Hello from Brisbane - looking to buy 1st home

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by mona brissie, 10th Nov, 2020.

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  1. mona brissie

    mona brissie Member

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    Hi, was googling if getting a BA is a good idea and landed on this portal. Found some great forums and thought I may ask for some advice from experts/ people who sound like they know a lot :)

    My partner and I are looking to buy our very first property in Brisbane.

    Budget: $800k - $900k
    Must: 10km ring from Brisbane CBD (we both work in the city). New-ish modern home (no QLDer) with no/minimal work required & 2 story preferred. Land size doesn't matter too much as long as it is around/over 400m2

    We are not looking for an investment property like most forums seem to discuss about, but wanting to buy a place where we actually want to live in for the next few years at least. Have looked at over 50 properties in 20 different suburbs and haven't found any single one we want to make an offer for. Reached out to a BA who our friend used and recommended. They have a non-refundable fee of $1,650 for 3 month engagement and $17,000 success fee once the property settled. From my research, 2% fee seems reasonable and quite frankly, we feel like it is worth getting their help if they can find the right place and can negotiate for us.

    A lot of 1st home buyers seem to go for a lower beget property and a bigger block of land - guess thinking as a long term investment. I just want to hear your thoughts if our budget & must are missing greater opportunities. We don't look to make massive capital gains on this property but don't want to miss out either. Like most first home buyers, we are putting a large portion of our saving as a deposit in and want to hear some advice in general from you guys.

    Any advice will be grateful!

    Areas looked so far: Stafford, Stafford Height, Fairfield, Hendra, Kedron, Enoggera, Coorparoo, Everton Park, Greenslopes, Holland Park, Holland Park West, Mitchelton, Morningside, Nundah, Wavell Heights, Windsor, Carina, Cannon Hill, Annerley & Camp Hill
     
  2. Firefly99

    Firefly99 Well-Known Member

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    If you’ve looked at 50 and didn’t like any of them I’m not sure anyone can help! Perhaps you need to buy some land and build exactly what you want.
     
  3. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    What was it about the 50 that you saw that you didn't like? If you can articulate that it would help yourself and the BA.
     
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  4. mona brissie

    mona brissie Member

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    Thanks for the great feedback and something we also considered. We found 400m2 lands in these areas are around $500-$600k and gathering from friends who recently built houses, will cost us around $400k to build a nice 2 story house with extras/materials I want to add/upgrade. Our borrowing capacity is mid $1m so it is doable but didn’t want to build something without any property experience (as a first home buyer). I’m now thinking to spend $1,650 to engage with this BA and if they can’t find anything in 3months either, then I must admit that I’m the problem lol
     
  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I can't help but think that unless you can rule out what you don't like, your BA will probably find you the same 50 you've seen (or similar).

    What was the problem with most of the 50? The feeling inside? The lack of certain things you really want (butler pantry)? The level of spec? Didn't like the street?

    I also think if you've seen 50 houses, you might have issues even with a BA looking for you, but I guess for a fee of $1650 it's worth a try. If they don't find you anything you like, you are only risking that much. But if you can pinpoint for yourself what you don't like, you could save yourself nearly $20k you will pay to a BA.
     
  6. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Based on that budget and your borrowing capacity, wonder whether it's as simple as try looking at more expensive places. And decide whether to compromise, or spend more.

    While searching for PPOR, always ended upping the budget in the end.
     
  7. mona brissie

    mona brissie Member

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    That's a great idea. I will make a list of things I didn't like before I meet with the BA to discuss the next step.
    Thank you so much for your comment. All valid points. We reached out to another BA today who my partner preferred and got the same feedback with what you outlined. He advised that he can source properties but will more likely to find ones similar to what we have inspected so far, and we will end up not liking them if we didn't make any single offer for the last 10 months or so. I'm thinking the exactly same thing - to risk $1650 to see if we either need to increase our budget or reduce expectations.

    It may sound silly, but it was little things as you said - the feeling inside, butler's panty, size of the WIR, how the kitchen is layered, floor types, bathroom designs..

    https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-qld-oxley-133994802

    This property was the closest one we made an offer to when our budget was $700k-$750k, but didn't ended up doing it cuz it had a big easement area in the backyard and also the location wasn't great. It was listed for over $760k but got sold at $725k. After this we increased our budget as it didn't look like we could get something similar in a better location.

    I feel a bit lost whether I'm too unrealistic. I saw someone commenting in one of the forums that you can't get Lexus with Camry price.. which probably is my issue.
     
  8. Firefly99

    Firefly99 Well-Known Member

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  9. Lindsay_W

    Lindsay_W Well-Known Member

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    I think you're starting to come to the realisation that you may need to lower your expectations.
    Very rare that the first property you buy is your dream home, keep that in mind and good luck with your search :)
     
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  10. Firefly99

    Firefly99 Well-Known Member

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    Haha yes well I think if you’ve looked at that many properties (assuming you did a screening on real estate dot com / domain beforehand) and haven’t found something perfect then you just have a pretty specific property in mind that might be hard to find. Building isn’t difficult and you’ll find heaps of advice / support on forums with respect to floor plans, materials, etc. The builder will manage the approvals process with council.
     
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  11. mona brissie

    mona brissie Member

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    This actually is on my saved list along with below one. I contacted both asking for the address details. Is there any tip/feedback you can share with these brokers (i.e. Valcon Homes & Building Brokers QLD)? The prices seem pretty cheap even considering will be a very basis house given they are both located in highly valued areas, Tarragindi and Norman Park. I ignored these ones before as the prices seemed too reasonable for the location and thought there'd be something hidden.

    https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-norman+park-134718798

    Is there any essential questions I need to ask these people? The only thing I can think of if the land is registered.
     
  12. Firefly99

    Firefly99 Well-Known Member

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    I assume that the specs on the build that has been costed is pretty low and you’d want an extra $100k or so to up-spec it. I haven’t had any experience with these companies. I think the tarragindi property is this one (same block size). https://www.realestate.com.au/property-residential+land-qld-tarragindi-202718142
    You might be better buying land and then choosing your own builder. I saw this block for sale too, it would be my pick due to proximity to CBD, block size and shape. It’s near the train line but a quiet street. Would need to check against flood maps to make sure it’s not in the flood zone.
    https://www.realestate.com.au/property-residential+land-qld-fairfield-202812998
     
  13. mona brissie

    mona brissie Member

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    Thanks for looking up these places for me. I really appreciate your advice and feedback. I love the fairfield one but it looks it it was affected by 2011 flood and also still is a flood zone :( Tarragindi spot looks great although it is at the corner of the busy street. I will look into this one.
     

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