Newbie - owner-occupied property purchase suggestions

F

FairDune

Hi all,

It's great to be a part of this forum. I just joined, so a big hello to all.

I have some basic questions which is why I thought of joining the forum and starting a new thread so that I could get some opinions.

I am considering buying a property which I can live in immediately, am single and plan on living alone, and have a home loan pre-approval of around $450K (but am not necessarily planning on borrowing the full amount). I would actually be able to breathe much easier if I borrowed somewhere between $350K and $400K (anything low is great, obviously!). I currently rent a one bedroom unit in Homebush West, NSW for $360 p/w. So, buying an apartment is preferable, however I am aiming for low strata.

Actually, I don't have an investment mindset yet (I am a bit conservative with an old-school frame of mind) and since this is my first go, I am treading cautiously.

Any suggestions on areas to look out for would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Hiya

cant tell you where to buy..............

but id suggest that if you are planning to make the place an IP, then have an IO loan, with 100 % offset, borrow as much as you reasonably can and stick your left over cash into the offset

Lower risk for you in real terms if things get sticky, and better for tax breaks if you ever rent the place out.

Hows the Flemo Markets these days ?

ta
rolf
 
Welcome,

I was in your position last year and had considered buying my first property. After some really helpful posts from this forum, rather than by my own principal place of residence (PPOR), I bought an investment property instead in another state.

There are many benefits (I won't list them all), including the fact that if you choose well, someone else can help pay your mortgage for you, tax and depreciation benefits, as well as the fact that you can maintain your current lifestyle (and savings). Meanwhile, you can continue to rent wherever you'd like to rent. My suggestion is to do some calculations of you living in the property vs renting it out. You'd be surprised!

If you don't think you're up for investment properties yet, that's okay too. Stick to your PPOR.

Before you buy, I'd spend 3 months+ researching threads on this forum on location (Sydney vs Brisbane), interest only loans and tax. Start right now. Read books too. One of my favourites is Achieving Property Success by Margaret Lomas.

All the best and keep us updated :D
 
FairDune said:
Any suggestions on areas to look out for would be highly appreciated.
Click to expand...
First off, welcome to the good ship SS Forum...setting 'sale' to your dream destination.

What and where to buy is dependent upon your chosen investment strategy.

You see property is merely the vehicle. The strategy is how you intend driving that vehicle.

Unfortunately the mistake I see newbies and sometimes not so newbies is that they are property focused instead of strategy focused which is like putting the cart before the horse.

Property investing is not about property rather about the strategy and the way you intend to use the vehicle to get to where you are wanting to go. No good buying a small shopping car if you intend driving interstate on a family holiday.

What strategy/s are best for you is determined by where you are wanting to go, the time frame you want to get there in and how hands on along the way you want to be ( manual/automatic etc) - all based around your personal risk profile.

I hope this provides some food for thought.

What is your chosen investment strategy?
 
Thanks very much for that insight. It's refreshing to hear the inter-state strategy.

I will keep the posts coming once I am in the selection stage.

BTW, do you know anything about third-party investment companies that, for a fee, actually "select" a property for its clients? I think they are some sort of institutional property holding (kind of) firms that identify properties and do all the paperwork for the client. The reason I ask is because they are quite open to selecting properties across states.

DoAndroidsDream said:
Welcome,

I was in your position last year and had considered buying my first property. After some really helpful posts from this forum, rather than by my own principal place of residence (PPOR), I bought an investment property instead in another state.

There are many benefits (I won't list them all), including the fact that if you choose well, someone else can help pay your mortgage for you, tax and depreciation benefits, as well as the fact that you can maintain your current lifestyle (and savings). Meanwhile, you can continue to rent wherever you'd like to rent. My suggestion is to do some calculations of you living in the property vs renting it out. You'd be surprised!

If you don't think you're up for investment properties yet, that's okay too. Stick to your PPOR.

Before you buy, I'd spend 3 months+ researching threads on this forum on location (Sydney vs Brisbane), interest only loans and tax. Start right now. Read books too. One of my favourites is Achieving Property Success by Margaret Lomas.

All the best and keep us updated :D
Click to expand...
 
I work in Olympic Park, but currently would like to stick around in Sydney.

Did you mean I could achieve the property goal better if I live and work in Canberra?

The Y-man said:
Need more info - how far are you willing to travel to work? Where do you work?
Happy to live in Canberra for example?

The Y-man
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the post, much appreciated.

I have very little idea about the strategy that you are referring to. Basically, I am not in a financial position to take risks above $450K. I know that an answer like "Capital growth of 100% in the next 7 years" or "8% Yield" are strategies I should have thought about, but I am barely starting out. I have yet to make up my mind, and maybe some opinions here might help me do that.

Rixter said:
First off, welcome to the good ship SS Forum...setting 'sale' to your dream destination.

What and where to buy is dependent upon your chosen investment strategy.

You see property is merely the vehicle. The strategy is how you intend driving that vehicle.

Unfortunately the mistake I see newbies and sometimes not so newbies is that they are property focused instead of strategy focused which is like putting the cart before the horse.

Property investing is not about property rather about the strategy and the way you intend to use the vehicle to get to where you are wanting to go. No good buying a small shopping car if you intend driving interstate on a family holiday.

What strategy/s are best for you is determined by where you are wanting to go, the time frame you want to get there in and how hands on along the way you want to be ( manual/automatic etc) - all based around your personal risk profile.

I hope this provides some food for thought.

What is your chosen investment strategy?
Click to expand...
 
FairDune said:
BTW, do you know anything about third-party investment companies that, for a fee, actually "select" a property for its clients? I think they are some sort of institutional property holding (kind of) firms that identify properties and do all the paperwork for the client. The reason I ask is because they are quite open to selecting properties across states.
Click to expand...

Many are companies that are contracted by developers to sell properties with big commissions.

If you are looking interstae etc, use a reputable buyer's agent / advocate.

The Y-man
 
Yeah I thought so, these probably won't be any good. But the one I was recently contacted by claims it has no links to any developers. I won't name the org here, maybe I'll PM you?

The Y-man said:
Many are companies that are contracted by developers to sell properties with big commissions.

If you are looking interstae etc, use a reputable buyer's agent / advocate.

The Y-man
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, the markets are great. There is plenty of property appreciation here as well. A bit regretful that I wasn't here at the right time.


Rolf Latham said:
Hiya

cant tell you where to buy..............

but id suggest that if you are planning to make the place an IP, then have an IO loan, with 100 % offset, borrow as much as you reasonably can and stick your left over cash into the offset

Lower risk for you in real terms if things get sticky, and better for tax breaks if you ever rent the place out.

Hows the Flemo Markets these days ?

ta
rolf
Click to expand...
 
Yeah absolutely, I agree. I am game to buy elsewhere while continuing to keep Sydney as base. So that makes it a IP scenario. I have just not done any real ground-level research on prices elsewhere.

The Y-man said:
Just to make a point that many people ask for opinions, but don't give enough parameters, so it makes it hard to provide any views....

The Y-man
Click to expand...
 
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