I am about to buy a unit in a block of 5. All units are up for sale. Unit 1 is on the road but is on its own. It is seperated by a carport from the other 4. Units 2 and 3 are joined then units 4 and 5 are at the rear of the property. All have carports linking the buildings. All are in similar condition according to the building inspection. All are the same price and near the beach. All have the same 2 br layout.
Is there an inate value to being at the front and seperate / or would I be better buying at the rear where its quiet.???
This will be my second investmant property
Jac
Good question – look forward to reading the responses. I believe if the road is quiet then I would find the front one desirable as it would be more like a stand alone home just my humble opion.
Personally I would prefer the front unit, because the other units are linked in one way or another.
Unit one is on its own. There would be three issues I would think about. 1) how busy is the road. If its reasonably quiet then that is a plus factor, 2) is unit one separate to the other units, and it is so thats a plus. 3) does the traffic to the other units go past unit one. If so that could be annoying to some tennants. But that said, I used to live in a small block of units on a reasonably quiet road, and I was in the front unit. The only issue for me was the noise of the traffic going to the other units, but it was only in the morning and at night when everyone was going to and coming home from work. I definitely preferred living in the front unit irrespective of the noise. Its like having your own place, rather than sharing a block with other unit dwellers
So my advice is go for unit one on the front street. Hope this helps
JulesJULES1
Email MeHello Jac
Do they have courtyard gardens?
Do they all have the same sized block of land on the title?
If so, I agree that on a quiet road the front one is the most desirable.Cheers
Elka
Intrinsically unless there are substantial differences between the units eg views (not availble from other units), additional common walls/ceilings, unit entitlements, traffic noise (internal roadway or main road), elevation, proximity to neighbours/lack of privacy issues then it would come down to your personal preferences.
The freestanding unit has its advantages – (point of difference): freestanding, can be treated like a villa or townhouse (or small house). This would be more the case if it had its own private courtyard on title.
Other units most likely all have at least one common wall (duplex/semi style), unless they are joined at the carport.
Unless the units are on a busy street, the better buy would be the front unit otherwise they would all be pretty equal in appeal.
Having said that, is there the opportunity to buy a pair of adjoining units and to consider combining the units at a later date to create a 3/1 combination or a 4 bed townhouse if the market dictates?
Alternatively are holiday lettings an option?
From my experience, the position of unit in a block dose affect the rental and CG. I agree unit1 is the best choice.
Cheers
QE88
I think the stand alone is the best choice.
A few years ago I bought a unit in a block of flats in Darwin. It was one of about 16 and mine was a ground floor unit. There was also a stand alone unit in the block that was for sale for about $5000 more than mine. The people who ended up buying the stand alone unit did some very clever landscaping and erection of trestle walls on the common property, making it look like the stand alone unit had a private courtyard area while not actually closing it off from the rest of the common property. The end result was that the "walls" looked private enough to the other tenants that they didn't use the area near the stand alone unit and the unit recently sold for about $60,000 more than the others because of the appearance that it was a "cottage".
Cheers
K
A mate of mine does unit developments in Perth and he is of the opinion that the front and the rear are the most sort after and the ones in the middle that dont sell quickly he rents out.
A belated thanks to all,
I ended up buying the front seperate unit and the third unit which was in slightly (and I say slightly) better bath and kitchen. The third unit was being vacated right around settlement (which included access prior and a chance to repaint and recarpet loosing only a few days rent) and increased weekly income by $10pw.
Thanks again for all your help, unit one was always my gut feel but I suppose I needed some validation.
jx
Hi mate
I guess i am a bit late with my response
But i was going to suggest that you think about what direction they are facing?
Getting the morning and afternoon sun in the right areas can make a huge difference to they feeling of a house.
Cheers
Banjo!
ps best of luck with your 2 new properties!
Front.
Congratulations on your new purchases Jac.
If the size of all the units and condition of the kitchen/bathrooms are the same then position will usually be a buyers preference.
A ‘savvy buyer’ will typically take into account several key elements such as views and general outlook, orientation, acoustics, privacy, access and the amount of commons walls.
However the more land the unit has allocated to it the more likely it will achieve higher capital gains in the long-term. Remember – “land appreciates and buildings depreciate.”
Adrian and Amber Zenere
http://www.RealEstateDevelopmentClub.com
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
