VIC $600k PPOR

Discussion in 'Where to Buy' started by Riffo, 27th May, 2020.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
  1. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hi all,

    Stumbled on this chat a few weeks ago while researching where to buy in Melbourne and found responses/advice to be really helpful. Being a potential first home buyer I figured I need all the help I can get and would love some advice from the experts on here

    Details:

    Looking to buy our first home
    - Plan is to live in for 2-5 years and eventually rent out and upgrade (timeline is flexible depending on feasibility of this plan, I’m a newbie to property buying after all ;))

    Ideally want to stay under or as close to as possible to $600k budget as we’d like to take advantage of the savings on stamp duty.

    Looking at houses/townhouses/units ~30mins drive or ~1hour or less PT to the CBD. Access to public transport is important as well

    Wife and I both work in the city. Combined income of approx 160k before tax

    Prefer 3 bed 2 bath. I know this narrows the range a lot with the budget I’m on but sure some suburbs can meet this criteria (at an expense of another, I’m not sure?)

    Have looked at Airport West, Gladstone Park, Epping in the north. Laverton and Altona Meadows in the west

    Eastern and SE suburbs might be out of my budget with the 3 bed 2 bath requirement unless we look at suburbs past or around Dandenong (Which may take longer to travel into the city)

    Are there any important details/requirements I may have overlooked or haven’t mentioned?

    Would appreciate all suggestions/advice

    Warm regards
     
  2. Spiralkut

    Spiralkut Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12th May, 2020
    Posts:
    142
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Laverton is a decent get at your price range. Altona meadows doesn't have any train / real public transport in the area. Even point Cook you could probably find decent houses at 600k or under big suburb though so make sure you're looking close to Williams landing train station. Massive headache driving into city from point Cook though as point Cook road is a disgrace.
    Could maybe find townhouse in Altona North for that price if ya lucky. Footscray / west footscray is going through a gentrification process now as well so also a decent pick up.
     
  3. Spiralkut

    Spiralkut Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12th May, 2020
    Posts:
    142
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Also Patterson and Seaford are nice in the south east, although both are a little further out and Patterson lakes is a little more than 600k. If ya looking at Seaford make sure you stay on the beach side of the freeway.

    I got no clue on North and East suburbs so won't comment but I suspect someone will mention Bundoora, Mickleham Craigieburn etc
     
  4. Westie

    Westie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2017
    Posts:
    1,136
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Welcome to the forum and good on you for starting to think about this!

    Will schools be a factor soon? In 5 years? If so, plan ahead.

    Other than that, do you want a new(ish) property? Do you want a big backyard?

    Out of the 'burbs you mentioned, Epping or Altona Meadows would be the picks. Laverton's a bit of a dump, even though there're a ton of new townhouses that have sprung up all around the area. A lot of them sit vacant. Over-development as I call it, for the area. I have lived in Lavo and wouldn't recommend it. The houso areas near the two shopping centers attract the low lifes in droves. The traffic is *atrocious* on Old Geelong Road during peak hours.
     
    kmrr likes this.
  5. Rolf Latham

    Rolf Latham Inciteful (sic) Staff Member Business Plus Member

    Joined:
    14th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    10,598
    Location:
    Gold Coast (Australia Wide)

    Cant help you with locations, but just a quick note to make sure you seek good credit and tax advice on the intention above.

    Its a very different animal than a Ma n Pa home loan

    Loans aint loans

    ta
    rolf
     
  6. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Thanks Spiralkut. New houses and prices were definitely tempting in Point Cook, but trying to avoid because of that very reason - traffic.

    Seaford and Patterson Lakes look like nice areas. A little further out as you mentioned but might consider if the right property comes up. Had a workmate who lived further down in Frankston, didn’t like the 1.5 hour ish commute each way to work o_O
     
  7. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Thanks Westie. Schools will be something I will need to consider. Don’t have kids yet but will be planning within the next 5 years.

