Does anyone still want to buy a unit in a massive complex in Brissy after reading that??
Leo
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Does anyone still want to buy a unit in a massive complex in Brissy after reading that??
Leo
Does anyone still want to buy a unit in a massive complex in Brissy after reading that??
Leo
I was walking around the valley this afternoon,the amount of OTP various new high rise sites are everywhere,and still more to come online,so I don't know but all those are target marketed to age groups ,the same as in new-farm,,tenerriffe,if I was going to buy a unit in that area it would be one of the upmarket river-front 2 level apartments in Tenerriffe just a short walk from new farm park there is a certain old world charm in 1-3 of the streets in that area..imho..
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-teneriffe-118361159
Maybe im wrong, but there are not many massive high rise unit developments in Brisbane- rather many medium sized ones.
The meriton skyscrapers are apartments and yes id watch out there, as the Brisbane skytower as well.
But apart from those, there arnt Melbourne type 50+ story apartment towers??
Hi JDP!,
Yeah I tend to agree there aren't too many skyscrapers in Brissy like Melb. For me personally, I classify a unit complex as 'too big' if there is more than 50 units. This is my personal criteria.
Cheers
Leo
OK so the general consensus is to stay away from Brisbane CBD and big complexes and houses > units, is that right?
In regards to purchasing properties with a view to value-add either through reno or dev, does this pose as a challenge for you if you reside in another city to your IP? How do you overcome the distance factor during the reno/dev? Or does the majority of you stick with areas near by where you reside for these projects and buy&hold properties in other cities/states?
I'm looking at Brisbane for my next purchase and wouldn't mind a detached house with land with potential to value-add later but the distance is a big deterring factor for me.
In regards to purchasing properties with a view to value-add either through reno or dev, does this pose as a challenge for you if you reside in another city to your IP? How do you overcome the distance factor during the reno/dev? Or does the majority of you stick with areas near by where you reside for these projects and buy&hold properties in other cities/states?
I'm looking at Brisbane for my next purchase and wouldn't mind a detached house with land with potential to value-add later but the distance is a big deterring factor for me.
I don't think anyone is saying stay away from the CBD. What I think the overall feeling is to watch out for large apartment buildings such as the 1000 unit Brisbane skytower, because of reasons as outlined earlier by another poster on this thread....similar to those in Melbourne.
Ultimately, it depends entirely on what you are after/your strategy. You have mentioned that you are after reno/value add. In that case, the potential to reno and add value is generally less for apartments than houses/townhouses, so if I were you id stick with the latter, and about 5-10km [ properties will be smaller for reno closer you get to the CBD] from the CBD given your budget. As for doing a reno whilst in another state, not sure...there are others on this forum who could advise better.
The 'distance factor' is only in the mind. Lets just talk about reno (because development is a whole different ball game).
1. you buy a house with scope for reno.
2. You can fly down (some do it over photos by REA or friends who live there and help them but better to fly down for a day or two) and inspect the place. Take note of the things you want renovated.
3. Call trades people to go over, have a look and give quote. The tradies can get the keys from the PM or if you engage a new PM they will hold the keys and assist the trade people as they come for the keys. (ideally this should be done before settlement and a clause in the contract should request that renovation work can start before settlement)
4. Tradies finish work and you can get your PM to take photos and send to you.
5. rent it out and job well done.
IMHO The 'distance factor' is something investors need to get over, as its important to buy IPS in a few states. While some states have flat or little growth, other states will experience stronger growth, therefore a portfolio of mixed state properties will always be growing well. This also mitigates some risk, and allows for a portfolio to expand much, much faster.
leo
4.
Ok, so inner CBD and close by is still ok as long as it's not a mega projects with heaps of units, got it! Thanks
And I'm not saying I'm ONLY looking for a reno project exclusively, I said I wouldn't mind if one does pop up on my radar but i have my reservation due to the distance factor.
I'm the same Leo, for me it's even at 20 units is too many.
I think units are terrible investments.
Has anyone been to a "nice" 30 yr old unit? I haven't. The unit itself maybe newly renovated but the common area is usually *****. And that is out of your control.
Another thing with units to me is the lesser ability to add value. Can't put granny flat, can't extend balcony, can't add shed, garage ect. No re-zoning potential, no subdivision.
When comparing unit price vs. house price, one must eliminate newly builds out of both data set. I bet you once you take away newly builds, you will find a massive difference between unit price growth vs. house price growth.
Has anyone been to a "nice" 30 yr old unit? I haven't. The unit itself maybe newly renovated but the common area is usually *****. And that is out of your control.
Another thing with units to me is the lesser ability to add value. Can't put granny flat, can't extend balcony, can't add shed, garage ect. No re-zoning potential, no subdivision.
When comparing unit price vs. house price, one must eliminate newly builds out of both data set. I bet you once you take away newly builds, you will find a massive difference between unit price growth vs. house price growth.
congratulation! What suburbs are the units located? perhaps if we can run a statistical comparison of the same suburb house v unit. The picture would be more clear?
Again I am more than happy to be proven wrong. Rather learn a small lesson than miss out on golden opportunities
Again I am more than happy to be proven wrong. Rather learn a small lesson than miss out on golden opportunities
Starter I agree with you mate.
personally I have never bought a unit in a complex with more than 18 units. I think 20 is a good number There are just too many negatives in buying a unit that has too many units in the complex.
Leo
Thanks for the advice and insight, Leo. I'm assuming that you have done many of these interstate reno projects in the past successfully? What about managing the tradies and overseeing the whole process from beginning to end; it's a big enough hassle being on top of them when you're in the same city how do you suggest you do this effectively remotely especially if you have never dealt with these people before? I'm guessing having a trustworthy and reliable third party locally acting on your behalf would be critically important but who, property manager?
HI Moneynevercsleep,
yes I have done a few in my time. Depending on the scope of the reno, you don't always need someone to oversee unless your doing a complete major reno of the entire house. In that case speaking for myself I have done a few things (assuming were talking about full reno of kitchen, bathroom etc.)
1. Get a rea/friend/anyone you trust and know to help oversee the reno
2. Make trips down there on key dates, eg when the kitchen is being done or bathroom to show your presence and further clarify any issues
3. I used a project manager one time when I was thoroughly too busy to focus on it and they did a decent job.
Leo
I'm also keen to know what suburbs they are.. Were these vals done by the bank? refinancing wasn't a problem?
Hi starter,
I wasn't saying all units would have lower/slower growth, just the ones in massive complexes with high strata. And I'm quite these great units you bought were not in massive complexes.
Cheers
Leo
It's good to know it is not as much of a challenge as I initially thought! Thanks mate
We took the other approach and made a number of trips when renovating interstate. This will also be our approach with the next one.
Depends on the size of the renovation but I have no doubt it will cost more and you won't get as good a result if you leave it to someone else.
Below is the thread on the one we did in Brisbane.
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94336
That's the general concensus of some people on this thread .
We're buying a OTP unit in Teneriffe which is worth at least 50 K more than we paid for it , but we're buying it for a long term easy maintenance investment.
Houses / units both have their pro's and cons . One advantage of buying in big blocks ... well when the crap hits the fan , you can go round low balling them and you might pick them up for a song , and that would make it a good investment.
Cliff
