Hi Westan,

Is that EP or EG? Can’t see a Gunther St in EP in the street directory.

Anyway, the only EP property was a double – 16&18 Daniel Street if you want to compare it to yours. I didn’t get to look at this one prior to the auction, but the description was “No 16 – 3 bedroom, No 18 – 2 bedroom. Undivided pair in average condition. Structural defects need to be addressed” . A heckler shouted out that it had a broken back! Minimum bid was $115K, very slowly got to $130K which sounded like it was dead on reserve from the way the auctioneer was talking.

A few others passed in, in EV & ES in the $75-90K range. EG, single passed in at 96, double passed in at 161. EE sale at $83.5k for a single and $156K or a double. DP had one single at $83.5, and there were the blocks of units mentioned previously too. Remember that these a basic houses, generally unimproved and some in poor condition, so if yours is a bit special then your price might be justifiable. Check the Messenger for comparable advertisements – plenty in there.

Also saw one sold at auction at DP last weekend for $70k. Very small turnout, 2 bidders – got to $57k I think – below reserve, rejected by vendor (a bank by the sound of it), then the winner made the $70k offer with no further bids. Was a bit rough, graffitti and stuff, but good potential. Someone had actually broken in and tried to steal the security system. Thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, from the browsing I’ve been doing over the last few months, I’m starting to think that it’s not quite the sellers market that it has been. Too many sellers in that area trying to cash in their gains. Just my opinion.

Cheers,
Mike

Hi all,
If there’s a list of people for a potential get-together, please add my email – [email protected] .
An option for organising a gathering could be to use http://landlords.meetup.com . Anyone else think it would be a good idea to use this?

Cheers,
Mike

Hi Bear & all,

I’ve just stumbled on this site. Looks like a great community and a wealth of knowledge.

Thought I’d provide some details of my experience in the region mentioned.

I own two properties in the Whyalla Norrie 5608 postcode, both ex housing trust semis, which I have purchased in the last 12 months. I’m extremely pleased with the performance of both properties – very cash flow positive, and I’ve been suprised by some capital gains too as the property boom slowly creeps west of Adelaide. The ‘most affordable town in each state’ feature on ACA a few weeks ago will probably help things along as well.

Financing was a fairly painless process. I did, however, have to do some legwork to find a lender that would provide a small home loan. Most banks seem to have limits around the $30-50K marks. Not much good to me when the purchase price & valuation is low 30s and you want to borrow 80%. Adelaide Bank would lend from $10K for a home loan and up to 80% LVR because of the country location, although 80% seems to be the norm for investment properties anyway.

Location details – A few thoughts on the location… I spent most of my childhood there, so had a homeground advantage when purchasing my properties. If you’re not familiar with the town, there are some very desirable spots and some plain dodgy spots. As a general rule, the closer to the beach, the better, with the exception of the few newer estates in the western area that are good but relatively expensive. I’d suggest limiting purchases in the area outside of the McDouall Stuart Ave, Cartledge Ave and Jenkins Ave triangle as there is an abundance of vacant properties and ‘undesirable’ tenants here. (apologies to anyone who lives in the area [])

Property quality – Viscount Slim Ave. area is very sandy. May have to look out for structural problems in this part of town. Housing trust has bulldozed lots of vacant houses in this area.

Risks – Buying in a bad area will mean serious problems finding good tenants. There is an oversupply of low-end housing and it’s getting worse. The Housing Trust has somewhere around 400 vacant houses (at a guess). They’re selling around 15-20 houses per month and these are mostly purchased by investors, so there’s some stiff competition. There is also limited industry. If OneSteel was to close down, there wouldn’t be much left – although the welfare industry would probably boom. 5540 has the same risk with Pasminco.

I’m not bidding at the Oct14 auction but my choices if I were would be the Oldridge, Jones or Jenkins properties – this is only based on location and the description in the property listing though. I haven’t viewed them and probably wont have a chance before the auction.

Hope my thoughts have been useful. Remember that they are just my thoughts and feelings based on my experience in the area. Be sure to do your own research, and good luck with your purchase.

Cheers. [8D]
Mike
[email protected]