Settlement of OTP property

I have bought an 3/2/1 2 storey OTP house from Mirvac in January this year.I have been told that it is about to be completed in 3 weeks and will be ready for settlement. I have 15 business days between their notification and settlement date.

This is my first IP so I have some questions in regard to settlement and leasing for the forum:

- Finance: Pretty much sorted as we updated our paperwork with ANZ, and they already valued the house $45K higher than what I bought earlier this year. Which is good news and I should not have any financial issues, barring unexpected circumstances.
- Solicitor: Still waiting for official notification from Mirvac that the house is ready for settlement.
- REA PM: Should be lined up now thanks to some past recommendation from the forum. Just need to contact them to confirm that I want them to PM my property.

I have some questions below though:

- Building inspectors: Do people find them valuable to perform inspection for new properties, given it is new and there is warranty anyway? What is the likelihood of major structural damages?

- Add ons: I am looking at getting fly screens and possibly security door installed. However security door will ruin the look of the new house. Is security door a big deal for potential tenants?

Also looking at installing ducted air-con. Do you think that air conditioning will attract more and higher quality tenants? I am still debating about this even technically budget wise it is not a problem with us.

The tiles in the bathrooms are not tiled all the way to the ceiling, and only to to top of the shower. Do you think it is necessary to tile it up all the way to ceiling, as tenants may not use the exhaust fan when showering, causing possible moulds in the bathroom?

What else should I install to attract tenants given that it is becoming a tenant friendly market?

- Depreciation schedule: Most likely go through BMT as they seemed big company and I don't know to many other better alternatives. Is a site visit necessary for them as they charge slightly higher price for site visit?

Also what else should I consider that I have missed?
 
Mirvac have a good reputation but

You should still get a building inspection .

There have been past cases of people settling and then finding there were big / expensive problems .

Cliff
 
I settled for OTP apartment this year, and still think the inspector worth the money - he picked up things we can't in a very short amount of time (we're only given 45 mins!)

Re security door and air con - what's your target market like? Do they demand one? Does everyone else in your vicinity have one?

Bathroom tiles - if it's my ppor I would, but that's a matter of preference ;)
 
1) Building inspector is worth it. If there are any defects to be fixed, better to get them sorted out before giving out to tenants.

2) EN710 is on the money. All depends on your target market. Your REA should be able to advise what sort rent the Aircon will bring in and then you can decide whether it is worth the investment.

3) I honestly do not think tiling all the way up in the bathroom is going to be worth the money for an IP. Again, your REA can advise if it will actually improve the rent or not.

As it is a new build, it should be easier to secure higher quality tenants without the additional investments. All depends on the area you purchased in. That's my two cents worth.
 
Looks like consensus is that I should use building inspector. So I will be looking for one.

In terms of market around there, it is at Schofields so there are a lot of new developments. Speaking with the REA they think it is worth $40 per week worth of rent (not sure how true it is). But I think a lot of new houses around Rouse Hill/The Ponds area would have air-con included, so I am more inclined to put in air con in (still to be decided though). Still unsure about the security doors (looks ugly) but I cannot imagine that there are many bad breakin around that area.

Maybe I should drive around The Ponds to see if they all have security doors? I cannot remember of seeing them around when I drove past there.

Another thing, I would need to start looking for a good accountant. I do my tax return via e-Tax up to now. That seems to be the hardest as all our friends having IP do not recommend their accountants :(
 
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