Buying a Home You Don't Overly Like for Some Reason (Good Deal, Get into Suburb, Proximity to Schools/Shops/Transport, etc)

isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 13:03
Last edited 18/04/2018 - 14:09 by 1 other user

With the ridiculous prices of property now, I feel that those of us who are not fortunate to have had an existing property double in price have to make more compromises than positive choices. Personally, as an ozbargainer, I'm finding that very difficult.

Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on where they are most willing to compromise, e.g.:

  • Getting into a suburb in the area you want to live in is most important, regardless of whether the house is any good
  • Being nearby hubs e.g. transport, shops, schools is most important, regardless of the suburb
  • The house itself (condition, amenities, floor plan) is the most important

I know it's not a binary decision and everyone will have different preferences, but it's clear we can't have it all, so wondering what most people consider to be the "normal" trade offs you make

Home & Garden

Comments

    • Euphemistic on 18/04/2018 - 15:44
      +19

      stop eating smashed avo.

      • Kangal on 18/04/2018 - 21:32
        +18

        Found Joe Hockey!

      • nikey2k27 on 19/04/2018 - 19:52
        +2

        ha ha ha i own house I eat avo most day as own tree and live in Queensland.

        • boomramada on 20/04/2018 - 10:18
          +1

          Have you try shakes with avo, yummy 😋

        • [Deactivated] on 20/04/2018 - 12:00

          Queensland eh? No doubt termites are enjoying a feast on your house.

    • isthisreallife22 on 19/04/2018 - 11:45
      +2

      In all seriousness, if you earned enough to borrow $1.5m but didnt have much capital (e.g only 10% deposit.. which of $1.5m is still $150k), would you set your budget at $1.5m?

      • boomramada on 19/04/2018 - 12:33

        all seriousness, you should only borrow what you can offer. for at least 5-10% saving for investment or 20% savings for home loan and if you are comfortable with your repayment. Usually lenders, specially mortgage brokers push you to borrow max as you can.

        • ATangk on 19/04/2018 - 19:59
          +1

          Borrowing max isn’t a bad idea if you can use the money elsewhere for investment, since home loans are one of the lowest interest rate loans you can get. Putting excess money into an offset account would negate the fact that you borrowed more than you need.

        • Slippery Fish on 20/04/2018 - 22:47

          @ATangk: offset accounts sent locked to the same rate as your loan fyi.

    • MrBear on 19/04/2018 - 13:59
      1. Be rich.
      2. Don't be poor.
  • nocure on 18/04/2018 - 13:09
    +56

    FTTP

    • [Deactivated] on 18/04/2018 - 14:37

      Pretty much.
      I need that 1gbps internet connection

    • Oz8argain on 18/04/2018 - 15:33
      +3

      so an overseas investment property?

    • SlickMick on 19/04/2018 - 09:27

      There's a big compromise. Cheap houses in Gladstone, but the "fast internet" promised maxs out under 5Mbps :(

    • KLoNe on 19/04/2018 - 15:52
      -3

      Wireless will be as fast as fiber soon enough.

      • macrocephalic on 20/04/2018 - 12:19
        +1

        We've been hearing this since 3G became mainstream in Australia. "We don't need cables, we'll all just use wireless". Sure, wireless has gotten faster, and it's really great for things that you carry around, it's still not a good alternative to a wired connection.

        (simplified) Wireless and fibre both transmit data through EM waves. One spurts that signal everywhere, and one sends it down a line to a specific endpoint. One is shared bandwidth, the other is dedicated. It's unlikely, but possible, that you could make wireless as fast as wired, but you'd still be sharing that speed between all the users on that node.

        • KLoNe on 20/04/2018 - 13:12
          -1

          The maximum download speed of 5G networks could be more than 1Gbps (one gigabit per second). But in practice, it will likely provide download speeds around 100Mbps or higher.

          5G networks should be available in Australia by 2020, although regulatory changes are still needed.

        • dheywood on 20/04/2018 - 14:01
          +2

          @KLoNe: Speed isn't everything. I'd rather a stable and reliable wired 50Mb connection over an unstable/unreliable 1Gb wireless connection any day. Latency on wireless networks are always worse also.

        • macrocephalic on 20/04/2018 - 15:09

          @KLoNe: And gigabit fibre (aka GPON) has been around for 15 years already. 10Gbps fibre has been around for 8 years. 100Gbps fibre has been around for about 4 years now, and is in some areas such as Tallahassee and certain loops in Singapore.

