Need help for buying house !

Dear All,

Can you please give us some suggestions for where to buy in Melbourne ?

Below is the basic requirements:

recommend place with budget of 400k to 550k
3 bedroom, double garage (if possible) if not single is okay, easy access to 20 min walk min to train station , within 25km of city .
I would like to prefer this is a backyard.

any comments would be highly appreciated. Thanks !

Best Rgds

Lady.J
 
Lady J

Have you looked up realestate.com.au ?

You will find there is a endless supply of properties that suit your budget.

In relation to the 4 main directions

South ( bayside): You will stuggle to find any, you might find some 5km in from the bay
East: There is plenty, but you will have to start at about 20km mark
North & West: Except for the first 10 - 13km you will easily find houses that suit your budget

Jezza
 
Lady J

Have you looked up realestate.com.au ?

You will find there is a endless supply of properties that suit your budget.

In relation to the 4 main directions

South ( bayside): You will stuggle to find any, you might find some 5km in from the bay
East: There is plenty, but you will have to start at about 20km mark
North & West: Except for the first 10 - 13km you will easily find houses that suit your budget

Jezza

HI Jezza,

Yea..I know that website very well since we search house on line everyday..but we just can't make our mind which one is the best for young family to buy .

How about Altona Meadows ?
Do u know this place well ?

Thanks for your help !

Best Rgds

Lady.J
 
I like Altona Meadows, but I'm biased, I just bought there. I didn't really look into Point Cook, but my opinion is that there's still too much development going on there, and to be honest I didn't like the houses, from the quick drive through I did. Looked like concrete clone boxes to me, but that was just from a few minute drive through that I did.

I'm not saying Point Cook isn't good, do your own research, but the reason I liked Altona Meadows is, it's only a few km's to Altona Beach, less than 20km to CBD, good shops and transport, nice homes - mostly well presented which indicated the area is somewhere I would live in, can still get a decent 3 bedroom home under $400K (so for your budget, you'd get a really nice home for that, maybe even look into Altona itself?), it's far enough south away from the industrial areas of Laverton/North Altona (I think that's where they are, I'm not that familiar with the west) and hardly any land left.

As I said, I bought there so I'm biased, but they're my views based on my recent research.
 
I live in point cook and its great. I like the way the new town centre is set up, its not just a big box with shops in it. Point Cook is newer and most of the houses here are Mcmansion type (2 floors / 4bed / 2bath / double lock up garage / various entertainment areas) Altona Meadows is older and I think cheaper? So if you want new go point cook if older is ok then Altona Meadows is great as well
 
If it's an IP, then I think Altona will be a much better choice.

If it's a PPOR, then definitely spend a weekend hanging around in the two areas... where and if you work is another very big thing to consider! There's alot of land being developed around point cook aswell, so the traffic congestion is probably going to increase.
 
Yeah traffic is a major problem already. I used to take the Boardwalk Blvd onramp to the M1, its almost impossible now, good things there’s the Palmers Rd onramp otherwise I’d be stuffed every morning.
 
Hello Lady-J!

I too have been weighing up the options between point cook and altona meadows.

From what I've researched so far I believe in the following (btw I dont ever claim to be an expert or anything like that, Im learning too so if anyone else reading this can you guide and correct any false statements/illusions I may have? )

Altona Meadows
- If you like bigger blocks of land and more spaced out.
- Suburb has more charactor, not as sterile as Point Cook.
- Better serviced by buses for the time being, PC will improve in future.
- In some cases can be within walking distance to train station
- Train station is in Zone 1 which is the Same train station that Point Cook ppl drive to.
- Less traffic problems until freeway onramp infrastructure is improved in Point Cook.
- Can see slow steady growth sooner in the property.
- All the troublesome teenagers have moved out.
- 5 min drive to not bad (average) Altona Beach and Williamstown (lovely area)
- In the middle between two good growth areas (Point Cook & Altona), I guess this area will always be sqeeuzed/influenced into the positive.
- 15 min drive to city?

Point Cook
- Brand new houses, best value and distance from the city so far.
- Have to wait until all available land is sold out to see good growth. (Im guessing wait until 10 years)??
- Slightly further away from city (20 min drive?) , logically Im thinking properties closer to the CBD will tend to appreciate more but Point Cook I get a feeling its already consider a prestigious area. Im not sure if this means Point Cook will always be ahead of Altona Meadows roughly by $100k? (still learning here)
- Lots of people having new famalies will tend to setup in this area.. in 15 years time when the kids grow up wonder if they will cause trouble?
Probably all the troublesome ones will be located on the otherside in Wyndham Vale

Yeah personal preference, old house vs new house with consideration with land size and suburb general feeling.
 
I like Altona Meadows, but I'm biased, I just bought there. I didn't really look into Point Cook, but my opinion is that there's still too much development going on there, and to be honest I didn't like the houses, from the quick drive through I did. Looked like concrete clone boxes to me, but that was just from a few minute drive through that I did.

