Hi Matt,

I have sent you a Private Message.

More cons than pros in my opinion, however they do tend to be cheap and can be situated in good areas close to water.

Finance and resale are difficult. What look like great returns can be eaten up by undisclosed outgoings, particularly in holiday let scenarios. If there is an extraordinary amount for sale in the same block, there will be a reason for that, so check on online and with local agents. They probably should be furnished, even for long term rentals as in my experience (and believe me there are plenty on the Gold Coast) your tenants will be "betweeners", between jobs, residences, towns and luck. Take out landlord insurance because they can quite literally disappear into the night.

I don't list them, but if it stacks up and the finance is obtainable, then they are still worth a look.

Also dont buy it just because it's all you can afford, may be better off to wait until you can buy higher.

There was an article in the courier mail,I think, last week saying the rental shortage has blown rents out to up to $650 pw.

Beautiful area, a tiny bit remote but more and more amenities seem to pop up. I ride my bike through there every now and then and am amazed at the growth. I believe there have been a few resales in the time it's been going, nothing too unusual. PRD really nailed it at the beginning with the marketing and it was a pet project of the brothers.The place looks great, very upmarket, a bit like an oasis in the middle of nowhere. close to Kingscliffe which is a suburb that has gone berserk over the last years.

The range of styles and prices is huge, so you will really need to do some homework on the resales etc. Talk to a lot of agents, unfortunately , even though it is just round the corner from me, it is in NSW so i cant access sales history. There was a massive spike in prices in Jan to Mar of last year, but i can't see why. It may have been a couple of big ticket homes being sold, and then it settled back after March. Seems the info i have seen shows the median price to be 600 -700K and has been steady at the range for a while. I have no uptodate 2009 data, but I am local to it and i have not heard anything negative about the area.

One would think there would be reasonable appreciation with it's proximity to the water/beach – and awesome beaches as well., I wouldn't think the rental returns would be all that great, but you never know,  I was wrong once before. Undeniably beautiful place though.

Hope it works out for you.

Hi Kyla,

I can tell you that

 a) plenty of people are waiting to see what is happening

b) with my clients at least, still plenty of Interest. For some reason I seem to be getting a lot of enquiry from South Australia all of a sudden. Victorians are signing the contracts though, they seem to make the decision a little quicker. Sydney has completely died from my end. And of course SE QLDérs are still happy to buy in the own corner of the world, bless ém.

Depends on the market you are intending to buy in, I personally dont think the lower end, and thats what i deal mainly in, wont go any lower. On a property by property basis you may get a price reduction one or two percent lower than expected, depending of course on vendor circumstances, but in general this end of the market is standing up. Investors are slowly returning to take over as the main buyers. Again, thats my personal opinion based on what I am seeing through my own agency.

I am looking at a property this week that my wife and i am hoping to purchase as i feel it is as good an opportunity as I am likely to find.

S.E.QLD is still a place of opportunity, population growth is massive and that is always going to be a key factor in growth, infrastructure also is at a high.

My advice to my clients is simple, and i would advise you too, just do your homework.

Good luck with it.

As an agent I couldn't agree more. Keep ém honest, accountability is one of the must haves in this business..

Hi rekooh01,

I was given and subsequently put together some information on Chinchilla, for a client of mine who looking to purchase there. I guess it would probably apply to Dalby as well, regarding the area and whats going on there. There was quite a bit of information and links. I would be more than happy to pass it on for you to have a look at.

I am leaving for a few days interstate later this afternoon so probably wont be able to send it until weekend.

I have lost a few deals due to the need of underpinning and while I cant give exact figures, some of the tproperties that were effected only had "a corner "affected and it ran into the tens of thousands, these had a much smaller footprint than a house. That was a few years back and i do believe the methods have changed/improved. My advice is tread carefully. get at least three quotes from reliable tradesman.

always ask, the worst that can happen is they  say no.

My opinion was , as i read more and more of your post, that the agent had a vested interest in getting some one the house, such as a relative or friend. Unfortunately it is REA like this that give the honest ones the rep we undeservedly get labelled with – well the majority of REA don't deserve it.

Claims can be made and complaints laid, but probably not worth the effort, especially as the right outcome has been arrived at. Although the vendor should really take it further as he could have potentially lost a lot of money. Definitley something sus indeed.

As for just the one agent coming through, some people get a sense of loyalty if the agent is there management team. They feel confident with the rental team, but of course seldom if ever do the rental department sell, it gets handed over to the sales team.