I use the Land Division in Malaga. Not the lowest cost, but they have the best design team and great service. They got conditional approval for me in 6 weeks lodging on Christmas eve when usual turn around is 3 months plus public holidays. It was also with one of the more’challenging’ councils and we were applying a concession.
Ask for Gavin
This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by David Hall.
There is strong competition in the building sector at the moment. We are seeing 3x2s that were costing the 220k mark being quoted at the 185k range from multiple builders. New housing starts are down 50% on last year. There is definite pain out there at the moment. Build times are also well down duplexes are being done in 6-9 months depending on the builder.
A word of warning however selecting a builder on the lowest price is not always the best thing, especially if they are going broke.
Investigate your builder throughly and don’t take the standard builders contract. Get terms and conditions on your side.
Sadly most people don’t and just loose money. To be positively geared you will have to undertake an add value strategy. This may be as simple as renting by the room to uni students, it could be adding a granny flat, undertaking a subdivision, a renovation, or just buying well below market value.
My personal favorite is to combine three strategies into one purchase. I purchase a renovation project, that is sub divisible, and I construct a house with an integral granny flat. I then sell down the renovated home, keep the new dual income property. If I have done it right, I’ve got all my capital back plus a little more and I’ve got positive income with great depreciation.
Google 8 Dagnall Rd Greenwood Perth. The property settles next week. This is the exact strategy my client is undertaking on this property.
There are lots of books written about the subject, but you are in the right place. The simplest thing to do is to go to the local library and start reading. If you have any questions please PM me.
Profitable straight reno flips are difficult to achieve within the Perth CBD market. Going further afield is usually more profitable. The negative is that the sales cycle is longer.
With in the Perth CBD market, I would suggest that a renovation subdivision deal is far more lucrative. I have three good properties on my watch list at the moment. Time frame however 9-12 months, but there are some things you can do to bring this down.
This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by David Hall.
You have what is called a split density code. The R17.5 is the minimum development possibilities for the site. If the property meets certain criteria, you may be able to develop at the R40. The exact requirements will depend on the specific pocket you are in. As stated above, ignore what the real estate agent says. The majority of sales agents know nothing about development.
With the address in hand go to the council, as to speak to the duty planner and they will out line the possibilities and what the requirements are to get the higher zoning for the pocket you are in.
What they won’t tell you is some of the cheats and workarounds for planning restrictions. If its close to the edge, I would go and talk to private planner.
The Perth market has just come off the bottom, particularly in the northern suburbs. If you are buying now you are getting it at the best possible time.
To put it bluntly the rental market in Perth is not good at the moment (but the buying is sensational!). A balanced market is 3000 properties for rent. Currently we are hovering around the 10,000 mark.
I would look be actively researching comparable properties for rent in your area. In the current market, properties are tenanting for $20-30 per week less than advertised. Compare this to what you are currently getting. If there is a gap, then talk to your tenant and review the lease with your property manager, to make sure that the lease correctly allows for a rental increase.
Exercise caution if you do want to increase rent. In the current market it is better to be getting less than market rent over no rent at all.
If you have any questions, please PM me.
David Hall
This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by David Hall.
I am a buyers agent in Perth. In short, the market is going to remain flat for at least the next 8-12 months.
If you do not have any other investment properties, I would suggest buying within driving distance of home, the experience you will gain over a few years will steady you for when you do go interstate. If you are inexperienced, your risk of getting burnt rises significantly, when you cannot just go and check it out and deal with it.
Property investing is about capital growth, this is what gets you out of the game, yield keeps you in. Can I suggest that in the current Perth market, you look for an add value property, where you can take a property to a higher and better use to manufacture capital, rather than waiting for the market to rise. Whilst not impossible, it is more challenging to do with a unit. A house is typically better.
You have a significant deposit, and I think your pre approval may be under what you will service for. I’d talk to your mortgage broker to establish what the upper limit is. If you are comfortable with this, I would go for a higher budget to open up the options available to you.
