VIC Geelong

What about this one?!... am I missing something?
2 Begonia Court Newcomb Vic 3219 - House for Sale #125904198 - realestate.com.au

 

It's a 50's weatherboard, a bit like my Mum's place, but on a nice big 734m2, and it's in a quiet fairly inoffensive area. Nice and quick to town and back, and there's also the long term possibility of some work being done to improve the amenities of the rather disused coastline nearby, which was the old Cheetham saltworks, although when that may be is anyone's guess.

Put it this way though, and I am a Norlane-ite through and through, i reckon buying a house on a solid lot in Newcomb under 300K makes good sense. It's just handily close to Geelong, and if you flip the distance to the other side of Geelong, Manifold Heights and Herne Hill are significantly more expensive. Amenities are virtually the same, nobody in Newcomb will quibble about taking 5 minutes more to drive to Pakington Streets' cafes etc.

Put it this way, 418 Myers St, probably a kilometre due West of this house, a 60's brick comission-style house sold for $473K at auction a few weeks earlier. This place is a lot of land for $200K less or thereabouts. All because of East Geelong vs Newcomb.

 

Would the smaller frontage/block shape limit development potential??

 

@Brendon @Dave3214 - So this morning was the one and only inspection for 2 Begonia in Newcomb. It's gone for $375k. I didn't get it though I offered $380k (subject to pest and building inspection). The agent told me the vendor was happy with 375k since that offer was unconditional and with a 30day settlement. How on earth was the purchaser okay to plonk that sorta money without getting a professional run through it is beyond me! Or maybe the purchaser was a pro already or someone that just wanted to snap it up.

As for the house, I liked it instantly. Nice solid house, huge block, no trees to get rid of before subdividing. Gotta keep hunting!

 

Advertised for $100k less.....seems someone is guilty of underquoting? or did you mean $275k?

 

No I meant $375k. Well to be fair to the agent, I initially offered $320k, but was prepared to go upto $375k tops. The agent came back to me about an hour later saying he had an offer for $340k unconditional. I went mine is $350k and so on.. it ended up being $375k. He gave the top 3 offers till 3pm today, I upped my offer to $380k (I was like what's just $5k in the grand scheme of things).

I did look up recent sales for similar houses and some did go for $400k+, so...

 

What are people's thoughts about this one? 12 Bellagio Court, Whittington Newer house, yield approx 4.5% considering the higher end of the quoted price (which I dont believe will be accurate at the end). Tagging @David Shih and @Dave3214 for advice.

 

Any idea on how much this one sold for 11 Greenwood Street Newcomb Vic 3219 - Residential Land for Sale #201826482 - realestate.com.au ...trying to get an estimate on land prices for newcomb.

 

I remember the chicken shop up on Wilson's rd, and the long since gone mixed business on the corner of Wilson's rd and Queenscliff rd (Taylor's maybe?, 25 years ago now)
Soon as I see "Solar drive" on the map I PASS !

 

A new house in that part of Whittington? I dunno...

 

I'm pretty sure the agent could get done for underquoting. They are pretty serious with this kind of stuff nowadays, so you can report the agent responsible if you wish. Even I was the agent, I would not be quoting that range from the recent sales I've seen in the area. 100k difference is a lot and what's worse is that he turned into an auction. This is something you should not be participating in ever - Should be submit your final best offer.

 

^^^This is basically a blind auction.

I heard about the $375K unconditional this afternoon and almost fell off my chair - though seeing your reply now it starts to make sense. I do feel the agent has way underquoted this one.

This would've been another record sold price to the East of Wilson Rd in Newcomb - since 18 Andrews which sold for 361K last month. I'm seriously amazed at how much people are willing to pay around the area now, and it sounded like FOMO.

Not a big advocate of buying spanking new house. Basically you're paying a premium on the profit of the current owner, and on top you would have no idea about the build quality and any potential issues should the builder choose to take a few "shortcuts".

Other cons include:
- Too close to Solar Drive, which is the area with famous existing housing commissions there. I've highlighted this in my Newcomb map as a big avoid.

Newcomb Map (Marked up) by David Shih posted 19th May, 2017 at 10:46 PM

- Little to no backyard. Think about it - a 4 bedder house would be designed for a big family who want to have backyard for BBQ but this place literally offers none.
- Whittington's 4 bed median price is only 290K...and this one's asking price is in the 400K plus.

Have you thought about if it's such a good deal, why would the current owner wants to sell?

 

Thanks, I did see @David Shih's Newcomb markup. I did drive around and it sure looked like commission housing around there.

Not worth the coin and great point by @David Shih about unknown build quality. Pass. Thank you.

Makes sense. I unwittingly participated in this. Learn and live I guess. It certainly occurred to me that this was a phone auction really.

 

Thanks for taking the time to whack out a detailed reply @David Shih, appreciated. All very valid points, taken aboard. As for me having the FOMO, it was more to do with the possible potential with it being a big block and a decent house to live in. I had thought of renting it out for a few years then, hopefully made some equity by then, would've razed the house and built 3 units/th's (STCA I know).

 

@David Shih I agree with absolutely everything you say. I'm not a fan of new builds for the same reason, I would much rather do a cosmetic reno ($10k or less, doesn't need to be pricey) on a heritage weatherboard home or 60s triple fronted brick home.

@Westie, as for that area of Whittington, its famously dodgy. I was having a chat to a couple of friends with no interest in property at all, and they were painfully aware of the stigma carried by the Solar Drive district. West of Wilsons Rd is fine.

 

If you want to do that, you could look at the complete other end of Geelong and buy something in Corio. Budget $250k for an orange brick ex houso home on 600 in the triangle bordered by Purnell Rd, Bacchus Marsh Rd and the Princes Hwy, spend 10k on a cosmetic reno (paint, vinyl plank floor, flat pack kitchen, light fittings, bathroom etc). You'll get huge land in the residential growth zone, and you're next to Corio Village, Detroit Crescent shops (killer fish and chips), and the Bacchus Marsh Rd medical and allied health precinct.

 

Thanks for the tip @G TOWN !

 

Loving all the attention Geelong is receiving!

Just an update on my property in Corio. People may know that my PM initially tried to rent my place out for $320 without much work required to get someone. The rent may have been for the previous buyer who bought it at a lower price but I was not happy.

With my trust in her ability to get me the best rent possible at an all time low, I decided to use gumtree as my method of seeing the demand on my property at a higher price. I started getting a lot of enquiries on my house and many of them were not put off that I was using my agent and I started receiving several offers for between $330 to $380/week (6%+ yield max). Made me wish that I could buy another one in Corio haha. I passed all my leads to my agent to check everything is good and managed to sign someone tonight for $350/week (~6% gross yield!). I understand Gumtree is a poor man's domain and realestate.com.au but you can still use the agent to vet your leads using this platform.

I thought I'll share this story to never trust the PM's judgement on what they think is the fair value for the house ("the house is not worth that rent" is her exact words") and to always do your own due diligence as the rental income ultimately affects you the most (the $30/week drop in rent won't hurt the agent as much as you). As it was untenanted I was able to get a 60 days settlement to give me time to get the best tenant for my place as I always start my rent higher than what my PM recommends and depending on interest may reduce it.

All the best with your fortunes in Geelong

Andrew

 

I agree. It's your property and you need to push for things to happen.

 

This is an amazing idea. Well done on a great result!