  • dasher86 on 18/04/2018 - 13:10
    +1

    buy in the burbs rent where you want to live.

    • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 13:16
      +3

      Interestingly that's what I'm already doing… but (mainly due to toddler becoming very active) we need to move and feel that buying is the way to go.

      Also, our burbs investment is a very poor performing investment, but that's another story

      • Jackson on 18/04/2018 - 18:42
        +2

        It would be as most people move to the burbs to be abke to afford a house, so your renters will include many low income people and people who also might not respect ypur place or be there long term and finding new people costs money. If you are going to invest these are all considerstions

      • MrBear on 19/04/2018 - 14:01
        +1

        How does an active toddler force you to move houses?

        • AlanHB on 19/04/2018 - 17:02
          +8

          It's a particularly persuasive toddler.

        • BanannaMan on 19/04/2018 - 20:40

          the space required for the kid to run around im guessing

      • idonotknowwhy on 19/04/2018 - 15:42

        Also, our burbs investment is a very poor performing investment

        Thanks for the tip, I was considering this strategy at one point. Care to share a tl;dr of that story when you have time?

        but (mainly due to toddler becoming very active) we need to move

        Might be in this situation soon (and am renting a flat). How does a toddler make you need to move?

  • mskeggs on 18/04/2018 - 13:10
    +29

    You can change aspects of the house, but not its location.

    • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 13:17
      +1

      Agreed, but when you're already maxing out finance just to buy a crappy house, even changing aspects seems beyond us

      • brazen00 on 18/04/2018 - 14:04
        +2

        If that's the case, maybe it's not the right time for you to buy a house?

        • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 15:20
          +13

          If anything only in this situation because I didn't buy 2 years ago when prices in the suburbs I'm considering were 30% less, so I don't think waiting is the right strategy in this instance

        • elgrande on 18/04/2018 - 22:38
          +1

          @kcbworth:

          Join the club :)

        • db87 on 20/04/2018 - 04:56

          @kcbworth:

          Hallelujah 🙌…. First I've heard someone finally admit to missing out because they're "waiting." (For a lower rate, bubble to burst, etc etc.)

          Waiting to buy your forever home still blows my mind. If you're not planning on moving anytime soon, any threat of a so called bursting bubble won't affect you anyway! It's only if you were to sell (in the short term), which you'd ride out over the drop anyway. At this stage (speaking for Melbourne), in a half decent area, no drop will outweigh the future increase. If anything it may break even with what it's already risen by - as you've now found out 2 years later.

          If you want to buy… The best time was yesterday!

        • Zilch on 20/04/2018 - 23:16

          @kcbworth: Wait for a market crash, in the next year or so. Then you'll want to buy.

        • db87 on 22/04/2018 - 08:43

          @Zeath163:

          This crash has been coming for near on or just over a decade…… Add inflation, minus the crash, pretty sure you were better off buying yesterday.

          I still don't understand this logic of waiting to buy when you're not planning to sell a day later - ie, buying your forever home.

          If you're buying an investment, I can understand reservations on certain things, but pretty certain this topic wasn't about investing, rather home ownership.

          To sum it up, I won't say definitely as I'll get castrated for saying so, but, you'll more-than-likely ride out the lows.

          I bought nearly 5 years ago when people were still worried about the market crashing. A genuine valuation has seen it rise by $200k+ in that time. Fairly confident that if the market crashed tomorrow, I wouldn't be down lower than when I started - more than a 25% loss!

          Fairly certain I would be in struggle town as far as raising the extra capital to afford the rise in prices also, something people don't seem to account for when missing out on a potential purchase for the sake of a few extra $$$.

      • tomsco on 18/04/2018 - 14:40
        +1

        You know what… when we were looking, my FIL was pushing us to a place that was at the max of our range that we would want to renovate (ie. floor plan not practical with growing family).

        While the location would've been lovely, I just couldn't have justified it. Ended finding another place with love that was cheaper.

        • stirlo on 18/04/2018 - 22:52

          If you’d purchased it would it have gone up 30% in value by now allowing you to refinance and fund the required renovations? FIL might not have had such a bad idea…

        • tomsco on 19/04/2018 - 06:45
          +1

          @stirlo:

          How could I refinance if I couldn’t service the loan?

