I am a big fan of Google Street-view.  I cruise up and down the street from the comfort of my desk, checking out powerlines, whether anyone in the street has several carwrecks in their front yard etc etc. Gives me an idea before I get in the car to go for a look-see.

On the workman issue, if a workman causes damage and he is not insured, too bad for you.  Your insurance will not pay out on damage done by a tradie you hired. 

As such, no tradies are allowed to step foot inside my property boundaries unless they have insurance.  One would assume this would extend to gardeners your tenants may hire to do the lawnmowing for them.  You need to ensure that your tenant's gardener has insurance….

While it is not an acronym, there would be value in having a definition and explanation of what an offset account is, and how it works.

Shop around.  Ask an insurance broker to shop around also.

Insurance is going up by the way.  A lot.

I had someone do $40k of damage.  The carpet was trashed (seemingly the tenant walked around inside with buckets of bleach and pink stuff that belongs in a garage and spilled it on the carpet), punch holes in the wall resulting in the need for the electricals to be checked, plaster replaced and the wall repainted, furniture trashed and stolen (it was furnished), portions of the kitchen damaged (why could they not ruin the whole kitchen for heaven's sake, then insurance would pay for a new kitchen), wrecked some of the powerpoints – again requiring electrician – damaged some curtains, bashed some of the floor and wall tiles resulting in having to redo the entire bathroom due to not being able to find a matching tile to patch it….

They smashed the glass of a sliding door but replaced it themselves with non-safety glass…

Just imagine if a tenant damages the roof.  The colorbond steel for instance.  That's $15k right there, minimum, surely.  Don't think they won't.  I have seen weird objects on the roof that a tenant put up there for some strange witchcraft behaviour.

I've heard of people dismantling an entire car with all its oil and grease….. in a loungeroom.  On the carpet.

You get the idea

Hi 9GoldFisk

Something to do right upfront is chat to council about your thoughts, and ask about what sort of permits and costs would be involved with each.  Then cross check that with insurance costs.  For example, council might say that what you intend to do they consider to be a boarding house, and that a special permit is needed, and then you find the insurance bill to be massive.

You mentioned "My goal is to achieve small boutique style..inner city accommodation for short term to medium term…as this has worked for me in the past…".  If you have a tried and proven formula that makes you money, and you know for sure the demand for such a product is still there in that market (suburb), why not repeat it?  It almost seems inconceivable that making lots of money could be that easy, but remember you did the hard yards learning in your prior properties.  Now you are perhaps really beginning to enjoy the fruits of your knowledge.

Just because you have seen a chance to make big money which seems really easy, it doesn't necessarily mean the plan is flawed. 

JacM

The transport situation is bad around that area.  Only one road that can get you to the freeway and it is clogged every single day.  Bit far from the train station to rely on walking and training it to the city for work.

It is widely considered that houses in Seabrook and Point Cook are over priced and thus cannot expect much capital growth over the short to medium term.

The photos will be better with furniture in them…. get the photos done before you remove the furniture

Remember to provide your conveyancer with the current lease and remind him/her to do the rental adjustments (ie get the rent for days beyond settlement day paid to you raither than old owner).  It is also a very good idea to contact the current managing agent, let them know of settlement date and ask that they not pay rents for days beyond that to old owner.  Anything not paid to you at settlement should be held with the managing agent and paid to you.

Make sure that your conveyancer orders a meter reading for the water usage, so that any water prior to settlement is not your problem.