I'm not saying Point Cook isn't good, do your own research, but the reason I liked Altona Meadows is, it's only a few km's to Altona Beach, less than 20km to CBD, good shops and transport, nice homes - mostly well presented which indicated the area is somewhere I would live in, can still get a decent 3 bedroom home under $400K (so for your budget, you'd get a really nice home for that, maybe even look into Altona itself?), it's far enough south away from the industrial areas of Laverton/North Altona (I think that's where they are, I'm not that familiar with the west) and hardly any land left.

As I said, I bought there so I'm biased, but they're my views based on my recent research.

Hi Biggles,

Thanks for your comments and glad you like there very much !

Do u know is there any Chinese restaurant near by ?
Thanks !

Lady.J
 
I live in point cook and its great. I like the way the new town centre is set up, its not just a big box with shops in it. Point Cook is newer and most of the houses here are Mcmansion type (2 floors / 4bed / 2bath / double lock up garage / various entertainment areas) Altona Meadows is older and I think cheaper? So if you want new go point cook if older is ok then Altona Meadows is great as well


thanks Zed Kid ! I think point cook is good for young people !
but i think there is no much back yard there....:(
 
Hello Lady-J!

I too have been weighing up the options between point cook and altona meadows.

From what I've researched so far I believe in the following (btw I dont ever claim to be an expert or anything like that, Im learning too so if anyone else reading this can you guide and correct any false statements/illusions I may have? )

Altona Meadows
- If you like bigger blocks of land and more spaced out.
- Suburb has more charactor, not as sterile as Point Cook.
- Better serviced by buses for the time being, PC will improve in future.
- In some cases can be within walking distance to train station
- Train station is in Zone 1 which is the Same train station that Point Cook ppl drive to.
- Less traffic problems until freeway onramp infrastructure is improved in Point Cook.
- Can see slow steady growth sooner in the property.
- All the troublesome teenagers have moved out.
- 5 min drive to not bad (average) Altona Beach and Williamstown (lovely area)
- In the middle between two good growth areas (Point Cook & Altona), I guess this area will always be sqeeuzed/influenced into the positive.
- 15 min drive to city?

Point Cook
- Brand new houses, best value and distance from the city so far.
- Have to wait until all available land is sold out to see good growth. (Im guessing wait until 10 years)??
- Slightly further away from city (20 min drive?) , logically Im thinking properties closer to the CBD will tend to appreciate more but Point Cook I get a feeling its already consider a prestigious area. Im not sure if this means Point Cook will always be ahead of Altona Meadows roughly by $100k? (still learning here)
- Lots of people having new famalies will tend to setup in this area.. in 15 years time when the kids grow up wonder if they will cause trouble?
Probably all the troublesome ones will be located on the otherside in Wyndham Vale

Yeah personal preference, old house vs new house with consideration with land size and suburb general feeling.


Very helpful infomation between thoes two suburbs. Thanks Darkage !

My fiance is on the way back by just visiting Altona Meadows and PC. I can't wait to hear what he thinks about thoes two places :p
 
thanks Zed Kid ! I think point cook is good for young people !
but i think there is no much back yard there....:(

I’ve noticed there is a big chinese / asian community in point cook. There are chinese restaurants and even a specialised chinese grocery store in the point cook town centre. Also regarding back yards, it varies. There are big blocks in ‘older’ estates, for example my house is on a 800m2 block and we bought stage 1 in 2003.

Is point cook really considered a prestige area? My friend was trying to buy in to PC in 2006 and couldn’t get anything decent (200k) budget so he bought in Altona Meadows and has realised 100%+ CG so far. I think there is still heaps of growth potential out here in the south west locations.

Edit: would be interest to know what your partner thinks of both PC and altona meadows, if you don’t mind please update this thread when you get the info
 
would love to know what your partner thinks too!

Very helpful infomation between thoes two suburbs. Thanks Darkage !

My fiance is on the way back by just visiting Altona Meadows and PC. I can't wait to hear what he thinks about thoes two places :p

Hi, your partner should write a report for us. I live in Altona Meadows, have family in Point Cook, like them both for different reasons, but probably prefer Altona Meadows, it's smack bang in the middle, and like someone stated earlier not so sterile.Would love to hear an outsiders view, someone visiting for the first time.
 
Hi Guys,

I asked my Fiance to write a report for us. Here it is ! :p
your comments will be welcome !

Sorry it is a bit long ! :D

------------
I grew up in the south-east. Mulgave to be exact. Although my parents have given me the impression of the West is bad throughout my life, I visited Altona Meadows to have a good walk around with a totally clear mind.