          And trust me… it hasn’t gone up 30%.

        • kev98 on 19/04/2018 - 06:59

          @stirlo: assuming op could afford the extra repayments

        • jacross on 19/04/2018 - 08:29
          +2

          @stirlo:

          The suggested property was already at the max of their ability to service. You want them to go further into debt just because they can obtain the debt?

          Yurrr okay. Good luck with that.

  • trustnoone on 18/04/2018 - 13:11
    +12

    Honestly biggest one for me is neighbors/who is nearby, that can ultimately make or break any place especially if you get a really bad one that attacks you.

    Then comes down to condition of amenities, things like fixing a sink or painting a room may be one thing, but things like structural issues, water and piping issues underground or inside walls and electrical issues can quickly bring up the price (which you may find often for places that are a cheaper).

    Plan of house probably comes next for me, for something like a family, you might need a place with a few bedrooms otherwise its not worth buying.

    Also would probably look out for bugs and things like that, they usually only come out at night when no one realises because they inspect during the day.

    • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 13:18
      +1

      Funny you mention this. Kind of stuck on a good house, close to hubs (train, great cafes and periodic farmers markets, schools), although in an area that's never really interested us… but it is about 10cm away from an old rental with seemingly dodgy neighbours. Frustrating as hell

      • Quantumcat on 18/04/2018 - 13:29
        +5

        If it is a rental the neighbours aren't permanent. The dodgy neighbours living in their owned house are the more worrisome ones

        • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 15:19
          +3

          Long term tenants (7 years)

        • KLoNe on 19/04/2018 - 15:54
          +1

          @kcbworth: And when they move out, you'll probably get worse ones.

    • snook on 18/04/2018 - 22:14
      +2

      Neighbours are just another relationship. You're not going to KNOW them for years.

      • ozzpete on 20/04/2018 - 04:54
        +1

        And just because you live in a relatively close proximity, does NOT mean you have to have any sort of relationship. I choose my friends, my neighbors are just 'there' and I be civil and polite, say hello, offer to help at times, but thats about it. I leave them alone, they leave me alone.

    • RocketSwitch on 20/04/2018 - 10:08
      +1

      Spot on, neighbors is a big factor. If you have shitty ones, it's not worth it.

      People be people.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/04/2018 - 13:12
    +6

    suburb is the most important consideration - frankly would not want to live in Sydney suburbs like bankstown, auburn - for obv reasons

    • WreckTangle on 18/04/2018 - 14:37
      +1

      What are the obvious reasons?

      • Quantumcat on 18/04/2018 - 14:38
        +24

        Snobbery

        • Jackson on 18/04/2018 - 18:47
          -8

          Racism. There are of course valid reason but none of them are obvious

        • Aids on 18/04/2018 - 19:11
          +12

          @Jackson:
          Crime rate, resale value etc, connect them to what you will, but the stats are stats so buy where is best for you.

        • Jackson on 19/04/2018 - 06:49
          +7

          @Aids: but none of them are obvious, this is an Australia wide forum and I would bet at least 90% of people dont know the crime rate in those suburbs and the crime rate is down everywhere over the last 30 years, much of it is going online. As far as resale value the increases in price in those suburbs would be in line with the rest of Sydney.

          Also those suburbs are known for having a lot of certain ethnic backgrounds, so if we are speaking "obviously" what are we supposed to assume about that person's comment?

        • Suspect420 on 19/04/2018 - 07:56
          +15

          @Jackson: exactly.

          I bought an apartment in Auburn. Hasn't had a single day without a tenant and had been looked after. I based it on the ethnic groups utilising its location and it worked.

          Doubled our money in 7 years too.

          People can't move beyond hate if other races/religions. Yet we always talk about sexual equality. What we need is equality period. Human equality.

          Why limit to just actionable equality.

        • blawler05 on 19/04/2018 - 10:12
          +4

          @Aids:

          http://crimetool.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/bocsar/ Would seem to disagree with your crime rate. It is not significantly higher than other parts of sydney.

