Hi Everyone, Curious to know (as a novice investor) how people buy properties interstate. I currently live in Sydney and am in the process of researching properties in Brisbane that are within my budget. How do people view properties before they buy? Or do you solely rely on a trusted buyers agent? Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Do you also fly interstate to view some areas as part of your research (an expensive but maybe worthwhile option?) Thanks a lot.
just flight there to view, only takes a couple of hours to get there. Even if you use a BA, don't skip the inspection step before you committing. The expense is a drop in the ocean compare to the price you are paying for the property.
When we bought our interstate investments: 1) We would start by doing do our research and decide on an area. Fairly broad e.g. Between Brisbane/GC round Beenleigh. 2) We would then book a trip for 2-3 days to fly out and visit that location. 3) The week before the trip we'd do our research on which properties were available, make appointments with agents in the areas to see what stock is available and what is coming up for listing. 4) On the actual trip itself we'd see literally as many properties as possible in the area. Sometimes it'd evolve and we'd end up in neighboring suburbs or completely different areas. Sometimes it is different on the ground as you get a better appreciation for different elements. 5) Usually on the last night agonize about which one to buy and follow through with the negotiation. Sometimes the deal falls apart in which case bought the next best prospect. Was always a fairly full on process but worked for us. Now days you can save the time and effort by outsourcing the whole thing to a BA, but you need to make sure you're using one who has a good track record.
I would definitely go to wherever you want to invest. On the ground knowledge of the location is completely different to looking at maps and stats. Whether or not you want to choose and buy a property yourself or use a buyer's agent is another matter. Google street view is good but it's not the same, and often not up to date
I have been wondering this myself, if you buy a place that needs some work do you just hire local tradies that are trusted?
Look for a BA that offers project management in your chosen area. We offer that to clients, we arrange anything from repainting, floor polishing/new carpet, blinds/curtains and even kitchen and bathroom upgrades.
I concur with others here: the dual strategy of finding someone on the ground you can trust (building a team, so, buyers agent, managing rental agent, in-state conveyancer as required per-state), along with a nominal investment in a cheap-flight and a day or two on the ground. This is a good combination.
I guess you can claim the odd flight as a tax deduction once you have purchased? Maybe buying somewhere warm is a good idea....
Just to offer a slightly opposing view we have bought several properties interstate and never visited any before purchasing. Once we have done our DD on an area and shortlisted some properties we find a local agent usually recommended who we trust and will attend inspections and give us feedback, we then engage a local B&P inspector again recommend or who we have used before (we have the most anal in Australia I believe so everything gets picked up) and if we are happy we go ahead and make an offer. If successful agent picks up keys on settlement and hands them to the new tenant who has normally been found during the settlement (we always have a clause that allows opens once unconditional)
No you cannot. Since 30 June 2017 all travels costs are not deductible. In any event this is a preliminary purchase expense and is also too soon. Travel costs cannot add to the CGT costbase either after 30 June 2017
I sometimes wonder why people staying in Sydney and Melbourne need to buy in other cities. For land tax minimisation, ok. Wanting to sea or tree change, fine. But as a good CF or CG IP? There would be many choices in the two big cities. Historical data showed growth is good in the two cities, more so for Sydney. Anyway, just something I asked myself.
You need to spend ~$750k-1million to buy a decent property in sydney/melbourne.. yet majority of PC investors is looking spend less than that for IPs.
