Lylidale line with 350K budget?

Hi everyone.

We are looking for buying our first home in Melbourne with a budget of 350K. We are young professional with one baby. We have come and visited some suburbs in different areas and we feel we prefer suburbs in the East better, though we know it means we might have to live far from the city. We have been to auctions for few months and the prices keeps going up and up. We personally think it might go down a little bit at the end of the year, but purely a guess!

Does anyone have any suggestion? We are looking at Croydon, Mooroolbark and surroundings, are they alright and which is better? I tried to find some information about Mooroolbark in the forum but seems to me there is none.

Thank you for reading and giving advices.
 
Out of the suburbs you mention Croydon is best. If you are looking for property on the Lilyadale train line, I think you should also consider suburbs on the Belgrave line. It's the same train line up to Ringwood.
 
Hi Omertan,

I have lived in Mooroolbark for the past 23 years. It's a nice place to live, I dont intend to move for another 20 years or so.

It is a long way from the CBD but eastlink has cut down travel time. Everything we want is nearby and it is eay to get around(no traffic jams:)).

The Yarra Valley wineries and the Dandenongs are just a few minutes away. Good local cinemas, shops, schools and public transport. I love the way I can shop at Coles Mooroolbark on saturday and always get a carpark right outside the door.
I would not like to have to work in the cbd and commute each day, but fortunatly have always had work nearby.

We dont have any antisocial problems near us but I think there are some areas of Mooroolbark that are less desirable.

There seems to be a lot of battle axe block subdivisions happening and your price range may restrict you to this sort of property. My son has purchased a vacant battleaxe block and is about to build. It's the only way he could find to get a place in this price bracket. If you can wait while it gets built, it may be worth considering.

Just had a look on realestate.com.au and there is not much under 400k, other suburbs worth a look would be Kilsyth or even Montrose.

Good luck with your search.
Phil
 
Hi Omeratan

The Shire of Yarra Ranges is a delightful place to be

In fact, once you are East of Ringwood and are in the foothills the landscape changes - trees and views and some lovely places

There are some older houses on very large block in many parts of this area

If you will be working in the CBD it's not that far.

When my Daughter worked at Police Headquarters she would leave home about 7.10am and be at her desk by 8.15am. Living in Croydon has never been a problem and now that East Link is open travelling by car is very easy. However, for a commute, nothing beats the train.

There are some great schools here, plus the Maroondah Hospital and excellent municipal facilities. For shopping, there are good quality strip centres such as Croydon Main Street and Brice Avenue in Mooroolbark, as well as the Malls such as Chirnside Park and Eastland.

We have been here since 1981 and our children have been raised in a lovely clean environment. Property values have increased steadily over that time including the children's properties in Kilsyth.

I recently refinanced some stock and the Croydon North properties came back in the high $300,000s - so probably would be within your price range with the local supermarket, kindergartens and primary school within walking distance and bus connection to the train station

As with everything, it may take a bit of work to find what suits you and what you can afford, but these are respectable suburbs with no appreciable problems.

Good luck, hope this helps
Kristine
 
Does anyone have any suggestion? We are looking at Croydon, Mooroolbark and surroundings, are they alright and which is better? I tried to find some information about Mooroolbark in the forum but seems to me there is none.

I grew up and lived in Lilydale for 25 years so know that area pretty well. Lilydale itself is quite nice (particularly around the lake), but if you work in the city it's probably starting to get a bit further than you want. As yourself and others have said, it's a pretty area, heading out to the Yarra Valley. If you're looking for somewhere nice to raise a family, my picks would be Croydon Hills (although you'd be looking at about $400K+), then Croydon North as Kristine said, you might find something in your budget there, then Croydon itself third. Croydon South is a bit less desireable in my opinion. In general I'm not a huge fan of Mooroolbark, however it does have some nice pockets. I'd just suggest going for a drive around the areas, you'll soon get a feel for what areas are nice and what aren't. But yes, with your budget I'd certainly be looking in the areas you are. 25 years was enough for me, so have left now, but if I had to or ever wanted to go back to the suburbs it'd be out that way. I particularly like Ringwood North/Croydon Hills/Warranwood, but they're getting a bit more pricey.
 