          Resale Value, my house in sefton has increased Significantly since buying it. Bankstown council area has seen significant property growth. Why is resale value in Bankstown Lower than anywhere else in sydney

          https://www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au/top-suburbs/

          Sefton
          Average Annual growth of 8.75%
          12 Month -1.5 percent

          St Peters
          Average Annual growth 9.45%
          12 Month -3.07%

          Your generalisations do not seem to actually be backed up by provided statistics

        • blawler05 on 19/04/2018 - 10:13
          +4

          @Jackson: They are also not true. Bankstown is does not have a higher crime rate, or poorer resale value. Property growth is inline with the rest of sydney

        • Jackson on 19/04/2018 - 16:38
          +3

          @blawler05: I know, but unfortunately people either have terrible comprehension skills, maths skills or both. There are other areas that might be dominated by a few racial minorities that have high crime but Bankstown and Auburn are not those, which is why this person presents as either ill informed or racist.

        • khomeini on 19/04/2018 - 17:21
          +3

          Muslims or Arabs right Jason. Be alert but not alarmed as they say…
          Back to watching "A Current Affair"

        • Thaal Sinestro on 20/04/2018 - 05:11
          +1

          People who talk about equality always seem to ignore economic equality though. In my experience they are all rich, priviledged middle class toffs who don't want to share their wealth with "Struggle Street".

          Some people own 5 houses, others own none. People only need 1 house. Why not redistribute their holiday homes and investment properties to the poor who cannot afford today's astronomical prices? (Yes, I am a Marxist, and proud of it).

      • kiitos on 19/04/2018 - 18:21
        +4

        What are the obvious reasons?

        Having to put up with the delicious smell of charcoal chicken from El Jannah day in, day out.

        • blawler05 on 20/04/2018 - 08:57
          +2

          I moved out of the area 6 months ago. Into Camden. I was said, and then saw an Ad on a bus for El Jannah in Campbeltown. Happiness returned.

    • berry580 on 19/04/2018 - 08:12

      Might be obvious to people who’s familiar with Sydney, but u van’t Expect everyone to be

    • h4zey on 19/04/2018 - 11:05
      +2

      live in bankstown and never lock my door for the obvious reason.
      For a robber to break into your house in bankstown or auburn is like playing Russian Roulette.

    • db87 on 20/04/2018 - 05:05
      +1

      I think some you politically correct guys need to chill a bit.

      The comment was very broad to just straight start calling the fella a racist/prejudiced.

      I can agree for Melbourne that I wouldn't want to live in some northern or western suburbs. You can quote statistics all you like, fact is, these areas are of a lower demographic and their prices reflect that and that of the everyday issues these areas face, whether they're recorded crime rates or not.

      Performance of price is nothing to go by just because it starts to push the riff raff out due to demand. If you're investing, of course it doesn't bother you, you're not living there, you're living it up out in your fancy postcode.

      • blawler05 on 20/04/2018 - 08:59
        +4

        Yes, because an average house price of over 1 million dollars is a lower demographic.

        https://www.realestate.com.au/neighbourhoods/bankstown-2200-…

        And I lived in the area for 40 years. Never a problem.

        • db87 on 20/04/2018 - 19:01

          Never ending discussion really. Compare like for like and tell me you'd pick a better known suburb over another that just….. Isn't?

          I have close friends that have lived in these "Lower demographic areas" also, including my wife and now in-laws.

          Though they've never been burgled, they have been harassed, have seen very little growth, poor infrastructure/transport, and have much less access to the simpler things - resulting in the adolescents not having anything to do and thus play up with no repercussions. Alert the authorities and they don't want to know you. I could go on, but as said above… Bit of a tennis match… And I don't like tennis.

        • blawler05 on 21/04/2018 - 20:25

          @db87: And bankstown does not seem to fit your summation. Especially RE: infrastructure. That would be the NorthWest of sydney. Bankstown has a great express train ride into the city, and it is getting upgrade.

          https://www.sydneymetro.info/citysouthwest/sydenham-bankstow…

          The point is, people are judging bankstown based on its Ethnic makeup. It is not a lower demographic area. It is well services by public transport, and other infrastructure. There is plenty to do in the area. THey is not a higher level of crime.

  • dcep on 18/04/2018 - 13:18
    +3

    Be a debt slave, borrow 95% LVR with LMI capitalization.

    Living the Australian Dream - Be proud of home ownership

    • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 13:20
      +2

      Assuming you missed the /s ?

      • [Deactivated] on 19/04/2018 - 07:56
        +3

        In a nearby rural area a 40 acre block with a tin shed house went for 15k.

