Hi Guys,
Thanks for providing me with some input on this, albeit probably not what I was hoping to hear.
To give some understanding on the situation I best tell you how this all came about...
I saw one property listed for sale (4 bedder house in need of some repairs after some vandalism from being empty for just on 12 months. I spoke with a few of the agents in town whom all remained neutral and said that Wellington was quite a humble town that was at the bottom of its cycle with plenty of bargains to be had. I contacted the local Poilce station whom said that there were some issues which were in fact being focused on and of which most was due to just a few known families in town that were being moved along back into the major towns of Orange and Dubbo to dilute their "power". I spoke with council staff, post men, neighbours and all seemed to be of a fairly neutral stand point and had a "sort of pride" about the town. I even stopped into a small cafe for lunch after viewing the property and when I lokced my car an old fella sitting having a coffee giggled at me and said he coule tell I was from Sydney because locals don't worry about car theft so much as the big city folk. All reassuring signs that things would be ok and the few negitves would only improve over time.
The numbers are 60K returning $175 - $185 per week which stacks up at around 15.6% which is pretty good with cashflow positive property I felt and when I felt uneasy about the numbers I was assured that finding a tenant that is respectful shouldn't take more than a week or two at the max!
Now, in the interim after making my offer and getting things underway the agent called and told me of another property in the street which is in somewhat "turnkey condition" besides it having a rougher tenant whom keeps pets inside (I have an inside dog myself so this wasn't of any concern). The property was being sold by an investing couple whom are in the process of selling investments due to a disolving relationship. I offered $65K and the deal was accepted. So again 65K and a renturn of around $160 per week being 12.8% which again is not bad for a "turn key" property.
Now I make a visit to town and view house number one and I walk into something and a situation that is very much different to the first time I investigated Wellington and I'm frustrated. It's like the movie Funny Farm where the locals must have been paid to perform and behave when I first inspected, however this time Wellingtons colours seemed to leak through. I felt like I was in the movie Children of the corn as they starred at me with curiosity and interest in who I was and what I was doing. All the people that I had spoken with earlier now seemed to have a total change of opinion and warned me off investing in the town and to be honest it's taken the enjoyment from my purchases.
Now I can't say that I have encountred problems yet, however it seems everyone is very must against the town despite the great annual returns, provided things run reasonably as planned. Capital gains are not a major concern for me, it's all about cashflow and I'm hoping things go smoothly to a some degree.
I guess what I have been trying to gauge is whether the properties I've purchased are worth holding onto for the long term or cleaning them up and popping them back onto the market in a short while once a tenant is in place and the yeild makes sense for an investor. Although with all the towns critisism it seems like people are just completely off the place as an investment.
Yes, to those who've asked, I did buy two in Leeton NSW and things are going along well, extremely well actually, despite there also being next to nobody discussing the town on this forum. I also own a bit of property in Hay NSW and again they perform fantastically yet the town is rarely discussed.
I hope this clears up my situation and I can gain some input into what to do with my situation and/or in time I can share my experiences with to help fellow investors.