First IP purchase melbourne

Hi all, long time watcher first time poster here.

To tell you a little bit about the position I am in, mid 20s, looking at purchasing my first property in the inner west/inner north suburbs of Melbourne, have a 160k deposit and looking at living in it for the first 12 months to get the benefits of the first home owners grant then renting it out and going travelling.

The properties that i have been looking at are older apartments/units in blocks of roughly 8 maximum (mainly in Brunswick West and surrounding areas). Looking at something that needs minor/moderate renovations that i can complete within the 12 months of living there.

My question is, should I be looking more towards getting a 2 bed unit with a small courtyard and maxing out my loan amount of 600 (to get first home owners grant) or purchase something slightly cheaper with no courtyard based on my future plans of going travelling and renting out (cheaper mortgage repayments, easier to renovate).

Any opinions and thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

I would look at rental on 1 vs 2 bedroom apartments in that area. Possibly slightly better yield on 1br which will help your cash flow

 

Good idea i never really looked into 1br apartments as of yet, what would the capital gain be like on 1br vs 2br in these areas? or have i already missed the boat for any decent capital gain in Melbourne?

 

After a quick scan around on previous sales on 1br and 2br apartments in that area i have actually noticed quite a few of them have gone down in value which is not really ideal, maybe apartments are not a great investment at this stage?

I am weighing up whether to purchase inner suburbs and not get much for my money or even looking out a bit further (pascoe vale, altona north etc) and possibly getting a unit/villa with a decent courtyard BUT is location key for future rentals and short term gains? In those areas I will still be looking close to public transport (trains) and for something that needs a bit of work...

 

Great thanks for all the help, i think that might be the case in Brunswick west as i know of at least one possibly two big apartment developments going up there.

Unsure if i would want to travel out as far as Epping due to working in the other direction, but have found a place in Essendon that i think would be worth a crack, id value your opinion on it. I think it has a lot of potential to renovate and its in a great location for what seems to be a fair price... but i know what auctions have a tendency to do.

1/136 Hoffmans Road Essendon Vic 3040 - Unit for Sale #126274390 - realestate.com.au

 

Hah, great spotting.

If you ask me it looks to be a leaking shower or bath going off where its positioned, and unsure about the floor at first glance i didn't notice anything but looking again it seems to look like its slumping downwards to me? (if your referring to the workshop floor)