Restarting journey - what would you do?

Hi all,

I've found myself in a position where I am restarting my investment journey with a clean slate (no investments or property at the moment). I would like some opinions on what you all think are good options to pursue.

My position: 31 years old, 100k income, 100k available cash. Based in Brisbane and experienced in adding value through renos. I want to target capital gains, but any investment properties would need to be close to neutral or positively geared so I can afford to hold them.

Options I'm considering:
-Buy a PPOR in Brisbane around the 500-600k mark, one that needs a bit of work and I'll add value through renos. If I did this I would like to buy close to the city so it is probably the only property I could afford. Would hold for a year or two and review borrowing capacity at that time to see if I could purchase anything else or if I would need to sell and repeat the process.
-Buy two cheaper properties around the 200k that I could add value to. Would probably be in a regional area ie Townsville. Rent for myself in Brisbane, save and stretch for a PPOR.
-Buy one property near a capital city in an area around 400k. Would allow me to rent in Brisbane and save for a PPOR.

What other options have I missed and what would people suggest?

 

If you can add value through renos, wouldnt you want to do a few to build up deposits?

 

You mean reno and then flip so you can cash out and build up the bank account? That could be an option, but I'd like to try and hold the property for further capital growth.

 

If you are experienced in renovations, it makes little sense to buy cheap properties in Townsville to “add value” when you live and work in Brisbane.

Why not combine your first and last suggestions? Buy a property that needs work around $400K (or a bit more) in Brisbane, live there and renovate over the next two years. Then turn it into an IP and investigate your options to buy either a better PPOR or another IP.
Marg

 

Good suggestion Marg. I do like that idea because I am keen to get in my own PPOR sooner. Any suggestions on suburbs? I'm still researching the Brisbane market.

I was thinking Townsville because I've had property there before, am very familiar with the market and think it has good potential for longer term growth. Admittedly I'd expect growth to be slower, but entry prices also less.

 

You are probably going to have to look 15-20km out, your choice as to whether north, south, east (maybe) or west. I would suggest avoiding the “cheapie” suburbs with a high concentration of social housing, rather look for a poorer house in a better suburb.
Marg

 

With the salary and deposit theres a limit to how much you can buy. If you have the skills to reno for profit probably worth doing that to increase deposits as a side business?

 

Food for thought. Thanks.

Reno's seem like the easiest option for me to build equity quickly, so I might start looking for some appropriate suburbs. I'm still very unfamiliar with the Brisbane market.