat 3 bedroom brick veneer house (easily converted to accept another bedroom)
- 2 bathrooms
- Large backyard
- Polished hardwood floor
- Garage
- 5 min walk to train station and bus stop
- 5 min drive to ring road on-ramp
- Located in a quiet street away from the strip of major powerlines.

From what I have gathered, the house will need a full repaint and one wall will require replastering. Otherwise, it all seems pretty legit.

The house is going to auction in a couple of weeks.
The auction is a bank sale and I believe is starting @ 280k but will no doubt fetch 300k +

Any advice as to whether the Ardeer / Albion region could be a reasonable choice for a first IP over a 3-10 year strategy?

Thanks in advance,

James
 
try sunshine although prices for decent large allotments are beginning to rise very very quickly, if not already/on the verge of exceeding the 350k and get snapped up, sold at premiums and hard to make worth wile profit if looking to sub and build today. Otherwise Ardeer and Albion is your next best bet, although those areas are getting closer to new developments such as Cairnlea - which could be a good or bad thing!
 
ssshhhhh..

dont mention Ardeer/Albion please..

It is one of the best value places in the West IMHO.

Albion is less than 25 mins to the city by train, zone one and still reasonably priced.

Ardeer is very close by.

cheers
RightValue
 
I did look at that property Bluecard.

The only negative I found was that it had a very small backyard and only 2 bedrooms.
The previous owners must have only kept the property for a couple of years, renovated it and are reselling it (if you look in the google streetview, there is a sold sign in the front yard). I got the impression that they have captured the renovation potential of the house and are hoping to cash in as a result.

On the flip side, it was very close to the train station and park and is on a corner block.
 
That particular agent can be somewhat conservative in their quoting too...
FWIW, I think Albion is great - two train lines, shops, services. Was on my ''must check out'' list.
 
ssshhhhh..

dont mention Ardeer/Albion please..

It is one of the best value places in the West IMHO.

Albion is less than 25 mins to the city by train, zone one and still reasonably priced.

Ardeer is very close by.

cheers
RightValue

I would have to strongly disagree, Albion has some shocking residents, the zone 1 train is a postive but other than that, is a shocker of a suburb and today is well overpriced IMHO, Ardeer has about zero going for it, there is nothing their not to mention the estate is built on a former battery factory. I may have strong views about these 2 suburbs but for good reason.

Im not sure what expericance you have had with these 2 suburbs and dont want to assume, but looking at the stats no matter how appealing doesnt always tell the full story.

If you were to buy around this area in the west (looking for potential CG) I'd be looking at Braybrook, some pockets of Sunshine and Deer Park and West Footscray (although bit pricey).

By no way means am I the authority on this matter just my opinion :)
 
I would have to strongly disagree, Albion has some shocking residents, the zone 1 train is a postive but other than that, is a shocker of a suburb and today is well overpriced IMHO, Ardeer has about zero going for it, there is nothing their not to mention the estate is built on a former battery factory. I may have strong views about these 2 suburbs but for good reason.

Im not sure what expericance you have had with these 2 suburbs and dont want to assume, but looking at the stats no matter how appealing doesnt always tell the full story.

If you were to buy around this area in the west (looking for potential CG) I'd be looking at Braybrook, some pockets of Sunshine and Deer Park and West Footscray (although bit pricey).

By no way means am I the authority on this matter just my opinion :)

yep, guess I really know diddly squat about property, property investment, urban land economics and properties in the West of Melbourne..

Thanks for that ....

Others.. please disregard my comments about this area .. I didn't realise I knew so little .. this guy is probably right. .. Definitely don't invest there based on my comments!

cheers

RightValue
 
http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1259760451

here's a beauty - close to train and open space - easy 5% yield on this one.

This property ended up going for $350k at auction on the weekend. Overpriced in my opinion for a 2 bedder on a small block with a fair bit of work to do on it. Although it was located on corner block which would have helped


I would have to strongly disagree, Albion has some shocking residents, the zone 1 train is a postive but other than that, is a shocker of a suburb and today is well overpriced IMHO, Ardeer has about zero going for it, there is nothing their not to mention the estate is built on a former battery factory. I may have strong views about these 2 suburbs but for good reason.

Yes, You are probably right in a way but I felt alot safer around Albion than I ever did walking around the area surrounding the Sunshine shops.
 
My Wife and I got a bargain in Apr 09 right in Ardeer, decent clean 2bed house on 697sqm for $255k.

It's been the BEST financial decision I've ever made and has set us up for the future I believe. We are now engaged with Council to develop the site into 3 Units with the front one for us.

I could not be happier with Ardeer, it really is a gem of a place!
 
Hi,

I had done few inspections in Ardeer (Holt street) and Albion (forrest street, king edward avenue, etc).

