My latest purchase, Waterford West QLD

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share my recent purchase with the forum, I know a lot of people are investing in the area and I found these posts useful when looking for mine as to what is out there.

I live in Sydney and wanted a buy and hold property for good short to medium term CG, with a neutral to positive cashflow.
I purchased in Waterford West last year and was very happy with the process and decided to buy in Logan again, I found a very helpful property manager which inspected potential purchases for me and gave a very honest opinion in return for the management post purchase.
I was open to a few suburbs including Crestmead, Bethania, Slacks Creek and Waterford West.

After my PM inspecting around 5 properties in the area, some very bad ones and some overpriced ones, I came across this 5/1/0 in Waterford West on a 700m2 block which ticked all my boxes, my PM gave it the nod so I travelled up for an inspection ASAP and soon came to an agreement of $310,000.
What stood out with this house in particular was that the lower level was legal height and already divided into an additional 2 bedrooms, bathroom and laundry but had only ever been used as storage and there is very limited 5 bedroom houses in the area so it is expected to rent well.

Settlement has now occurred and I am beginning renovations, as I am unable to do the renovations myself at the moment I will be using local tradesmen and keeping them very limited at this stage, my plan is to carpet the two downstairs bedrooms, add a toilet downstairs and carry out some general carpentry repairs and painting.

After this we are hoping for a rental return of $430pw, giving a gross yield of 7.2%

Big thanks to Michael who kindly met up with me and pointed me in the right direction, also talked me out of a not so good purchase and Jamie who made finance an absolute breeze.



 
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Congrats. That's in amazing condition. Surprised you have to do anything to it at all. The only thing I would do is add a carport or sun sail. If the seller was smart they would have held out another 6-12 months. It would have been the easiest 50-100k they ever made. Instead, that 50-100k now goes to you. I'm guessing you don't have any problems with that:)

Always amazed at how much cheaper Brisbane is. Once the boom comes through, I look forward to hearing how - after 7 years of stagnation - investors have made it too hard for FHB to get into the market. Damn those investors, if only FHB had a chance. 7 years is not enough!!!
 
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Would you mind sharing rates and water charges in Logan?
It's around $830 1/4

Yes a carport would be great, I also would like to tile the lower level but I'll wait for a little bit of growth before doing this. I don't think it would be a significant to the rental income ATM.
 
Do rates vary suburb to suburb in Logan? Some who've purchased suggest circa $700 pq...

Yes, Ms Ali, you're right. It's approximately $700 pq or a bit less on average in the cheaper suburbs in Logan
But of course in the more expensive suburbs, like Shailer Park, Daisy Hill, Springwood, Rochedale South etc, the rates is probably more because of the value of the land there.
This takes into account that you pass all the water consumption charges to the tenant.
The Logan rates include fixed water service charges and fixed sewerage charges which is usually included in the water bill for say, Victoria.
It also includes garbage collection and of course, unimproved value of the land.
I think I last calculated one of my rates bills to be 2749.56 per year which is a wee bit less than 700 pq :p
 
Hmmm, I've just compared my rates notice between one of my IPs in a more expensive suburb of Logan and an IP in a cheaper suburb of Logan, all the charges are the same, the only difference is in the rateable value of the land - The more expensive Logan Ip is only $92 more pq due to the higher rateable (unimproved) value of the land.
 
Yes, Ms Ali, you're right. It's approximately $700 pq or a bit less on average in the cheaper suburbs in Logan
But of course in the more expensive suburbs, like Shailer Park, Daisy Hill, Springwood, Rochedale South etc, the rates is probably more because of the value of the land there.
This takes into account that you pass all the water consumption charges to the tenant.
The Logan rates include fixed water service charges and fixed sewerage charges which is usually included in the water bill for say, Victoria.
It also includes garbage collection and of course, unimproved value of the land.
I think I last calculated one of my rates bills to be 2749.56 per year which is a wee bit less than 700 pq :p

Thanks Beanie. That's circa $200 pq more expensive than Sydney. Though if you pass on the water usage to tenant, the difference should be close. Is there an average usage cost you do pass on? Or is it something you've agreed with the tenants?

Further, how different are Loganlea & Loganholme to Logan Central in terms of demographics? They seem like nicer suburbs though further out than Logan Central when comparing distance to the city. They seem more expensive too.

Cheers,
MsAli
 
Thanks Beanie. That's circa $200 pq more expensive than Sydney. Though if you pass on the water usage to tenant, the difference should be close. Is there an average usage cost you do pass on? Or is it something you've agreed with the tenants?

Further, how different are Loganlea & Loganholme to Logan Central in terms of demographics? They seem like nicer suburbs though further out than Logan Central when comparing distance to the city. They seem more expensive too.

Cheers,
MsAli

I pass all water consumption usage to my tenants. You can do this if you spend just $100-$200 on a plumber to make your house water-wise - water saving showerheads, taps, dual flush toilets, stuff like that.

Loganlea can be a mixed bag, some houses same as Logan Central price wise and tenant-wise. Some people like to compare North of Pinelands Road as different to South of Pinelands Rd (nicer) Some people say because of more renters north of Pinelands road, front lawns can be a bit unkempt but north of Pinelands Rd also mean closer to Loganlea train station, hospital etc

Loganholme is considered a nice Logan suburb, large tracts of land, more owner occupied but a bit further south than say Logan Central, Woodrige, Slacks Creek. But also check flood maps as some of those large Loganholme properties are bordering on Logan river.
 
Looks great, well done!

Bottom looks massive height wise and Waterford West would be considered one of the better suburbs in the Logan area.

Based on experience, I would actually expect higher rent than that once downstairs is fitted with a bathroom. Perhaps $450 - $470? I know demand is high at the moment for properties like these for large families.

Might also be worth leaving a suitable space downstairs to add a small kitchen later down the track :)
 
Hi, I'm new to the forum and like many others are interstate and looking to purchase in Brisbane. I appreciate this post and have a couple of questions.

After my PM inspecting around 5 properties in the area, some very bad ones and some overpriced ones, I came across this 5/1/0 in Waterford West on a 700m2 block which ticked all my boxes, my PM gave it the nod so I travelled up for an inspection ASAP .

Just wondering if it is common to get a PM to conduct initial viewings on your behalf?

Settlement has now occurred and I am beginning renovations, as I am unable to do the renovations myself at the moment I will be using local tradesmen and keeping them very limited at this stage, my plan is to carpet the two downstairs bedrooms, add a toilet downstairs and carry out some general carpentry repairs and painting.

I've found a few properties I like location wise but am hesitant as they require cosmetic renovation work (painting, new kitchen etc) to get a good rental return. How will you project manage the renovation from interstate?
 
Hi twisted,

Most PM's will not be willing to conduct initial viewings for you free of charge, but then again, most PM's are not very good :)

A good PM would also have an established list of trustworthy trades that will be a good place to start as a new investor and you will develop your contacts from there over time. PM can also act as the project manager on the ground.

If you want a contact for a good PM in Brisbane, just PM me :)
 
Not all PM's are happy to do this but I was lucky in finding a good one, happy to PM details if you like.

I'm using most trades the PM has recommended and sourced a couple myself from service seeking.

I just ask for photographs of work done and the PM has a look before payment.
 
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