I left work at about 6:20pm from St Kilda road was pleasently surprised by how long it only too about 35mins in medium level traffic. Would be totally awesome in non peak traffic On the freeway, smelt the familiar rotten smell in two sections of the freeway before turning off at Altona. Drove past those petro-chemical plant(s). Reached Altona beach front, was surprised by the night time view across the bay. (First time I saw in my life) Then on to the drive to Altona Meadows 5 mins down the road *bonus*. Was driving South of Central Ave, saw someone walking the dog on the road. Thought what the.. why are they walking on the road? Parked at Macneil Dr and went for a walk south. Found out reason for people walking on the road, not all footpaths have been installed? most streets have footpaths just on one side of the road for this part of the area.

Noticed in this part of Altona Meadows alot of kind of on the kind of small (not too small) houses mixed up with some decent sized ones. Looks
like the house styles from probably the late 80's early 90's? Saw Waratah Dr, I got a surprise. How come theres all these McMansions here? Pretty much one next to another. I guess these were built around early 2000? Must have been very cheap land at the time to have that ability. Constantly I was smelling the air for any hint of factory airfluent. I smelt something that wasn't fresh but it wasn't the expected Altona factory smell. I thought to myself, it smells like Country China where every house burns a wood fire for heating & cooking.. Thats when I looked up at a McMansion, ohh I saw a wood heater chimey.. Then I looked at the next McMansion and the next with them.. hought to myself its the wood burning off. even a few non McMansions had wood heaters. In my part of the east theres just the odd few people that have these. I thought probably not good for asthma suffers. It was a still windless night so thats understandable.

Walked back to my car along side a park, was surprised to see Sanctuary Lakes on the other side. I saw airfluent in the distance being produced
by Laverton factories (to take a guess).. This made me a little worried for air quality. Thought to myself, oh poor Laventon ppl if they have to put up with that.

Hoped back into car went to older part of Altona Meadows closer to the north end. Hoped out of car at Powlett St.. Was surprised to see the same type of houses I grew up with. I was very happy to see this style. I guess these were built in the late 70's ? I thought great this is what style I like the most. Then I listened and heard the freeway noise. Sounded pretty loud. I thought I was far enough from the freeway but I guess in the West it doesnt have a good enough sound proofing as the East side freeways do. I live the same distance from the South-Eastern free way and in the East I can only hear a faint background noise its low enough to forget about it unless you listen for it.. East link is even better, it just sounds like a light swooooossh even when your next to it at some parts, well for at least my area. So I drove to Talbot St and listened again.. ahh a little better, buildings in front helping to block the noise. ?Looked at the people walking the street. Seems average families and a few rough looking people whom are not so bad. Forgot I was in the West while looking around. Above Queen St and Central Ave, can see graffiti tags on alot of signs, fire hydrants. In the newer areas these were absent.

Overall I can see the appeal of this suburb for people who grew up on the west. Seems like a very family orientated suburb and a great place for first home buyers to get their foot in the door especially if your accustomed with living in the Western Suburbs. As for me born in the East it was okay, but Im a little worried about the air quality. I felt a little sick on the way back home, I know it was from the air but I wouldnt think Altona Meadows has a problem like that. factory along the freeway perhaps To me the older style houses in the South East part of Altona Meadows appeals to me for the older style and distance far away from the freeway which should be quieter.
I would be nervous about air quality. Not sure if the area is affected by any airfluent from Laverton? but I felt a bit sick on the way home from the air I breathed from somewhere. Maybe probably from the freeway drive passing factories there.

Altona Meadows is great for affordability and close drive to the city, but for myself for a PPOR I would prefer to buy within the southeast somewhere within an area that has a slightly tarnished reputation and try to find a good pocketed area within there. I think it has more to do with knowing surrounding distance suburb areas are more environmentally cleaner. Well those McMansions seem appealling but thats crazy big places.

Above all I see this suburb a good choice for IP for sure. Just make sure its close to the station.

After that went to see Point Cook, seems nice suburb but doesnt really have charactor.. Has a generic feeling to it. All those houses seem the samedesign that I guess thats why plus its still developing.. Looks more better planned than Altona Meadows in regards to the newer part of that suburb. Maybe coz I saw more completed footpaths :)


---End
 
What about Dandenong North ?

It won't meet your criterea regarding the railway station - Noble Park is on the other side of the Hwy, and has a station.

Your fiance will know the local conditions (and reputation) growing up "next door" in Mulgrave :)

Plenty of Asian restaurants and groceries in nearby Springvale (and Dandenong for that matter).

The Y-man
 
Hello Lady-J!

I too have been weighing up the options between point cook and altona meadows.

I am too considering and interested in Altona Meadows especially with the recent growth in the area but I've been hearing some drawback.
- Laverton station is not really safe station especially after dark.
- It is a hoon hot-spot in Altona Meadows area.

I never live in Altona Meadows/around western suburb. So can anyone who lives or knows the area advise if the above are valid? Is there any other disadvantages to the area that I should be aware of? How is the area in general i.e: crime, safety, etc... Thanks.
 
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