For $350K you will struggle to get a house (rather than a unit) until you are beyond Croydon. Croydon North as well I think you are looking at closer to $400K.

Maybe something in Kilsyth or Chirnside?

It also depends how close you want to be to the train line. If commuting to the CBD isn't part of your world then it increases the options greatly I think. Personally I like being within walking distance of a station, but in the outer areas the stations start getting very widely spaced apart.

Belgrave line area's start to move into your price range from Boronia and outwards. Bayswater seems to be low-mid 300s for 2bd units.
 
Are you specifically looking for a freestanding house or would you consider a unit?

If you would live in a unit, you could purchase a reasonable 2 bedroom unit in Ringwood for 350k, or a small house on a small block for 400kish.


Hi everyone.

We are looking for buying our first home in Melbourne with a budget of 350K.
 
Thank you everyone.

Certaintly we prefer a house with a piece of land better but with this limit I reckon our only option is a unit. Still we give priority for a unit in a better suburb with good schools for our baby later on and good neighbours rather than a house with land in the opposite.

Another option is buying a piece of land and building later when our budget is better, anyone recommend it now? My hubby works in the city so we prefer around 1km close to the train station.

Omertan.
 
Thank you everyone.

Certaintly we prefer a house with a piece of land better but with this limit I reckon our only option is a unit. Still we give priority for a unit in a better suburb with good schools for our baby later on and good neighbours rather than a house with land in the opposite.

I think you'd get a couple of suburbs further in going that option. I think it is not a bad move. The unit could even be an IP for you down the track.

Another option is buying a piece of land and building later when our budget is better, anyone recommend it now? My hubby works in the city so we prefer around 1km close to the train station.

Omertan.

You may well find a pretty run down house is a similar price to a block of land (which could be ok aswell).
 
Croydon South is a bit less desireable in my opinion.

Hi Biggles, is this because of it's proximity to Bayswater?
I can't say I know bayswater very well, but have heard dodgy things about it.
Also the difference in price compared to Boronia or Croydon does say something about it.

I am in much the same situation as the OP, but with a slightly larger budget and am considering areas like croydon, ringwood east etc as we have been priced out of anything closer in.
I like Croydon Hills and worked on a few houses out there a few years back and although I think it is a really nice area, I'd rather not be reliant on a car if I can help it, which I would be out there.
Like the OP's husband I work in the CBD and want to be able to walk to the station.

Any particular reason why you rate Croydon as third behind the other two?
 
As with any suburb, there are areas with areas

For example, the approach to Bayswater is not just the shopping centre and railway lines,but also really major intersections, pubs etc

However, turn off the main road, and it is a leafy suburb with large blocks and some quite substantial houses.

I worked as a Body Corporate Manager in Bayswater, and was very surprised at how nice some of the streets were, and how loyal many of the residents were towards the area

Many streets have undergone considerable gentrification, and then there is Bayswater North, which is really Kilsyth South.

Railway lines are obviously fixed, but the bus services here are very well established.

For example, in Croydon Hills / Chirnside Park there is the Telebus, which are small buses and you can ring and they will come to your door and collect you! Quite a few families use this service to collect / drop their children at school gates rather than at the allocated bus stops.

The Invicta bus services connect to all the railway stations.

For example, from Kilsyth, you can go to Croydon, Ringwood, Bayswater train stations, and can get to Estland or to Knox or to Chirnside Park shopping centres - or go to Warburton for the day if you feel like a scenic tour.

In the Outer East we are a resilient lot and can get around rather nimbly with public transport with only a couple of hundred metres walk from any bus stop. My Daughter could have ordered a Telebus, connected to the Train, and arrived at Monash Gippsland, all on public transport from her door!

Omeratan, have a look at the Croydon North areas on realestate.com.au - there are some new builds (on half blocks) being sold as House & Land packages within your budget - close to shops, bus lines etc and very convenient to Croydon Main Street, and to Good Shepherd & Luther College


And, there is also Boronia - some parts to the east of Dorset Road are 'the land that time forgot' - real mountain forest type areas, and again, within cooee of the rail station (with a great Macca's nearby!).

Cheers
Kristine
 
I have been living in Croydon for last 2 years and its been fantastic. Everything is within easy reach eg. shops, transport, parks, library etc. Never had any problem and its a pretty descent place to live with family
 
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