VIC I made a mistake. Looking for insights, advice and recommendations on moving forward.

FWIW I actually live in the area. We bought a few years ago as we got priced out of Footscray (Seddon and Yarraville never really an option - not really our vibe). The prices jumped significantly over that time, and I'm not entirely convinced that it's going to continue with that level of growth. There is going to be a fair bit of investment in/around Brimbank, so perhaps that will have something going for it. SASC got a good write up recently but you have to look at what they were measuring it on - it's a balanced highschool pathways for trades to academic types (https://www.theage.com.au/national/...cel-how-the-west-was-won-20190322-p516ov.html) . If you're looking for future development, I would recommend you review the zoning - the northern side of main road east is zoned in such a manner that you need less garden space as a % of the property.

 

@ELYAS your not the first and you certainly won’t be the last uneducated investor dooped into buying a 1 bedder apartment.

So what are your options?
1 - Keep it in your portfolio. It’s paying for itself and overtime rents will increase and it may get some minor growth.
2 - Sell it and take say 35k to go towards a future investment. At your current savings rate that will accelerate this be roughly 1 year. If your looking to buy in Melbourne, I don’t really see a better opportunity coming for a long time.

With option 2 the other consideration is you will have “made” a capital loss and this can later be used to offset a capital gain given your not going to make the same mistake again are you .

As for where to buy. Search through my previous posts to see just how much of an advocate I am for the area your researching. As far as I’m concerned your bang on the money.

 

Actually, this could indeed be something of interest but I'm going to have to look into it a little to gain some understanding first.

 

I’ll try and keep it brief as not to derail the thread.
I find unlisted has better yields. Many listed funds tend to be open ended. A number of the unlisted ones I’m in are closed after the initial asset or assets are purchased. That way I know exactly the quality of the assets and it can’t change.
Listed means I have to buy at the market price rather then the NTA. Any good quality fund that’s listed will most likely be priced at a premium on the market.

Negatives of unlisted. Some are only open to wholesale investors. There are not always funds open to invest in when you have cash available. When a good asset / fund comes up you need to get in and commit $$ as only a few decent funds come up every year at the moment. Some require a minimum investment amount such as fortius being minimum $100k.

Plenty more I could go into, but don’t want to turn this thread about property funds.

 

Thanks mate, I'm leaning towards keeping the apartment for now, and only selling if i need a cash injection to up my deposit on my next purchase.

As for St. Albans/Sunshine, problem is with what's available at the moment, I can't get past how ugly most properties are. Some are nicely cleaned up and re-painted but most are going to need a bit of work to bring them to a level where one can ask a premium rental. Most I've seen so far don't even have ducted heating/cooling, for example, with ancient kitchens, horrible tiling etc...

 

A horrible kitchen is your friend... It doesn't cost that much to replace.

 

How ugly the properties are??
That’s the best part!!! That my friend is what “investing” is all about. Why would you want to pay a premium for someone else’s hard work?
Buy something with old dirty carpet, a run down kitchen, awful paint and unkept gardens.
Rip up the carpet and polish the boards, put in a new 5k bunnings kitchen, paint a few walls and mow and weed.
You now have a good looking property that will rent well with the added bonus of instant growth.

I would never buy something new.

 

Ever think thats the attitude that got you sucked into that off the plan thing?

 

the words "premium" and "st albans/sunshine"
dont go hand in hand

 

eeexactly,

for resi investing, unless im getting the reno for free,

the newer the kitchen/bathroom area is, the more the brightness hurts my eyes!

bomb sites, holes in walls, horrible carpetting, horrible paint jobs, declapid kitchens, 50 year old light fittings, all turn me on!

 

Hahaha when the lights don’t turn on I do!

 

1/16 Yewers Street, Sunshine, Vic 3020

This could do well for you. Pick it up for $470k, 30k for a new bathroom and cosmetic refurb. Well located rental.

 

Yes. Knocks heaps off the purchase price but is easy to sort out.

Buyers get really invested in the kitchen (and bathroom, for that matter).

The triple fronted brick homes prevalent in these areas are very easy to make presentable, and often all the work is internal.

 

That is one sexy kitchen, bathroom and carpet!

 

Try to increase this. We're on less than half your income before tax and have a kid and save around $40k a year (well, it really goes against the principal of loans).
But as long as you can manage to keep your spending in check, you should easily be able to retire early!

 

Thats interesting you think that. Commercial has more of both extremes, i.e. it has some places that barely appreciate in value, and it has places that make a motza in capital gains. It's just more tricky to navigate, housing is much more commoditized.

That said, recently there has been the mother of all booms in Sydney commercial property, especially industrial/offices that puts the residential boom in the dust.

 

I was probably unclear earlier, I'm not looking for a polished property. I'm totally in for freshening and facelifting. But i'm also not looking for a total rebuild either. We simply don't have the time to fully renovate a ****-hole. I'm happy to rip up carpets, repaint, and chuck in some downlights, maybe even freshen up a kitchen. However, gutting bathrooms and kitchens, replacing mouldy ceilings and re-wiring whole houses just isn't in my scope and the money I'll have to spend getting tradies in just doesn't make sense.

No. What got me into off the plan was unchecked enthusiasm, excitement and listening to wrong advice.
What brought me HERE to this forum is an understanding of this and a willingness to be educated.
But thanks any way.

LOL - yes, I get that. I meant premium relative to the area. Call it, upper end of rental by comparison.

We are definitely increasing this, over the last few years we've been enjoying our hard work with luxuries and holidays, etc, but now it's time to get a little serious, hence the post.

 

Had a look at this. Is there any worry with regards to those trees in the front yard? The mouldy ceiling in one of the bedrooms worries me and the rotting wall in the bathroom too. I just don't want to be in a position where a clean/freshen up turns into a nightmare with extended unseen water damage...

Please do tell me if I'm being pedantic...

 

im not a tree expert so maybe others can comment

but the bdr ceiling mould is very square, it could be an old leak or where the batts is missing a square piece,
the bathroom, youre going to have replace all of it anyway including the wall, so I wouldnt be worried, just need the plumber to check it before it gets rewalled

edit: also where the porch and bedroom meet, I can see a horizontal crack, have a look whether its just mortar coming off or something substantial