NSW Building PPOR in Sydney at this boom

Long post warning****

Hello forum member, id like to hear ur views on our issues. My wife and I came to australia 6 yrs ago. We’ve worked hard and bought a house which is 600k worth now where wer living In Mittagong, NSW. Thats our only property/asset in Australia. We are earning around 350-380k/annum. My wife is a doctor and I am a project manager.

We always had a dream of building a dream house. Building, because when we bought the current house, my wife liked the display home models and since then she never liked any established old/ semi old home. She also has insect phobia so she hates living in old houses/apartments. Since we moved in to this old house, renovated kitchen deck etc but from day 1 we ( specially she) feel like its a temporary home and not our dream home at all. As if we r waiting that someday we will buy a land and build a dream house (the dream floorplan my wife has in mind, open plan living and the alfresco opening into a blue swimming pool, which will be the view from glass door long lounge feature windows).

Ita been 2 yrs that she has never stopped talking about that dream house. We actually was about to buy land and build a house in 2016. Spend 6 months visiting those display homea getting quotes. At the end we decided that its not ideal to buy and build in the boom, specially in weatern or southern sydney where there is already a over flow of new houses and new plots (schofield, oran park etc).

But now i feel like ww should have taken that decidion at that time, atleast my wife would have been happy. Now i think if we wait another 5-6 years for the market to downturn and then carry out our plan, building price will increase and our 2 kids will finish college and move out. Then what will we two old people do with a nice house and noone children to enjoy the living.

We can easily afford the payments now. Or we could utilize the deposit saved into investments but that would never make my wife happy. Also she works really hard under extreme pressure. I feel like she deserves a dream house where she can relax when she is off duty! I am torn! Will going against the norm and buying a land and building house in Sydney west/ south west be a greadful idea?

 

Cant you find a new house thats already built?

Hard to answer because all your comments are emotional, so only you know what you want.

 

Hi @oldmanwalking

Understand your predicament - moving countries, working really hard on your goals, I don't see anything wrong in your wife wanting to build your home. You can weigh up investment vs home, but you really need to ask yourself what is it that will make your wife, children and yourself happy.

It may be worthwhile considering if you can get your home transaction out of the way, and then look to build your portfolio - given you are on strong incomes, and being a Doctor, she will be eligible for Lenders Mortgage Insurance waivers. So depending on correct lender selection, you may be able to devise a strategy suitable to where your life is headed.

Look at modelling out Option 1 Home vs Option 2 Build a Property Portfolio

Given the current lending environment (putting aside the fact that you have strong family income), it may make sense to tick your home off upfront.

 

There are plenty. But nothing matches that floorplan my wife was about to sign off! Some nice houses we can find but they dont have min 450sqm land and space for pool approval!

If we buy a newly build house in Sydney, would that be a big loss if we r buyinv in this peak?

 

Life is short & you need to live somewhere.... as long as you build well there should be margin in a brand new build....

 

Just make your wife happy and build the bloody house mate. You're on good coin, enjoy yourself and do it for your family. You can't take it all with you.


Edit: Look at it this way, even if it went down 100k with the kind of money you're on you might have to work an extra 6 months to make it up! What a catastrophe!

 

i find that hard to believe. Look in another area? It doesnt have to be new suburbs. Established suburbs have new houses. Just a budget issue?

With your income does it really matter?

 

Why not both? You can easily buy a land in Leppington and source a builder and architect to build your dream home. Depending on your buffer, you could potentially get an IP soon after so no loss. From your post, it's clear than an IP won't make your wife happy.

Agreed, who cares if the value goes down if it's your dream home and you get to enjoy it for at least several years? If you move away or downsize when the kids leave, you can always rent it!

 

Well my wife cant justify if workinb hard, living in the old house we r living now and buying ip instead.

I cant justify paying 1100/1200pw mortgage payment with no return. Its mostly her money afterall and she works 2x harder than i do so I think I will look into buying a land or a nice house.

 

Can you aim to be a bit closer in to the city? Though if you'd rather be on the fringe, that's fine. Just remember that plenty of people knockdown and rebuild. Location location location....
You can build your nice house anywhere, but know that over the long term, (from an investor point of view), that the location tends to matter more than the house itself. The location drives the capital growth. There are areas that perform better in all stages of a property cycle and there are areas that only perform in a boom.

When it comes to later resale, I'd rather not have a house in a cookie cutter estate on the fringes, it will just be a house in a market where there isn't too much differentiation, and buyers will have the ability to pick and choose. But if it's closer in, you'll find upgraders want to buy it and they'll have money. Whereas a "second hand" dream house on the fringes - buyers will either look to buy new or if they have money, tend to buy closer to the city.

Question. What's your budget?

 

Why new estates? If you think sydney is peaking thats the last place you want to buy.

 

Happy wife happy life.

Investing isn't worth it unless you are happy doing it - your wife will then (hopefully) support your investment decisions once you build that dream house. It's a win win

 

You are on a decent income, so choose the area you want to live in, then buy the cheapest house you can find on a block size & shape that fits your criteria. Then knock the sucker down & build what you want. It's that easy!

BUT.......

This is Australia! No matter where you live, new or old, you will get insects. You can get your home fumigated every year, it doesn't cost that much to do, but the odds are that the odd one will still show up from time to time, regardless of whether it's a new home or an older one.[/QUOTE]

 

+1 , well said..

 

Hi trainee,

My wife works in Southern Highlands and i work in Sydney CBD. She can not mive to city due to being an overseas qualified doctor. We need to find a place which is in the midway. South west is the only vincity which is 1hr transport for both of us. Do you have any ideas which suburba we can look around Campbeltown - picton - mittagong that far south west line?

 

I like leppington

 

Our budget is around 1million. But it will go over i know.
We need to be somewhere in the middle of Bowral and Sydney CBD as i work in CBD and she works in Bowral. Any good old suburb which is 1hr transport from both these places?

 

That does make perfect sense on why you want to buy in that area. Next question, will she be a doctor in Bowral for a long time?

If not, I would try to buy closer to Sydney.