The decision to purchase is about getting the best property you can over the next 6-12 months. Don’t rush it, make lots of offers, be very fussy.
If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.
I have to disagree, A soft market is the best market to be doing buy and hold renovation The trick is to find a motivated vendor and purchase well below market value. In the GFC I purchased a property in Edgewater for 100k under initial listing price, Held it for just under 3 years and sold it for 165k more than I paid for it after a 20k reno.
I have just started another project, brought 60k under market. Simple reno and subdivision. I will pocket 50k on sale of the block after the return of all of my purchase, renovation and subdivision costs. and still have a house that Is worth what I paid for it. The kicker is that in 2-2.5 years the block is a duplex or demolish and triplex site.
I have another renovation property on my radar, that I want to pick up for 350k. The vendor is highly motivated and needs out now. Post a very simple reno its worth 450-470k and is likely to be a duplex/triplex site when zoning maps are released in 4-5 months.
Yet another that it my radar today. I’m still doing my numbers, but it looks like at the end of the day you would have all initial capital back by a revalue and a cash flow positive property due to the granny flat and be in a very high capital growth area.
In a hot market, there is too much competition, and you are more reliant on capital growth to get you out. In a soft market, with little competition, there are good opportunities.
I endorse Richards comments. Here at Momentum Wealth, we have a service called a Property Wealth Plan where we look at your income, your risk profile, your current portfilio and your serviceability and put a written plan. The plan is reviewed annually, to keep you on track. However being based in Perth, it is WA centric.
Looking from the outside your are over analysing. As a landlord, your role is to give the property maximum appeal for minimum $ and for every $1 that you spend to add $2-4 in capital appreciation.
1) Fails capital appreciation rule. A neat clean tidy modern kitchen will generate enough wow.
2) speak to a friend who is good with colour. If you don’t have one ring Amanda 0401 664 447 she does my colours and is fantastic.
3) get stick down vinyl planks off e-bay. Bullet proof and about $18 per m2 and is easy DIY
5) Very much so. PM and I will give you the contact of the supplier I use. My kitchens are 3-5k depending on size and bench tops.
6) Unless it is a premium property install a cheap dishwasher. Tenants want a dishwasher, brand is less important. Hint I always take out the 5 year warranty. They usually die in year 4 and I get a free replacement.
7) go to the Balcatta recycling centre, a perfectly good second hand sink is yours for $5-10. Always get a flick mixer, never taps (less maintenance) Don’t get the Bunnings $25 flick mixers, as they don’t last. Aim to spend $50-70 on one.
Talk to your accountant, but it may make more seance to undertake these repairs once the property is tenanted. Remember You must be adding more value than what you are spending.
I’m pretty sure its fully subscribed, so you may have to go on the waiting list for investors who want to sell out. I received my latest fund statement this week. In short, I purchased units at $1.05 just about 2 years ago. Check on the website, but they are now valued at around the $1.30 mark. On top of this I’m getting 8% PA a unit in dividends, based on a unit price of $1.00. I reinvest my dividends back into the fund, for compound growth.
Steve and his team do all the hard work, and are getting exceptional results. Being in the fund also gets you access to some of Steve other events,which I highly recommend attending.
It will give you a grounding on the differences between the two markets and the problems investors face over there. You will find that there are significant issues with contractors, tenants, property managers and evictions. You also have to allow for thing like regular roof replacements, boilers and other costs we don’t pay here.
BP is also a great place to network with local investors in the areas you are interested in.
Listing to the podcast convinced me to invest in Steve’s fund, rather than doing it myself.
That is a very open ended question, and all you will really get is peoples thoughts. Any serious property investor is going to tell you it is always a good time to invest in property, it is just a matter of where to invest. No matter what, people are going to need a roof over their head.
If you are seriously entertaining investing in property, please talk to Olly Newland before you do anything. He is a seasoned Auckland based property investor. He is honest and won’t sell you any thing. Some time with him will save you from making a serious mistake.