I have owned units and houses. Overall if I had my time over, I would stick with houses. The value is with the land and although the yield is more attractive with units, long term you get bigger gains with houses.

So, you need to consider what you are buying the 1bdr unit for? +CF or CG? I live in the inner west and familiar with price values,…[Read more]

Have a look at http://www.homepriceguide.com.au and http://www.residex.com.au . They offer reports which will provide background info on how the suburbs has performed and some prediction on how it may perform in the future.

It will be valuable for you to have this information prior to buying, as it can also provide you with recent sales info as…[Read more]

From my own experience, I would be hard pressed to consider buying one. We bought a serviced apartment in Sydney nearly 5 years ago for @227K, 1 bdr plus carspace and a guaranteed net rent of 6%. No one has been able to sell their apartments until recently at a discounted price of $210K. The new rental guarantee will be 4%-5%.

We are trying to…[Read more]

I am currently doing my first subdivision in Brisbane and it has been a very challenging experience and still is. Just going ahead and buying it without more research could get you in a lot of strife.

As Michael mentioned, there are so many things that can go wrong and it is best that you are aware of them. I am presuming the land is zoned to…[Read more]

In response to your questions.

1. How long did it take to get 100% approval and complete subdivision?

This is dependant on council and what you intend to do with the existing house. With my lack of knowledge, I didnt realise this and it delayed my DA by months.Just say it was a straightforward DA, there is a backlog in Brissie and can take up to…[Read more]

Hi Pete,

I am currently doing this at the moment, but in Brisbane. It is more complex than building a new home and requires a lot of coordination. It is my first foray and have found it very challenging. Whatever the end result, it is worth it as I am learning a lot and keen to progress as a property developer.

Not including costs for the DA and…[Read more]

I am now in the final stages on my very first subdivision in Brisbane. As a novice, I went to the council and asked their advice and picked up any material on how to do a subdivision. They were quite helpful, although I didn’t understand a lot of it. Much more costly, I have used townplanners to go through the process for me and to be able to…[Read more]