    Didn’t put ‘good schools’ on the list as I’m aware it would narrow down my choices (might be the wrong move on my part). And also why the plan to stay in the first home for a couple of years only. Great that you pointed this out, might need to put a bit more thought into this

    Newish property would be ideal, want to avoid costs of a reno/refurb. A backyard would be nice, doesn’t have to be huge. Small-medium sized would be okay, for the occasional entertaining of guests etc

    Laverton seemed to tick a lot of my boxes. I have been to the area but have not lived there, so appreciate feedback from someone who has lived there. Might need to glance over the railway to Altona meadows
     
  8. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hi Rolf, yes definitely would need to seek some advice from an accountant. I could definitely get bogged down with the house search and forget about this! Thanks for reminding :)
     
  9. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Any thoughts on the northern areas near the airport? Eg. Gladstone Park, Tullamarine, etc.
    Seen a few listings in the above areas that look interesting

    Also suburbs before Epping (if I’m lucky with my price range) - Thomastown, maybe Reservoir?

    Cheers
     
  10. Westie

    Westie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2017
    Posts:
    1,136
    Location:
    Melbourne
    They're widening almost every road they can in the area. Point Cook Rd on the other hand cannot be widened at a number of places, especially around the exit from the freeway to the small Seabrook shopping center. That part is the bottleneck, as it nears Sanctuary Lakes, it's 2x lanes each way and further away there're no jams in peak hours. Personally, I think this problem will always remain in that particular area. However, they're widening the Forsyth Rd and Princes intersection greatly, three lanes each way. They've already widened Palmers Rd, that has made things much better. So traffic isn't all that bad any more. If Point Cook ticks off most of your boxes, it's a decent area to be in:
    • Alamanda Primary ranks highly, apparently, Seabrook Primary isn't bad from what I heard earlier this week
    • Two train stations - Laverton and Williams Landing
    • Several shopping centers in the area
    • Werribee Hospital is minutes away too should that be required
    • Several buses ply to and from the station every 20 mins, more frequently in some cases
    • Geelong and the Surf Coast are a leisurely 45 min drive
    • Millars Cafe in Lara serves *exceptional* coffee and food (I know it's a 30 min drive, but worth every minute!)
    I live minutes away from Point Cook, lemme know if you require further, street level detail. Happy to provide info as needed.
     
  11. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    13,436
    Location:
    Melbourne

    Apartment but 3BR and 2Bth
    https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-forest+hill-133114006

    52 min on journey planner.

    One of my favorite shopping centres across the road (because I can almost always get undercover parking!!....)

    The Y-man
     
  12. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    13,436
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Riffo likes this.
  13. Triton

    Triton Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    8th Sep, 2017
    Posts:
    476
    Location:
    Vic
    codeninja, Bunbury and The Y-man like this.
  14. Spiralkut

    Spiralkut Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12th May, 2020
    Posts:
    142
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Another suburb to look at is Seabrook, kind of best of both worlds as it's same houses as Altona Meadows but a lot closer to Aircraft station and you miss all of the Point Cook traffic as it's at the very top of Point Cook road.
     
    Riffo likes this.
  15. Westie

    Westie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2017
    Posts:
    1,136
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Yep, Seabrook isn't bad. The primary school there is thought to be semi-decent. With the traffic situation, I sorta agree with what @Spiralkut said, but the top of PC Road is where the worst congestion is, but you don't go spend much time in it. If you do look at Seabrook, steer clear of the shopping center area.
     
    Riffo likes this.
  16. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Much appreciated Westie. I probably need to do a bit more research of that area as I wasn’t really considering it earlier
     
  17. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Thanks Y-man we are leaning towards a house/townhouse/unit instead of an apartment. This one is great for an apartment though, rare to see 100+ sqm apartments nowadays



    Same with this one, one of the nicer ones I’ve seen and decent space for an apartment
     
  18. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hi @Triton, why slightly dodgy? I’ve passed through the area during the day but didn’t notice anything too weird/dodgy. Haven’t been at night though. Would appreciate any feedback you might have about the area :)
     
    codeninja likes this.
  19. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    13,436
    Location:
    Melbourne
    I have a unit very close to that house - no major issues the times I have been there but I gotta say I never lived there.

    The Y-man
     
    codeninja and Riffo like this.
  20. Riffo

    Riffo Member

    Joined:
    27th May, 2020
    Posts:
    10
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Thanks @Spiralkut, will have a look