QLD Logan Central

Anybody buying in the Logan Central area. Have one property there and considering buying another (possibly Townhouse).

 

I am interested. Most people say it's a dodgy area, I thought it was okay and safe (not sure what happens after dark). On a recent trip I caught the train and walked from Woodridge station to the shopping area to get a feel for the area and people are all harmless, so no idea what the fuss is.

Very good yields for houses and townhouses, cannot see much downside as you be positive geared

 

Agree, it's not to bad there and you can find decent tennants. Yields are good and I think with a 10 year outlook it's gotta be a pretty safe bet.

 

I recently (around 2 months ago) picked one up in LC and also neighbouring Woodridge. Tenant selection and tenant quality is absolutely paramount with these areas. This is made easier by having an absolute 'gun' of a managing agent. So important in areas such as these!

 

I am also considering a property in Logan Central.

Can't contribute much as I have not been there yet but will be headed there soon

 

Who would be the gun agent in the area ?

 

I am really pleased with the team at PMHQ (Lu Bracher is the best contact there), I actually moved my entire Brisbane portfolio over to them recently.

 

what % of management fees are the norm in Brisbane ??

 

That's hard to pinpoint because it depends on the service structure and the hidden fees on some of the 'bare bones' services from some companies.

I've seen them range from about 6.6% up to 9.9% (includIing gst), so slightly higher than Melbourne and Sydney.

If you have more than one property you might be able to negotiate of course.

 

I think I will be going for a townhouse. Something around the two hundred k. Returns are good in my opinion. With a minimum ten year outlook, I think I will be ok.

 

C-mac is onto something here Lu is a gun.

 

Yield is good, but CG wise I'm still not sure how much more it can move given the stigma it has?

 

Michael_X did an excellent write up about this here:
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105519&highlight=logan+central&page=9

In addition I have been taking on board his recommendations and been looking for about a month now in the area. Just started to call agents and going to book a time to fly up there in the next month.

Also credit goes to Michael - I've also drawn on a map the areas in RED to stay away from and the areas in GREEN are potentially good areas. (See attached PDF). Hope this sketch helps.

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Start small. Be consistent. And watch massive change take hold.

 

Logan is a HUGE area - I'd say there are many different markets within Logan.

Logan Central itself is gaining quite a lot of momentum as of late, mostly investors and mostly interstate. In saying this, its important to be extremely careful with what you're buying, making sure you're doing proper due diligence and not get carried away emotionally.

Many townhouses in Logan have a reputation of charging exorbitant body corporate fees which will eat up most of your 7.5% yield. Make sure the numbers stack up

 

Settled on a property last week in Logan Central.

Purchase price $338,000. Expecting $450 rent per week, it's on 900+ sqm. Needs some work done to it, paint, kitchenette downstairs, minor fixes throughout etc.

You get pretty rough tenants in Logan Central, so make sure you have a good property manager!

Cheers,
Michael

 

If you are going after townhouses, as Simon mentioned look out for the strata levies. You want them to be around the $300 per quarter mark or less - preferably no pools, tennis courts etc etc.

Cheers,
Michael

 

Nice

Went unconditional on one yesterday - $345k rent $495pw. Not a cent needed to be spent.

 

Agreed with Michael re: TH''s in Logansport Central and strata. For a Sydney based investor like me, it was kinda surreal/bizarre to travel to such a low socio-economic suburb such as loan central the first time and observe so many TH complexes with pool, tennis courts, and elaborate gardens etc. It just seemed out of place for the area.

The other thing to seek out are the rarer 'less than 10' sized TH complexes without any of the abovementioned trimmings. Most TH''s are in larger complexes - go for the smaller ones if you can.

 

Great map! Curious, what made you decide what areas were good and bad?

 

Hi Simon
That must be dual occ right? That weekly rent sounds very high IMO. Is that what it's currently achieving or an estimate of potential rent?