I think have missed the boat, prices have gone up to quickly and currently state of houses / units in these areas is really bad: (good if you have skills to do a complete reno), apart from v line station (which is open no parking space and pitched dark in the night), no open grounds, small sunshine plaza shopping strip exists but yes closer to city

You would be better off in some decent pockets of deer park (Quinn street, etc or newer estates in Derrimut)

regards,
TV
 
I had a look at Albion a while ago. I saw graffiti everywhere. I saw a house under cnstruction and already got graffiti on windows. You may get good yield if you buy well + good reno.
 
My partner and I bought our first home in Albion last year. This information is directed towards owner occupiers rather than investors.

Renovated homes on big blocks in Albion have been selling for between 400 - 450k.
The bargains in the area are gone unless you are prepared to renovate.

Our reasons for buying into Albion in order of priority were...

1) We didn't want to borrow more than 3 times my annual salary
2) We wanted a home that was ‘close to everything’ in particular public transport.
3) We wanted a big block so we could extend and grow into the property

Viable alternate suburbs for us were Sunshine, Reservoir but in the end we went with Albion. I admit that Albion is a compromise choice but the same would apply to our other options. If money was no problem I’d like the same type of house/amenity but in a different area.

So far we are fairly happy with our choice, if not for the aircraft noise (which is a problem of varying degrees all over the west) I would say we are very happy.

Albion has some nice wide tree lined streets with some decent looking homes. The area is walking distance to shops and zone 1 public transport. We are also close to the ring road and overall road access is very good (compared to say Reservoir). The regional rail link and redevelopment of Sunshine plaza will bring lots of investment to the area in the next 4-5 years. There are 2 small primary schools and the local Catholic primary fares pretty well on the ‘Myschool’ website.

As for the class of people in the area, we have had no major issues. All of the people on our street are working families and no bother at all. Albion is secluded with no reason for people to be there unless they live in the area or are visiting.

There are some dodgy elements and I wouldn’t let my partner walk home alone from the station at night. As always if you keep your wits about you then you can avoid trouble whereas if you are an idiot you will find trouble anywhere.

Of course I can’t really be unbiased towards a suburb that I have bought into but I wanted to point out some of the positive aspects of Albion for an owner occupier.


BTW...my partner and are both professionals on 100k+ salaries.
 
Thanks for sharing and agree 100%, best thing my partner and I done was to buy in Ardeer and we absolutely love it, it's a great quiet place.
 
My partner and I bought our first home in Albion last year. This information is directed towards owner occupiers rather than investors.

Renovated homes on big blocks in Albion have been selling for between 400 - 450k.
The bargains in the area are gone unless you are prepared to renovate.

Our reasons for buying into Albion in order of priority were...

1) We didn't want to borrow more than 3 times my annual salary
2) We wanted a home that was ‘close to everything’ in particular public transport.
3) We wanted a big block so we could extend and grow into the property

Viable alternate suburbs for us were Sunshine, Reservoir but in the end we went with Albion. I admit that Albion is a compromise choice but the same would apply to our other options. If money was no problem I’d like the same type of house/amenity but in a different area.

So far we are fairly happy with our choice, if not for the aircraft noise (which is a problem of varying degrees all over the west) I would say we are very happy.

Albion has some nice wide tree lined streets with some decent looking homes. The area is walking distance to shops and zone 1 public transport. We are also close to the ring road and overall road access is very good (compared to say Reservoir). The regional rail link and redevelopment of Sunshine plaza will bring lots of investment to the area in the next 4-5 years. There are 2 small primary schools and the local Catholic primary fares pretty well on the ‘Myschool’ website.

As for the class of people in the area, we have had no major issues. All of the people on our street are working families and no bother at all. Albion is secluded with no reason for people to be there unless they live in the area or are visiting.

There are some dodgy elements and I wouldn’t let my partner walk home alone from the station at night. As always if you keep your wits about you then you can avoid trouble whereas if you are an idiot you will find trouble anywhere.

Of course I can’t really be unbiased towards a suburb that I have bought into but I wanted to point out some of the positive aspects of Albion for an owner occupier.


BTW...my partner and are both professionals on 100k+ salaries.

Thanks for your comments! I'm currently looking in this area with my partner. Are you still in Albion and have your opinions changed?
 
Thanks for your comments! I'm currently looking in this area with my partner. Are you still in Albion and have your opinions changed?

We are another professional couple living in this area. We have IP in better reputation suburbs but feel comfortable here with large backyard and 20 mins daily commute to CBD. I can see a lot of resi subdivision/renovation around and infrastructure improvement. The Selwyn park has new facility for kids & family and the Creek is great for a walk.

There is some trouble with rubbish, graffiti and noisy bad boys. However it feels quite safe even in night time and most of neighbours seem to be nice people.

Rental is ok, around 300-350/w as we'll can get neutral/positive if renting our place. Definitely Albion is good choice for FHB due to affordability and its potential. We are moving toward East due to personal goal but will keep the IP here. If you want second opinion at specific property, just PM and I may have some idea to share

Just my 2c
 
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