Put off by 2nd floor - unit

So don't stress, concentrate on making sure that you have a generous finance clause, don't promise more deposit than you have available and get the longest settlement you can

Good luck, have fun and congratulations on giving it a go!

Cheers
Kristine

thanks

What do you mean by generous finance clause?

Yeah I was thinking of a 2 month settlement. The agent says he is flexible on settlement periods, but Im thinking that because it is vacant and has been for the past 6 or more weeks then the vendor would want a quick settlement, cos he's not getting any rental income. I guess I will ask the agent again what settlement period he wants and go from there. I'll try to get 2 months or longer if I can. If I have to I'll go for 6 weeks.

Good luck, have fun and congratulations on giving it a go!

thanks :)
 
Yeah it would be. But it also is a great learning experience and if I were to miss out on it, it would help for the next one!

There was a unit in inglewood I wanted to view but didnt get to because someone was able to view it in the middle of the day and I wasnt because i work full time. That was a tricky one. Tenant was very picky with his times. My appointment time was supposed to be this Thursday.

I have just started this new job in another team in my business area and im working really long hours, im settling in and wanting to make a good impression. Its kinda hard atm.

All the more reason not to procrastinate when you find something that ticks all the boxes.

Cheers
Greg
 
I was reading the furnished units threads on here and I dont like the idea/hassle of renting it furnished.

There are a number of reasons/disadvantages for me:

- shorter tenancy periods
(i want a long term lease, someone that wants to stay long term)
Kim,
Generally, I've found that to be true.. but if you can arrange corporate letting, it can turn into a long term arrangement. There are a few other bonuses with corporate letting, you shouldn't need to worry about the rent being paid on time, better quality tenant in general.

Corporate letting can depend on the location i.e. proximity to cbd or nearby construction projects
 
Hi Kim

My partner and i live in the top floor, up three flights of stairs, on a main road in inner melb. We brought there 3 years ago because it was the best we could afford at the time. Yes, the stairs can be a pain at times nd sometimes it is noisy (we are investgating double glazing) but the location for us far outweighs the benefits - we both walk to walk and we love the inner city lifestyle. And we have no plans to move.

Even though we have an IP on the ground floor, this place suits us as a young professional couple, and we don't have any worries that we won't be able to find a tenant when we do decide to move.
 
Hi Kim

My partner and i live in the top floor, up three flights of stairs, on a main road in inner melb. We brought there 3 years ago because it was the best we could afford at the time. Yes, the stairs can be a pain at times nd sometimes it is noisy (we are investgating double glazing) but the location for us far outweighs the benefits .

I agree that it's about the location and what each unit has to offer, not just what floor it's on. There are benefits and negatives to any location. I am on a ground floor, despite initially wanting third floor for the reason a few have said... security. There was one for sale on a third floor that I would have purchased but couldn't make offer at the time (waiting on sale of house). They rarely come up for sale in this block so when a ground floor one came up. The location, presentation and facilities of this block were the key factors so I was willing to accept ground here rather than higher level in another complex. And looking back, I much prefer where I am (not to mention it wouldn't have been pleasant having a 220kg piano delivered up 2 flights of stairs). I have a courtyard and look out at a park, whereas the third floor one was internal with a small balcony that looked into another apartment. Mine is far more private, and I don't have ANY concerns about break ins. I've done a few minor modifications for my own peace of mind, having said that, I live in a nice area. If I lived in somewhere like Footscray then I'd want top floor, bars on my windows and three dead locks. :)

I have done some work in real estate, and seen what tenants do and don't like. People who won't want a third floor apartment without a lift are as others have said... elderly, disabled, and couples with a baby. Can't remember if you said the one you are looking at is one bedroom or not, which if it is, couples with a baby are unlikely to be applying. We even had one client specificially after a ground floor (this was a sale not rental), very wealthy so could have had a penthouse if he wanted too, for his pet so he wanted a court yard for it.

You need to look at the target tenants, if there are a lot of students in the area like I think you or someone said, then it won't be a problem. If it's in a suburb which is a bit ordinary and has high crime, again I think top floor would be more appealing.
 
thanks for all the replies its been helpful :)

I put an offer today :D

I put an offer on the property for $213,650. The agent said that he didnt think the vendor would accept it and that he was after $230's. I stuck to my guns after being told a couple of times he didnt think he would accept it. He realised I was serious and wasnt going to budge on price.


He also asked would I be able to go higher. I was careful in my response. I didnt let the agent know my top limit that i would go to (which was about $220 K) I said I was squeezed and I could possibly go $2 K more. He then said he would talk with the vendor and get back to me.


The agent rang me back 5 hours later and told me the vendor has counter - offered at $237,500. The agent said that he was able to sell in the 230's when it went under offer the first time. The sale fell through about 2 weeks ago. He wont take less than $237 K. I said then I'll have to leave it at that. I also said to keep my number in case in the future the vendor changes his mind about my offer.

This vendor didnt even want to negotiate with me.

It was a good experience. I'm glad I did it!

I think I handled the situation quite well. I stood firm. In the end I wasnt willing to pay the $237 K that he wanted so negotiations stopped there. There will be other properties around the corner.

The only thing is in the areas im looking at 5 - 7 kms from the cbd of perth they are all going so fast im assuming if you want the property you would have to pay pretty much what the vendor is asking or close to it. If I find im not able to buy an ip after trying to go too low with my offers I might have to offer closer to the asking price (but the low end of it) otherwise months will go past i wont buy anything and in the mean time values will have gone up. I'll have to take that into consideration!
 
Great!
So tell them the truth:
"It's not what I was looking for, but I would take it for $193k."
"I offer you $193K* for it. Please let me know the answer asap cause I'm looking at lots of properties in the next few weeks."
And do not say a word until the REA says "Yes, I'll do that".
Whatever else they say, repeat the above 3 times until you get that answer.
After that, thank them for their time and look at something else.

Just because it's not exactly what your after, dont mean you should'nt buy it if the deal is good.

*always subject to finance, inspections etc

thanks for that piece of advice. It worked well for me today. I put it into action
 
You should really try and get some sort of finance approval before you start putting in offers so you know exactley how much you can afford to offer. Makes it a lot easier to negotiate as you can offer shorter settlement

If you havent got finance approval I wouldnt be putting in any offers with a settlement date of less then 2 months from the acceptance date. Getting finance and everything else sorted can take a long time
 
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