VIC First home buyer - 600k budget - where in Melbourne

There is a sheep ton of houses between Berwick and Melbourne, I personally wouldn't classify Berwick as part of Melbourne.

 

What about greensborough, Eltham, diamonds Creek area? I suppose process would be under 600k in these areas

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I'm pretty much in the same boat and would like to get some thoughts on where to buy..

My situation:

- ~600k Budget (have ~120k saved up)
- PPOR for 5years+
- 120k salary w/ super
- 26 yo, if that counts for anything? Buying solo. Commute to CBD for work
- Eligible for FHOG, would prefer to try get 50% off SD, should have enough to avoid LMI
- Would prefer to stick to East side of Melb, so I'm close to mum (Springvale) but I've also looked at Tarneit, Truganina, Heidelberg West, Noble Park North, Berwick, Ferntree G (as you can see I'm all over the shop!)
- Looking for house/townhouse/unit, but my budget probably rules me out for a decent house if staying East..
- Ideally well maintained, minimal reno's, 2-3br

Any helpful thoughts/advice if you were in my situation / places you've come across that fit the description?

 

Why not buy an IP in an area where you can see good growth, rent that out for say 3-400 and use that money to rent an apartment/share house close to the city till you can afford to live where you want to.

Living out that far means travelling 45min minimum each day which is a fair bit of your life commuting.

These are my thoughts at the moment ..

Why

 

Sorry to bump this.

I was wondering what people think of townhouses in terms of long term gains. For me, just about all houses within 15km of the city are now too pricey for me.

I saw this listing on realestate recently: 2/38 Lawson Street Essendon Vic 3040 - Townhouse for Sale #124533570 - realestate.com.au

It doesn't seem too bad and is in Essendon which is a good suburb.

I've also been looking around places like Footscray, Brunswick and Preston.

Are there any suburbs that are particularly bad or good in terms of townhouses and is there anything in particular that I should look out for or be worried about when it comes to townhouses?

 

If you're looking at 3BR TH's then I'd say go for it anywhere in the inner North. If you're looking at 2BR TH's then try and stay as close in as possible because CG returns diminish rapidly once you're above Bells Rd.