Advice for First Home Buyer

Have you bought yet?

I am in Perth and I too was faced with the exact same situation you have right now. Do I buy land close to the city and subdivide down the track or do I buy new but far away? I had found a great block in Bayswater that was a triplex potential land with a free house on it. But dispite a thorough due diligence and due to the fact I would HAVE to live in it (cos of using the first home buyers grant) I gave this one a miss. It would offer no holding money as no one in their right mind would pay rent to live there after I had done the minimum home buyer live-in-it time.

Another thing worth mentioning was that a friend of a friend had also bought in Bayswater and was currently undergoing subdivision, but he was having TREMENDOUS problems to the point where he is now living with my Best friends currently whilst he is getting it all sorted out. I dare say there was a lack of due diligence and research that contributed to this occurring but who knows – I have never had a conversation with him to find out exactly.

I did have the option of purchasing in some of the newer estates throughout Perth (I work for a large land developer) but in the end chose a 2 bed, 1 bath newly renovated villa closer to my current home, in a suburb that has shown good performance, close to my family, 5 mins to city and close to work. It has been an investment property for the agent who is selling it to me, and it is in a good location so I feel I have taken a conservative and comfortable decision and feel happier to take a more aggressive approach in my next property purchase (perhaps something like the triplex block I found in Bayswater) that I wont necessarily have to live in.

At the moment I personally have my eye on a couple properties that my boss is keen to handover possession of before June 30. In another post I have detailed that these are close to the beach, close to transport, in a new estate, qualify to use the $21k grant and include front landscaping and fence rebate. Per my calculations these are cashflow positive/neutral and I would have loved to have purchased this instead as it is green titled, alot bigger plus new and easier to maintain. But I have already signed on my new home and am due to settle next week. Also, personally, I would have had a problem with travelling further to work.

Lastly, One thing that was brought to my attention by my boss was that if I wanted to buy and build thus using the 21k grant, I needed to sign up by the end of May because plans needed to be approved before the grant expires. You may want to keep that in mind, and if you have left it too late this may sway your decision to getting something closer to the City, using the 14k grant.

Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I am just trying to share my thoughts and ideas of how I came to my decision. I am keen to hear what you decide! Good luck!

I have just brought my first home. Moved in about 6 weeks ago.

I had trouble at first as well with where I wanted to buy and found myself checking 50 suburbs every day. I started around Vic Park and Rivervale, looking for a Villa. I had always dreamt of living near the beach so then moved further South towards Secret Harbour looking at 3×2 houses. I had planned on having a friend or 2 moving in with me so had to consider if they would move so far South and decided against it.

As this property will become an investment down the track, I started looking at where I would want to live if I went to Uni. I ended up finding a really nice 2 bed townhouse in Mosman Park for $340k, 500m to the beach, 2 mins to the train and a short distance to UWA. The place has plenty of potential as it needs a bit of improvement but perfectally liveable as it is.

You sound young so think about if you really need that bigger house or if you would prefer to live near friends/family, the city and in a better location as I went for. Very happy with my decision

In some ways, the question explored here comes down to buying for now, or buying for later. Although there may not be a need or desire to become a "developer" right now, the land itself holds this promise. Urban sprawl will continue, but for the foreseeable future the development potential of new estates is pre-considered, whereas older areas closer to town are being renewed and the density of these areas reconsidered.

In thinking about what to buy and where there are many considerations, but if profitability is important within those considerations then the ability for the land you are purchasing to yield further dwellings should be paramount. If you think you may wish to develop your land later, either for investment or immediate profit, the potential of the land to support this intended use is important.

With family types changing I believe there will also be a change in ownership models whereby a property may be owned "across generations" allowing for parents to shift (landed) wealth to their children without giving up their home. For example, a parent might choose to gift part of their land to their children to allow them to stay in an area they might not otherwise be able to afford.