Ready to buy, finally!

[Dillon]

Hi everyone, glad I found this site as I'm looking for a bit of advice on buying my first property.

I'm 24 and looking to buy a 3 bedroom property for around the 350 mark max. I have a 10% deposit which I intend on trying to use only 5 of that to secure a property.

My plan is to buy a 3 bedroom to live in myself and rent the other two rooms to friends (for the first year anyway).

The main things I'm having trouble with is where and what type of property (older house on bigger block or newer townhouse).

Some areas I've been thinking are St Albans, Keilor Downs, Altona Meadows, Thomastown and there surrounding suburbs. As you can see there all over the place.

Am I even on the right track? I'm trying to research there growth but not really having and luck, any help/advice would be much appreciated.

 

[The Y-man]

My plan is to buy a 3 bedroom to live in myself and rent the other two rooms to friends (for the first year anyway).

The main things I'm having trouble with is where and what type of property (older house on bigger block or newer townhouse).

Go the crappier house on big block as:

1. you can't claim depreciation anyway
2. you and your friands can party and semi demolish with no great loss
3. potential to improve both land and building

The Y-man

 

[Dillon]

Thanks mate, what about the areas I've listed?

 

[The Y-man]

Thanks mate, what about the areas I've listed?

Couldn't tell you - too many variables - eg how far you want ot travel to occupation, personal needs, types of neighbours you want to live amongst etc.

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[oracle]

Somewhere close to public transport would be a good start. If you can also get close to shops would be even better.

Cheers,
Oracle.

 

[Ski-bum]

I'm trying to research there growth but not really having and luck, any help/advice would be much appreciated.

I would start with free suburb reports on rpdata:
http://www.myrp.com.au/listInsiderProducts.do

Once you've narrowed it down, you can pay for in depth suburb profiles if you want.

Have a drive around those areas, go to the local shopping centre and have lunch at one of their shopping strips. This will give a good feel of what the suburb is like, and more importantly, whether you would like to live there.

 

[Invest]

Stay the phuck away from St Albans if you know what's good for you... have you lived in the area? I moved from Pascoe Vale to Sydenham (which is not a bad area) but being surrounded by St Albans and Sunshine is not good. Although I only see those suburbs when I catch the train to work.

Keilor Plains is better, Sydenham and Hillside are also... Taylors Hill etc.

 

[Dillon]

Thanks for the info guys.

Where I live and " how far you want to travel to occupation, personal needs, types of neighbours you want to live amongst etc." are not important at all to me.

The only thing important to me with this property is capital gains. The plan is to live there for a year whilst doing it up a bit then move out, rent it and watch it grow in value.

And Invest do you know how much sunshine has gone up in the last few years?? It's crazy. I would love to buy there but it's out of my price range.

 

[Invest]

Thanks for the info guys.

Where I live and " how far you want to travel to occupation, personal needs, types of neighbours you want to live amongst etc." are not important at all to me.

The only thing important to me with this property is capital gains. The plan is to live there for a year whilst doing it up a bit then move out, rent it and watch it grow in value.

And Invest do you know how much sunshine has gone up in the last few years?? It's crazy. I would love to buy there but it's out of my price range.

ost suburbs in Melbourne went up in value... would I still want to live in Sunshine? No!

 

[mary&mat]

Thanks for the info guys.

Where I live and " how far you want to travel to occupation, personal needs, types of neighbours you want to live amongst etc." are not important at all to me.

The only thing important to me with this property is capital gains.

Hi Dillon,

Agree with Invest, most suburbs went up. Some have had 'crazy' gains, but are they sustainable over the long term? Perhaps look into suburbs with a longer track record of solid growth rather than just a spurt.

The considerations that you say don't matter to you, as you just want CG, may matter to those who will rent your property. If you want a good standard of tenant, I would look at buying in a 'good' neighbourhood. While that doesn't guarantee they will look after you investment, it ups the odds.

If there are old cars parked on someone's front lawn, unmown grass, falling down fences, a pyramid of Jack Daniels bottles on the verandah etc, I would imagine the people in those areas don't take much pride in the appearance of their house or their neighbourhood. (This is just how I imagine Sunshine / parts of Melton, parts of Frankston, parts of St Albans etc.)

If I were a tenant & renting a place there, I'd be looking to get out as fast as I could.

It's a nice plan to sit back & wait for CG, but please do some more research & see if you can't find a nicer area (don't mean to sound snobby)

Best o luck

 

[Dillon]

I didn't really look at it that way but yeah your right. Thanks

Baah there's so much info and research I need to do, It gets a little overwhelming at times. Just when you think your getting somewhere too.

 

[mary&mat]

I didn't really look at it that way but yeah your right. Thanks

Baah there's so much info and research I need to do, It gets a little overwhelming at times. Just when you think your getting somewhere too.

Hi Dillon,

Hope my last post wasn't too harsh

I think you are getting somewhere...you've already decided you want CG, a house as your vehicle for getting them & you've narrowed down areas to look at. That's A LOT more than some people who post here just saying 'where should I buy?'. So give yourself the credit you deserve...all this at 24, you're doing really well!!!

Perhaps you could look at what drives CG to assist you in narrowing down areas that will meet your criteria? Can you list certain things that make one area more desirable than another eg transport, schools, infrastructure, close to water etc. Also look at areas that don't do well in terms of CG & ask why they're not doing well...eg 40kms out from the city, no public transport etc.

Then you could look at why certain streets outperform others in that area. why certain houses/units do better than others in that street etc. This knowledge will help you to back yourself & your own decision in which area is good for you.

Can you explain why the 3br house you're looking at is likely to have good CG? What's the area like? What are the demographics eg are there a lot of new Australians living there, are 30% of households owner-occupied & what does that mean, is it close to factories & what effect would that have on prospective tenants etc?

I think your knowledge & confidence will increase the more research you do.

Best o luck & let us know what you discover

Regards, M&M