All Topics / Help Needed! / Seeking advice for beginners New House or Existing?

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  • Profile photo of dank78dank78
    Member
    @dank78
    Join Date: 2006
    Post Count: 30

    Hi, my partner and I want to take advantage of the FHOG and we are also keen to get the ball rolling investing in property.

    We have previously posted regarding certan suburbs in Victoria and appreciate the helpful replies.

    Since then we have come across some really affordable house and land packages around $200k which includes the FHOG for a new property located in new estates in Melton.

    We live in Geelong and enjoy this area very much as we live fairly close to the surf coast area and enjoy what is on offer down here. Even though there are many properties in our preferred suburbs of Geelong (around the $200k mark) but for that amount they are not hugely appealing, most are small units either joined to another or are standalone units.

    Reading about the predicted growth of Melton (and Bacchus Marsh should follow) by starting off building a new house, live in it for approx 1 year or less and then rent it out, be a good first move?? Or should we just look for an already existing house?

    We would like to grab ourselves another property within 1 year of purchasing our first.

    What do some of you say about a 1 bedroom unit in Melbourne close to Uni's that rent for about $240 with a purchase price of $135-140k??

    Also my partner on her salary alone qualifies for a home loan of $200k.

    I look forward to hearing from you all and thank you in advance

    Profile photo of Steve McKnightSteve McKnight
    Keymaster
    @stevemcknight
    Join Date: 2001
    Post Count: 1,763

    Hmmmm.

    Seems like there are many choices.

    Melton should hold up well given the price of property and that there are so many 1st homebuyers.

    With that in mind though, if you buy new and sell in 1 yrs time then you will be selling to 1st homebuyers, and therefore competing against spec builders. And that's my fear, there is a chance that spec buyers will discount further if the economy falters as they clip profit to maintain volume.

    Furthermore, I wouldn't buy a home in a place I didn't want to live… period.

    Do your numbers on the student accom… there are sometimes many and large management and ownerships costs (such as servicing, body corp etc).

    My pref would be to buy in the area you want, and then to improve the property to maintain your capital so that when you sell, you can sell for more.  That is, stay in Geelong and buy something you can improve to add more in perceived value than actual cost.

    I hope this has given you some new ideas.

    Warm regards,

    – Steve 

    Steve McKnight | PropertyInvesting.com Pty Ltd | CEO
    https://www.propertyinvesting.com

    Success comes from doing things differently

    Profile photo of dank78dank78
    Member
    @dank78
    Join Date: 2006
    Post Count: 30

    Many many thanks Steve

    I wouldnt plan on selling this after 1 year. I went down to Melton today, had a snoop around the new estates and liked one in particular. Which will have a secondary school built by the end of this year, a Community Centre that includes Health, Fitness etc…and small shops that they are about to begin building. And other features such as recreational fields…..

    Staying in Geelong would be ideal but our current budget just doesnt fit in well with the prices down here.

    When you said to buy a property and improve on that to maintain the capital so that when I sell, I can sell for more – as you were referring to Geelong; does the same rule apply to Melton? Are you saying to buy an existing property?

    What are your thoughts on buying in an estate, having a new house built on that, live in for a least 1 year and then rent it out..possibly sell some years afterwards? or just focus on existing house that requires some love

    Regards
    Daniel

    Profile photo of KuadeKuade
    Member
    @kuade
    Join Date: 2006
    Post Count: 84

    Hi Dank.

    What Steve is saying is by purchasing in a new estate you are buying one of many new houses that are all in very close proximity to one another. This leads to a large supply, which means you need even greater demand in order for values to go up. If the demand doesn't go up and buyers don't snap up the other blocks of land/packages, the developer will drop the price to sell them. They have the benefit of being able to reduce the price and sacrifice some profit to move the house/land. If the developer drops the price in the estate by say $30K, why would someone pay $30K more for one that has been lived in. You therefore are at the mercy of the developer in them dictating the market and the value of your property.

    I'm with Steve in his suggestion you buy an established property that needs work. Buy it cheap. Do it up yourself or over time. In doing so you build equity and the immediate market isn't dictated by 1 or a few sellers/developers. It would take a lot of individuals in the area to want to sell, and no/less buyers before your property heads backwards in value.

    In my opinion, the best market at the moment is in established suburbs that appeal to first home buyers, near to infrastructure, transport and entertainment. Buying an ugly duckling at the bottom end of the suburbs price bracket. But avoid those that are cheap because the house is about to fall over and has a train line running through the backyard or is on a main road. You want cheap because it's not aesthetically pleasing, but is in a good location. Once you've added some value for less than it actually costs and built some equity you can either sell to get your profit or look at an investment property to do the same thing again.

    Profile photo of dank78dank78
    Member
    @dank78
    Join Date: 2006
    Post Count: 30

    much appreciate the helpful reply. Im seriously going to take this onboard and focus in this region for an estabished home

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