I am sure you can go to few insurance web sites and use their calculators, maybe a suggestion to, if you go to archicentre's web site, they have up to date info on rebuilds and costsing per sq metre, as LA pointed out.
Its safer to over insurer a little than be out of pocket and dire straights.
For whats its worth I use a company called EBM Insurance Brokers (1800 661 662), which I found at one of the property investment expos. Why they seem fairly competitive with their fees. Touch on wood I havent need to test our policy , but it contains the general cover in-which we need.
I also live in Sydney, but have been off the forum site for some time due to study/work/family commitments.
Bec, you should research the forum here a little or I hope someone remembers and pops in some advice here soon, but there was a group of ppl from this forum who used to organise gatherings for Sydney investors. I think the last one which I remember was held @ Petersham RSL, which unfortunately I was unable to attend.
But I believe the gatherings would be of extreme benefit for networking / exchange of ideas / meeting and helping each other.
Hopefully one of the old organisers will see this thread and let us all know if anymore gatherings are going to be organised where & when etc. Cheers
Have you tried contacting 'Otis' or other lift companies? Just an idea, how long have the lifts been installed? I would contact the starta management of the complex, I am sure they will have some info for you. I know a refit will cost you a lot, not from personal experience but by chatting with Otis when they refit where I work. If there is a lift there or multi lifts I steer clear
Perhaps you are searching to wide, and need to narrow it down a lot more, I could imagine how many listings tou would get if u typed in <200 k on the search engines, this will surely do your head and be non productive to an extent. API magazine as mentioned earlier by L.A is a great resource, but remember by the time the print (issue) comes out, you are battling many others, so stay ahead of the field.
Re-cap, narrow your area of interest down, know your budget, know the area, use due diligence, know the market value, and this is where u make a lot of your money !!! by below makert value.
I grew up a little south of Albury / Wodonga , and have also been keeping an eye on the area. Recently if not now there are major road works being completed, so the main highway which caters for traffic between Syd-Melb will by pass Albury and not through anymore.
Wodonga appear to be cheaper area, as with Lavington (nth Albury) I think Lavington is mores lower income / commission area.
Many Army personel still reside in Wodonga area.
I see growth in the area, as yes slow growth.
If I remember rightly, just out of Albury Wodonga towards Wangaratta ( near Barnawatha (not sure of spelling) there are some huge commerical buildings proposed, a main depot for storage etc.
As for your original question I do know local investors or groups in the area, pherhaps ring a few agents, they should be in the know.
Hmm can be viewed as a great opportunity for long term investing, certainly not for the short term > High unemployment, low morale, dimishing business cocktail for disaster or keen edge investor to hit while prices spiral down and hold for the up turn.[cigar]
Unfortunately I bought my first i/p without the due diligence / knowledge [confused2], so definately work out a structure / plan on what you want to achieve in your investment career / portfolio.
Like all i/p they can work if part of your plan, what can seem appealing to you may not be appealing to other investors, maybe because it is not part of their strategy.
If possbile speak to other owners in the complex to see what their perspective is on some issues such as:
Management of complex
Vacancy rates
If any have sold and how much for