I am looking at expanding my IP portfolio. Due to Sydney being everything too expensive these days, I am casting the net further out to say Melbourne and Brisbane. Of course another advantage is another land tax threshold available where in Sydney it is easy to go over it (land is so expensive) for land tax purposes. My wife and I are keen to buy something in Melbourne.
I am looking at something like townhouse/villa closer to Melbourne city, or even a house further out if there are good growth potential. I don't like units personally as it is easily duplicated out.
I am looking at a number of suburbs such as Brunswick/Coburg area, Blackburn/Balwyn/Box Hill, Glen Waverley/Mount Waverley/Mulgrave areas. I still have a lot of research to do.
Now obviously there are tons of suburbs in Melbourne which I can look online, but nothing beats getting to Melbourne and look at it ourselves. So it makes it very tough and exhaustive way to look for opportunities.
Obviously one way to do it is to get a local buyers agent. But we both like to know the area ourselves first before purchasing. But like most people, both of us are working Mon-Fri and in many ways, time poor.
So for people who are seasoned interstate investors who are working Mon-Fri full time, do you travel interstate on regular weekends to buy property? Or most people here simply use agents and do not bothered to see the locale and properties available before buying?
Ironically if Adelaide is a growth city then I would be easily buying it in Adelaide as I lived there for 11 years and know the suburbs fairly well (and definitely know about Elizabeth area where most the somersofters seems have a property there!), not to mention the houses are cheap comparing to Sydney. But Melbourne and Brisbane are growth cities, but I have no idea and I am trying to figure out the quickest way to learn about the suburbs of these cities.
I am looking at something like townhouse/villa closer to Melbourne city, or even a house further out if there are good growth potential. I don't like units personally as it is easily duplicated out.
I am looking at a number of suburbs such as Brunswick/Coburg area, Blackburn/Balwyn/Box Hill, Glen Waverley/Mount Waverley/Mulgrave areas. I still have a lot of research to do.
Now obviously there are tons of suburbs in Melbourne which I can look online, but nothing beats getting to Melbourne and look at it ourselves. So it makes it very tough and exhaustive way to look for opportunities.
Obviously one way to do it is to get a local buyers agent. But we both like to know the area ourselves first before purchasing. But like most people, both of us are working Mon-Fri and in many ways, time poor.
So for people who are seasoned interstate investors who are working Mon-Fri full time, do you travel interstate on regular weekends to buy property? Or most people here simply use agents and do not bothered to see the locale and properties available before buying?
Ironically if Adelaide is a growth city then I would be easily buying it in Adelaide as I lived there for 11 years and know the suburbs fairly well (and definitely know about Elizabeth area where most the somersofters seems have a property there!), not to mention the houses are cheap comparing to Sydney. But Melbourne and Brisbane are growth cities, but I have no idea and I am trying to figure out the quickest way to learn about the suburbs of these cities.
