Novice in need of some help

Hi everyone,
Newbie here in need of some advice. My husband and I are looking to purchase an investment property in Western Sydney and after doing some research we had decided to focus on the Campbelltown area. Since we live in the inner west and have two little ones the thought of driving out to the area every Saturday to view properties wasn't very enticing so we've been looking at engaging the help of a buyer's agent. Only problem is, after contacting a few listed on the REBAA website we are finding to difficult to track down one who specialises in Western Sydney. A few even advised us not to purchase in this area - leaving us even more confused as everything we've read so far seems to indicate that Western Sydney (especially Campbelltown) is a good place to invest.

Ideally, at this point in time we would like to purchase a property that has positive or neutral cash flow with the potential to add value down the track (somewhere around the 300K mark).

Should we steer clear of Campbelltown and look at other areas in Western Sydney? Has anyone, or can someone recommend, a buyer's agent who specialises in Western Sydney?

Any advice would be wonderful.
 
Hello Hampden,

I've been on here a lot lately and noticed your post.
I can only share my experiences in Western Sydney to this point (as a relatively new investor to the game).
I have two units; one in Granville and one in St Marys. I've held Granville for almost three years and am pleased with the results.

St Marys is certainly an area to take note of. I've held for a year and whilst capital growth has been flat; it's a neutral property that occasionally dips into positive (depending on interest rates etc). St Marys is a good growth area; I was initially concerned with how much stock there was on the market (sometimes that's a negative indicator) yet rental vacancy rates are consistently low (usually hovering around 2%) and yields are really quite phenomonal. Better still; I think there is scope to add value to some of the older units (which is what I'll be looking to do in the next 12 months; it's a flat market so a slight cosmetic upgrade should do the trick). And, unlike Eastern Subs/Northern Beaches/Inner west, you don't need to cosmetically reno to the bells/whistles/frills/doilies standard of these areas; instead, modest paint jobs; a little ikea kitchen and some very basic cost efficient retiling/recarpeting does the trick quite nicely.

I bought a 2br unit for $180K, so your budget is $300K. You could look at a very basic house for that in the St Marys area (try to stick to St Marys and not North Saint Marys), or potentially look at picking up two cheap units?


I'm sorry, I cannot speak for Campbelltown; I have no knowledge of the area and the only comments I could make would be others' verbatim anyways.

In regards to buyers agents I knew of one servicing the inner west out to Parramatta but not beyond there I'm sorry.
There is a buyer's agent who blogs on here occasionally, I've never written to her (and her name escapes me!) but she knows the blacktown and outer western sydney area very well; I've always respected her posts. Comrades - can anyone help me out? She has a picture on her profile, sort of shoulderlength brown hair?
 
Hi Hampden,

I agree with Operative_me regarding investment in Western Sydney. The rental yield is phenominal, and it is not difficult to pick up a cash flow neutral and positive. I have also recently bought a townhouse in St Marys and the rental yield is great. It was built a few years ago, so I can benefit from capital works deduction.

The buyer's agent Operative_me referred to is Jacque. You can try to PM her. Nathan posts on the forum frequently too, he might be able to help you.

Good luck!

Catherine
 
Hello Hampden,

I've been on here a lot lately and noticed your post.
I can only share my experiences in Western Sydney to this point (as a relatively new investor to the game).
I have two units; one in Granville and one in St Marys. I've held Granville for almost three years and am pleased with the results.

St Marys is certainly an area to take note of. I've held for a year and whilst capital growth has been flat; it's a neutral property that occasionally dips into positive (depending on interest rates etc). St Marys is a good growth area; I was initially concerned with how much stock there was on the market (sometimes that's a negative indicator) yet rental vacancy rates are consistently low (usually hovering around 2%) and yields are really quite phenomonal. Better still; I think there is scope to add value to some of the older units (which is what I'll be looking to do in the next 12 months; it's a flat market so a slight cosmetic upgrade should do the trick). And, unlike Eastern Subs/Northern Beaches/Inner west, you don't need to cosmetically reno to the bells/whistles/frills/doilies standard of these areas; instead, modest paint jobs; a little ikea kitchen and some very basic cost efficient retiling/recarpeting does the trick quite nicely.

I bought a 2br unit for $180K, so your budget is $300K. You could look at a very basic house for that in the St Marys area (try to stick to St Marys and not North Saint Marys), or potentially look at picking up two cheap units?


I'm sorry, I cannot speak for Campbelltown; I have no knowledge of the area and the only comments I could make would be others' verbatim anyways.

In regards to buyers agents I knew of one servicing the inner west out to Parramatta but not beyond there I'm sorry.
There is a buyer's agent who blogs on here occasionally, I've never written to her (and her name escapes me!) but she knows the blacktown and outer western sydney area very well; I've always respected her posts. Comrades - can anyone help me out? She has a picture on her profile, sort of shoulderlength brown hair?
Thanks for the advice Operative me. Much appreciated. I have seen St Mary's mentioned a few times so will definitely have another look.
 
Hi Hampden,

I agree with Operative_me regarding investment in Western Sydney. The rental yield is phenominal, and it is not difficult to pick up a cash flow neutral and positive. I have also recently bought a townhouse in St Marys and the rental yield is great. It was built a few years ago, so I can benefit from capital works deduction.

The buyer's agent Operative_me referred to is Jacque. You can try to PM her. Nathan posts on the forum frequently too, he might be able to help you.

Good luck!

Catherine
Thanks Catherine. Will take a closer look at St Mary's. Now, to find a buyer's agent to help me out...
 
Ive heard of some promising things about Doonside, even Blacktown but i dont think i am totally convinced about Western Sydney in its long term capital growth outlook.

I'm sure if you get in a nice spot in these locations and hold for the long term you cant really go wrong but it may be even worth looking at something smaller closer in, a unit near Parramatta/Westmead/Wentworthville areas.
 
Thanks Propertunity. My husband actually contacted Jacque's office the other day and was told that she mainly specialises in North Western Sydney - Hills district.

Hi Catherine

Thanks for that- our cutoff is actually the Blacktown LGA (Doonside is about the limit as far as western suburbs go) but you can still pick up a house in these areas for $300K if you look hard enough. Feel free to call me directly if you want to discuss further- I'm actually on my way out there today checking out stock for a client :D

Just curious as to what you read that indicated Campbelltown is now your preferred choice over Western Sydney? Be wary of some sources- I tend to rely on a no. of factors with area selection, including past growth, current infrastructure plans and yields, amongst others. Ensure you do your homework thoroughly here and speak to others who've invested in your areas of interest.

As others have mentioned, you might want to also consider a unit in the Pfor less than your budget as an alternative. Some great little starters that you could add value to cheaply and increase yield this way.

Positive cashflow is very difficult to achieve and (before tax) requires an approx gross yield of 10% for your average investment, if you're considering all monies spent (100% of purchase price) On a $300K purchase this equates to a weekly rent of $575 per week. If you can locate returns like this, without having to spend further funds to renovate or add a dual occ then give me a call and I'll hire you :D:D

Best of luck with it all- sorry I can't help you with a recommendation out St Marys way. I'm very careful with referrals and only refer those whom I know work much like us and have excellent reputations.
 
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