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Sarah
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@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 30, 2015 - 9:42 am
Nigel Kibel wrote:
If you are talking about small apartments then do not touch them
There are over 4000 apartments coming out of the ground in Melbourne alone so the only way the values go will e down with less tenants. The only student accommodation I would consider would be a house where you can rent rooms because it can be sold as a house
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Agreed, so long as you don’t bastardise a house by splitting rooms/modifying it beyond recognition as a “family home” etc it will always hold the underlying value of a residential property so there’s always that fall back.
Sarah
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@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 30, 2015 - 9:39 am
Ah ok, best speaking with someone who has done a renovation before as I’ve not done one:(
I live outside Brisbane but we have a Student Accommodation property in Kelvin Grove. I use Hive Student Accommodation. It’s owned/run by two young guys, one handles the management side and the other does development consulting I think. They used to work for The Pad and operate a similar model but are better value.
Regarding the bills for electricity, internet etc it has to be factored into the rent as under RTA legislation you can’t split bills unless each tenant has their own meter. The cost of installing this would never be worth it. So you need to be careful with items like air-con/heaters as they can increase your bills quickly. That’s where a good manager comes in as they’ll keep an eye on tenants bringing in their own heaters and items that use a lot of juice. My agent has terms in the tenants lease agreement to cover this so if they want to bring in say their own heater they would have to pay an additional fee per week. They also limit the heater to an oil bar type to limit fire risk and electricity use. Also putting in physical controls from the start would be worth it if you are already doing a renovation e.g A/C timers that run for 2 hours at a time, timer lights on outdoor lights etc.
Hope that helps
Sarah
Sarah
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@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 10:48 pm
trakka wrote:
I own an 18-bed student accommodation in Brisbane. If it’s well-located, you should have pretty much 100% occupancy, and contrary to what one might expect, you tend not to have problems with payments. Many of the tenants are foreign students and pay in bundles of cash a semester or year in advance! Just check that the body corporate payments aren’t too high, in the situation that you’re looking at.
The main downside to buying one studio in a complex is that they’re usually considered a specialist type of accommodation and you can only get 60 or 65% LVR, I believe. But if you can get a higher LVR, then I’d say they’re a reasonable investment.

Best wishes, Tracey in Brisbane
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Good to hear about your occupancy levels Trakka, do you self manage?
Sarah
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@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 10:44 pm
Pros
Greater Yield
Vacancy risk spread across multiple tenancies
Often can be positively geared very quickly
Cons
More wear/tear/maintenance
Remember to factor utility costs into rent
More labour intensive means you almost have to use a property manager or you’ll go insane!
Sarah
Participant
@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 10:39 pm
I know your post was a while back, but what was the outcome of your application? Was there any benefit or did it just put you on the council radar?
sulo wrote:
Hello there,
I am about to put an offer for a registered student accommodation in Brisbane.Other than the usual subject Finance, Subject to Building and Pest inspections. I am looking at putting the following:
Subject to sighting the RTA approval paperwork
Subject to sighting the existing lease agreements and handing over the existing tenancy lease agreement and any bond money with the sale.
Subject to sighting the cash flow statement for FY08/09
Have i missed anything?
TA
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Sarah
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@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 10:37 pm
Adelaide sounds similar to Brisbane, if you’ve got 5 or less people council are ok with it and fire compliance is the same as regular residential rentals. 6 and up gets a bit trickier.
Best to speak to a specialised manager of student accommodation, there are two main players in Brissy, Hive Student Accommodation who i’ve dealt with and The Pad.
basbog wrote:
In SA more than 5 individual tennants require council approval, with alterations to the house, smoke alarms, fire escape doors etc
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Sarah
Participant
@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 10:25 pm
Alina wrote:
Hi,
I am looking at buying two residential properties next to each other. Both houses are double storey in a residential area with the possibility to rent upstairs and downstairs separately as ground floor and level 1 have kitchen and bathroom. Both houses have a shed each at the back and we have a business interested to rent both houses with the sheds at the back and have offices on the ground floor of each house but sublease level 1 to a family or professional couple. Is that an option? Both houses are on the main road and home operated businesses are allowed by the council. Your advice would be much appreciated. Thank you
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If you already owned them i’d say go for it. But when you are looking to invest based on the rental revenue you could get caught if it’s too many people/households under the city plan and they make you drop some of the leases! From the bit i’d know i’d say each house would be fine to rent to up to 5 people but not sure how using it for commercial purposes comes into it. As if it is zoned for residential you probably can’t use it for commercial use. Perhaps someone else on the forum can help out re the commercial/residential question?
Might be worth speaking to an a town planner or a real estate agency with experience in multiple leases such as The Pad or Hive Student Accommodation.
Regards
Sarah
Sarah
Participant
@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 9:50 pm
Never done a renovation but you wouldn’t want to carry the risk of non fire compliance! Since the Childers backpackers disaster a few years back I understand that multiple person properties over 6 unrelated people require a higher fire compliance to residential properties. Wouldn’t want that risk on your conscience or wallet.
There’s a company called running man fire safety that specialises in the 6 people and up stuff. Might be worth contacting for more info on rough costs. They looked at a property for a friend of mine, he decided to stick with 5 persons to keep it simple for both council and fire compliance as I recall.
I’d say the ‘council’ side of compliance could be bent, and if you make sure you comply with state fire regulations for the number of people/type of property you have and are insured adequately you’ll probably be fine. Worst council would do would be issue a show cause or an enforcement notice for you to change the property back to a council compliant usage in a certain amount of time. I imagine consequences for non fire compliance are a lot more serious, and none of us want to put anyone in danger anyone.
Good luck, please note that the above is just what i’ve absorbed from having a 5 bed student place for a few years. I am by no means an expert on council regulations or fire regs.
Love
Sarah
Sarah
Participant
@sarah101
Join Date: 2015
Post Count: 10
June 29, 2015 - 9:35 pm
Hi Vway2003,
What do you mean get started? Do you have a property already or are just feeling out a few options?
There is money to be made in student accommodation. Some investors love it, some don’t. I like it as I feel my vacancy risk is spread across multiple tenancies and at least in my case the higher rental return offsets the higher wear and tear on the property when it’s managed correctly.
Management Fees are a necessary evil, i tried managing for a while but found the student stuff too labour intensive. Now I just manage my residential property and leave the student one to my property manager.
Good luck
Sarah