VIC Melbourne SE or NW

Hi everyone!

Been a follower for a while on this forum and learning from everyone's contributions.

My partner and I (no kids) are looking to buy a place in the near future and kind of unsure where to go. We are both from the NW suburbs of Melbourne meaning family and friends are there.

We currently live in the SE (renting) in Oakleigh. We really love it here and it seems like it's going to be hard for us to leave. Both of our workplaces are within a 10 minute drive too. We started renting here to see how we like it and make it easier for the commute to work.

We are netting around $2500 a week (steadily increasing over time) and have a $550k deposit to play with.

I'm not a fan of big debt and trying to keep it to a minimum if possible. Don't really want to borrow more than $350k but property is quiet a bit pricier in the SE than the NW.

We are caught in between being closer to friends and family, close to debt free or even debt free moving to the NW, having a house but having a longer commute to work everyday which also includes a lot of weekly costs such as petrol, tolls, maintenance etc. Or do we borrow to our limit and settle for a big unit with 3 bedrooms or a townhouse in Oakleigh and surrounds.

Reason I am setting a $350k loan budget is because I am a strong believer of having a set budget with adequate buffers in place where our lifestyle is not largely impacted by mortgage repayments in case one of us lose our jobs, changes in circumstances etc. Repayments on a mortgage of this size is around $1400 a month give or take with current interest rates.

Just looking to see what peoples insights are and what they would do in this situation.

Thanks!

 

What will be the impact to social lives if you move 30kms away? Realistically, if you have active social lives, then it will most likely be impacted with a move to the NW.

 

exact first thought that jumped into my head
if the rent in oakleigh is reasonable - great place to live, friendly greek strip, big woolies and coles, nice parks, seems super convenient for you as well - why not stay put?

for 900k you are not getting anything nice around the area and dunno if you plan on having kids in the future. best to invest now when rates are low. my personal experience is you can't buy time. short commutes put so much more energy into my day, i can actually go jogging every afternoon.

 

Is it for a PPOR?

If so, go for the short commute. It’s worth the higher price you pay for the house IMO. Good schools and Unis nearby too.

However, it sounds like you are very worried about increasing the loan so buying in the SE may feel too risky for you and you may need to go NW.

Only you two can decide...

 

@The Y-man this is work but it's something that we aren't looking to do. May work for some people though!

@sqe this will definitely be the case if we do move back to the NW since where we are has a big social aspect to it. We could adjust and with the money we save in not spending so much for a place in the SE we could use those funds to go on more frequent holidays, getaways etc.
The real big one is travel to work but I guess fuel and toll costs will never equate to $350k.
Perhaps use that money for other opportunities.

This is something we are thinking about a lot. Thing is our situation may change in a couple years. Who knows. I'm more flexible in where I can work but partner isn't at the moment. Seems like she may be able to work from home more often after COVID. It's striking that balance between friends/family. Parents are getting older and would be handy being closer to them. Can't win either way.