It seems as time progresses houses are getting more and more crappy,  I mean whats next,  Plastic roof trusses ?

Id rather buy a brick veneer house

Oh, and by the way,  You said the internal linings of the house where also blue board,  Are you sure of that ?

Blue board is a very common material particuarly for upper storey and infill applications as it is light weight (compared to brick work). Blue board is a 7.5mm thick cement sheet product with a blue water resistant coating (hence the name) and is generally used as a base to render over. If done correctly it can be quite reliable and durable. Unfortuantley more often then not Blue board is not installed/rendered correctly and consequently cracks (along joins etc) leading to weatherproofing issues etc. I my self would be very cautious looking at a two storey property clad entirly in blue board. As I said if it has been done correctly you shouldnt have much to worry about. Things to look at would be expansion/construction joints, these need to be every 6m and look like a joint in the sheet that has been 'caulked' with a fleixible sealant. The sheets should be installed vertically, not horizontally. What type of render has been used on the walls? A acrylic/polymer flexible type render should be used rather than a cement based render (cement based renders dont move with the blue board and tend to crack). Hope this is helpful.

Cheers,

Paul

I'm a bit unsure of your reason for this "investment".

I know nothing of investing in Tasmania. But I do know a bit about investing.
There are two common reasons to "invest".
1. To achieve a capital gain.
 2. For positive cashflow.
3. (Which is dubious in my opinion) to make a loss, ie to negatively gear and thus pay less tax.

From the info of others above,
1. May not happen in your 4 year time frame (ie only  a HOPE that it will increase over your entry costs (stamp duty and legals). Maybe you are a first home buyer, which saves the stamp duty. But then you have to live in the house for at least 6 months in the first year of ownership. Any price rise still speculative.
2. The above info assures me that you will not have a positive or even neutral cash flow.
3. You will negatively gear!

If you plan to live in this house, you will confuse the issue on selling it, as you will have to pay capital gains tax if it is an investment. If you plan to negatively gear it in the short term, that means you WILL have to pay CGT on at least a percentage of the (hoped for) profit.

On the other hand, if you sell in about 4 years and don't make any money, or lose it, then you can't call it an investment. The description in this case of your property in a liability. And an Investor should never buy on emotions, just on clod hard numbers.

If you are able to sub divide, this may be a good strategy. But check with the council FIRST! ie before buying!

If not too late.

Sorry to be negative, but just trying to help you see the range of possibilities! 

Quickchick.     

I have two investment properties in Claremont, which is just north of Berriedale.  I've had them for 4 and 5 years respectively and had the same tenants in both since day dot.  Rents have started to increase reasonably well in the last 12 months and I've got a pretty good property Manager, achieving well over 7% of yield.  Buying something that you are emotionally attached to for investment purposes can lead you into a bit of danger though.  I too, would think about moving down that way eventually, but not to live in what I currently own, I think that can confuse the issue sometimes.   FYI, I've had good growth from 04 to 07 but things have slowed in the last 12 months.

Hope this helps.
NN