Hey guys, What's the general consensus on Hobart's rougher suburbs like Rokeby, Clarendon Vale, Bridgewater, Gagebrook etc. Understand they're ex-houso and Ive read in the Hobart thread that a few here wouldnt touch them, but I'm wondering how rough can they be? Eg Clarendon Vale, 10kms from Hobart city, $135k buy, $230/week rent, sub 1% vacancy, relatively low hold cost (water, council, insurance)... am I missing something? Can anyone share experiences with owning in these areas?
Think burnt out houses and street numbers spray painted on the house. Sheets hung in windows instead of curtains. It's nice. The people there are great.
I own in Clarendon Vale. Go and have a look and a drive around, it is not as bad as ppl make out. Whenever I travel interstate I like to walk around all the so called rough areas about 10-11pm on a sat night just to see what they are really like. Clarendon Vale is tame compared to other areas around australia i have been. I also had a good walk around from 4 to 5pm and it was like a ghost town, i hardly saw anyone, just lots of kids bikes on front lawns unchained. There are two new housing estates either side of Clarendon Vale. The North estate is more expensive with most houses high 3's to $450k. The South one is a bit cheaper most are 300 to low 4's. How long will it take for gentrification ? I am not sure but if you look at this area 6-7 years ago you will see a huge difference.... Certain streets are better/worse in Clarendon Vale which will also show up in the listing price. You would be better of buying around 160-170k, than a cheapie for 140k. Houses are bomb proof, ive hardly spent anything on mine in 7 years. Usually in Clarendon Vale, there are only usually 8 to 12 houses sold each year. 10 have already been sold this year and we are only half way through.... I would rank Rokeby/Clarendon Vale over Bridgewater/Gagebrook. I have been lucky having the same tenant for 7 years, her centrelink payment goes straight into my account
There is a reason they don't cost much... So many trashed yards, boarded up windows, burnt out houses... also higher crime rates. It isn't terrible or super dangerous. .. but it is unpleasant. Centrelink is a reliable source of income... but you are not talking about classy tenants. Don't expect CG though.
Have you managed to make any CG though? And what sort of yield are you seeing? Noted - i'll make sure to insure the place for a fair chunk more than the purchase price
I work in the Rokeby/Clarendon Vale area and personally wouldn't touch it. Yep, cheap prices, yields are decent, but as far as CG possibilities go I would think it's very unlikely.
I agree with Robbo. I live in Hobart though currently in California and CG's would be minimal. These suburbs have good and bad tenants but the opportunity to find trouble either with tenants or surrounding neighbours are higher than more affluent suburbs. If you had to choose a suburb,you would go Rokeby before the others mentioned above. Also look at Warrane for ex housing commission houses close to Eastlands (major shopping centre and less than a 5 min walk including bus mall) and only 8 min drive to city.
100% agree with all of this. Don't mind Warrane as well as Moonah/Glenorchy although they are slightly higher priced.
Mornington is another suburb in this area (adj Waarane) to keep your eye on. Mixture of ex housing commission houses and new houses, some over the $400,000 mark built in the last 5-10 years for the new houses.
