Hi everyone! I'm not a property investor other than an accidental one! My husband and I purchased out first home without much forethought, it turned out to be a good choice, both in terms of enjoyment factor while living there, plus the return we got on sale. Now we're considering buying another ppor, and I'm actually thinking it through - my dilemna is funnily enough what to do with it! We had a particular location in mind (about four streets in a specific suburb): it's hard to get houses in this location because they're mostly all townhouses now, or being tightly held and not sold. A property in our "ideal" location has come up now, it's being marketed as a development opportunity but has sat on the market a few months because the vendor's asking price doesn't make financial sense for developers (per my math) unless they're builders looking to buy themselves a job (and maybe not even then). However, the vendor is pretty set on his price, and we could afford to pay it since we're buying a ppor. So my question is what to do with it if we bought it: it's a 750sq block, house is in front and I'm pretty sure could be subdivided to build a unit out back; however, we wouldn't be keen to do this, since it's a consumable (ppor that we'd like to enjoy) and our young kids would enjoy a backyard. But if I don't extend out back, I could keep that as an option should we ever need the cash; alternatively if my parents ever wanted to live with us, we could build them a unit/granny flat out back (this option is pretty unlikely, hopefully they stay spry and healthy and independent for a long time, but as a backup it feels comforting to have) The house itself is unrenovated art deco, I have an incredible fondness for old houses but I expect renovation could bring out all kinds of issues. (the place looks very liveable as is, has new wiring and no obvious issues). We don't want a very fancy house, just after the location, but I expect I could easily spend 300k renovating the place (any unexpected issues if needed; floors, paint, window coverings; renovate current family bath; add a big ensuite; new kitchen; new walk in robe) On the other hand, I could probably do a knock-down rebuild for 500k? It's a regular sized block with wide frontage so I'm pretty sure a project build would work, but have I mentioned that I love old homes? I also dislike big box project builds, but I know it'd be shiny and nice and easy to maintain, plus it'd be much bigger, double storey, etc... Anyway, bit of a ramble there! Thank you if you've read this far I'd really appreciate any advice or suggestions. TLDR: what to do with property for future ppor? halp!
No way in the world I would knock down an art deco to put up modern junk!! A biased Melburnian's opinion, but they do attract a price premium in the markets I know. Cosmetic update and build at the back down the track. Where is it?
@Trainee yes that was a bit of a ramble. I guess my question boils down to "should I rebuild or renovate? should I leave room at the back to build/subdivide later on?" I think we'll go for the renovation option since even though it'll likely "only" be 200k or so less than a rebuild, we'll be able to move in sooner by staggering the work a bit, and I guess it boils down to personal tastes somewhat. Haha thanks @maroon ! I feel that way myself, I've always said I don't want to live in a big box but I was wondering if I should consider budget, resale value, etc (seems like most people prefer the big project builds given they're bigger and more "luxurious" )