        Beat the debt cycle

    • macrocephalic on 19/04/2018 - 10:45

      We borrowed about that, and have managed to easily service our loan. We didn't have a huge amount of savings, but we both have full time jobs, and didn't buy extravagantly. We just didn't have much in savings when we decided that buying was the best move.

      The place that we moved out of was 5mins down the road, and the rent we were paying 6 years ago is more than our mortgage payments now, and we've paid off about a third of our house.

      • virhlpool on 20/04/2018 - 00:49
        +3

        This works when you're not in Sydney or inner Melbourne.

        • franky82 on 20/04/2018 - 19:34

          I agree, this is a Brisbane strategy…. even with a 33% deposit, my fiancé and I were only barely able to buy a unit in Brisbane an hour from the CBD.

          My partner and I might be at the top of our fields, and have PG qualifications, but both of us are in poorly paid professions which means that we had to save for years to buy.

          If we were in sydney or melbourne our efforts to save 50% of our pay would have been an absolute waste of time- house prices appreciate too quickly for even the most dedicated low income earner to catch up.

        • virhlpool on 20/04/2018 - 22:12
          +1

          @franky82: That's absolutely true and that's why government regulations need to be tighter else the wealth disparity between the rich and the poor will increase to a level which is not good for the society. That's not how Australia has always been - fair to everyone.

  • tsunamisurfer on 18/04/2018 - 13:25
    +7

    For me school zone and land size were non negotiable. So I compromised life's luxuries like holidays until I could afford said property.

  • Quantumcat on 18/04/2018 - 13:37
    +1

    A radical idea would be to rent until you can find a job in a city with lower house prices? You might not get paid as much but this will be outweighed by being able to have a much higher quality of life for cheaper. I found my dream house on Canberra on my first weekend of looking which I could afford on my entry level wage. Other towns to consider: Goulburn, Ballarat, Bathurst, Wollongong, Brisbane…

    • isthisreallife22 on 18/04/2018 - 13:41
      +3

      In Brisbane. Not low house prices at all.

      • boomramada on 18/04/2018 - 13:43

        Compare to Canberra it is.

      • dcep on 18/04/2018 - 13:49

        acacia ridge … lol

        • geek001 on 18/04/2018 - 13:58
          +1

          Woodridge? :D

        • payton on 18/04/2018 - 14:41
          +3

          @geek001:
          prepare to get burgled or have druggo/deadbeat neighbours

          Least its not Caboolture ay

        • Donaldhump on 19/04/2018 - 07:15
          +1

          @payton: Woodbridge has a low robbery rate, everyone assumes you own nothing. I lived in Kingston, I literally slept with one eye open.

        • payton on 19/04/2018 - 15:52

          @unclesnake:
          cant keep them assuming forever tho, addicts on the prowl look for anything of value that can be uprooted and sold whether its in your shed or back/front yard.

          The number of houses with security floodlights on all night there

        • db87 on 20/04/2018 - 05:06

          @payton:

          Watch out…. The pc crew above will have your head for comments like that. Where are your facts!!? rolls eyes

        • payton on 20/04/2018 - 12:53
          +1

          @db87:
          while they were having smashed avo and sipping latte far far away from these suburbs.

      • drprox on 19/04/2018 - 21:03

        Haha except for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra….

    • macrocephalic on 19/04/2018 - 10:47

      Some people have things holding us in place. I would love to move (overseas), but we have aging family here, so it's pretty hard to leave.

      • Quantumcat on 19/04/2018 - 10:51

        Assuming you live in Sydney, could you look for a job in/move to Wollongong or Newcastle? Then you're still in driving/train distance to see your family but the house prices have gone down a little.

    • franky82 on 20/04/2018 - 19:51

      Lol, my neighbour actually just did this- he's an ambo…in Brisbane.

      Quite a few ambos are realising that if they go to a regional station, they can afford housing, and stop working unpaid overtime (because Brisbane Ambulance Stations are operating beyond 100% capacity year after year). It's an absolute recipe for disaster, but hey like the one of the previous commenters said, if my neighbour can't afford housing, it's his responsibility to get a "better" job, lol.

  • Euphemistic on 18/04/2018 - 15:47
    +6

    I would do my best not to compromise on area. I can't afford a beach-front acreage close to work, so there is obviously some compromise!

    I would compromise on the condition of the house. I can paint, tile, repair etc. Structural compromises would need to be within a 'reasonable' budget. ie happy to pick the worst house in the best street.

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