Hi BJ

My wife and I run a buyers agents in Newcastle just south of Port Macquarie.Scott was spot on with his appraisal of Port. When the “development age” started about 5 years ago everyone started looking for cheap coastal properties (in comparison with Sydney) to develop.

There is an oversupply of units being built on the coast, especially in Newcastle as all the DA’s that have been put in over the last 5-7 years are now being built.

We highly recommend before buying units off the plan, see how unique they are. There are hundreds of boxes being built and they are the ones being caught in the oversupply. If your unit has water views or any other specialalities that make them more appealing than your standard boxes, you will be more successful in selling them.

Unfortunately for Port there are only a couple of major developers so most of the units there look very similar.

We have a client who purchased there 2 months ago. They were looking at a new 2 bedroom unit near the beach at around $400k. We found one 3 streets further back that was 4 years old had 3 bedrooms and a 2nd bath, double garage and payed $325k.

Another problem is that a majority of these units are owned by capital city investors who read the prospectus and hoped to sell before completion, however they didn’t realise that there would be 30 blocks of units on the market not just theirs.

My personal opinion is hold on to it if you can and make as much from holiday rentals as you can or find out what the other units are going to be rented for and make yours $5-$10 lower rent to get it tenanted, or if you want to sell, find out what the others are on for and go $5-10k lower. There will be more growth in Port eventually but its up to you decide which way you want to go.

We hope you havent been too scarred by this learning experience and are growing from it.

Just to make you feel a little better, its probably warmer over there today than it is here.

Good luck, email me if you would like some more info,

regards
Mic

Hunter House Hunters.
Specialising in finding your dream home in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley or your perfect investment property throughout Australia.To join our database [email protected]

Hi Homer,

Its unfortunate that the only place to find these properties are in country towns. The best way to find out about these towns is to ring the locals. Go and spend a couple of days there. It all comes down to research. And ask any agent in a country town if they have a low vacancy rate. You know the answer. Its better to call and ask if they have any rental properties. Find a large employer from the town and tell them you may be moving there with new position for a the company. Ask what they have in the way of rentals. You will usually get something closer to the truth that way. Unfortunately sometimes you have to play the game. You may as well have some fun with it.
Good luck

Mic

Hunter House Hunters.
Specialising in finding your dream home in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley or your perfect investment property throughout Australia.To join our database [email protected]

Hi Suzie,

First thing to do is read Monopoly’s letter. Once you have done that read it again and again and again. Especially the ps.

Out sourcing is the way to go. You havent got time to learn all the laws and police what is going on. The most important thing you have is your time. How much time and money have you spent trying to get these people out. Compare that with the cost of a property manager and you get the idea.

When investing, its all about making money. However, you must spend it to make it. Its about spending it in the right areas. A good property manager is a great investment.

Good luck,

Mic.
P.s. Dont forget to read Monopoly’s letter

Hunter House Hunters.
Specialising in finding your dream home in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley or your perfect investment property throughout Australia.To join our database [email protected]

We have looked into these a little and the most important things to look at are the sustainability of the company who will be managing the property.

Is there a guaranteed return and are all body corporate and strata fees are paid by the management company, or is it payed on an occupancy basis. This one seems to be alright.

The other problem you will face is a lender financing one of these. Most lenders wont go to 80% unless they are 50 sqm. I have found one guy in Newcastle that has a lender that will go to 80% depending upon sevicability.

As long as they have a leasehold agreement in place with a guaranteed return, there are some very good little earners in these sort of deals. Especially if there is a ratchet clause in place. This means that the return can never be less than the previous years return.

Try contacting SLA through a Univesity. If you have any other question click below and i’ll do what I can to help.

Hunter House Hunters.
Specialising in finding your dream home in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley or your perfect investment property throughout Australia.To join our database [email protected]

The only way we find the product you are looking for is research, research, research. The internet is your best friend, utilise the search engines. Find out whats happening around the place, what are governments doing, where are people going. There a million different ways to research what we are all looking for.

Once you find it, then you must start building relationships, especially in the country areas, Some people dont take kindly to “US CITY FOLK”. This is where your relationships come into it. Most of the property we found when we started was around 8-9% gross. Once we built those relationships we started hearing of properties in the 10-12% area before they come onto the market.

With so many investors tearing through QLD they wont last, so that is why you need to do the research, build the relationships and be ready to move when you find that property you want.

Hunter House Hunters.
Specialising in finding your dream home in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley or your perfect investment property throughout Australia. [email protected]

Hi Fsat,

You are in exactly the same position as myself and probably every other person who have read Steves book or done a property course. The next step is research. You first must understand, a majorities of the properties that Steve bought were in the past 5 years before the boom hit. Some believe they are all gone but they are not. They are just very hard to find. My wife and I spend up to 8 hours a day researching areas across Australia including the sustainability of a town, industries and rental rates to find the positive geared properties we promote.

We are lucky as we are buyers agents and it is part of our job. Most people who have a normal job will only have a fraction of that time to do the research and in turn they can get nervous and make emotional decisions.

The best advice i could offer is do your research, have your standards and stick to them. There is always variables involved with property, so that is when good due dilligence is essential and be patient and build relationships with agents in the areas you are concentrating on. But most importantly, dont believe a word they say.

Every property you will look at, will always have “SOMEONE LOOKING AT IT”, or “SOMEONE IS ABOUT TO MAKE AN OFFER”. Dont be effected by these comments, do what you feel, not what they want. Just remember, the deal of a lifetime comes every 14 days.

Hunter House Hunters.
Specialising in finding your dream home in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley or your perfect investment property throughout Australia. [email protected]