Potential First Home Buyer - Recommendation and Tips (Melbourne)

[Deactivated] on 13/09/2018 - 11:52

Hi all,

I am a part-time childcare worker (full-time hours) since Feb whereas my husband works full time but has a bad credit history though we have paid all of it ($4000). we make roughly 900 each per week and can get 200K from overseas by selling some properties there. Since the property prices have gone up ridiculously we never bothered to look for a house and were happy with renting until last week when I calculated how much we have paid in rents since Nov 2016.

Right now we are interested in having a 4 bedroom house with front/backyard but not looking to spend a ridiculous amount of money i.e $600K+ our range will be 450-550K with a maximum downpayment.

Can you suggest some suburbs or offer us any tips to help our research? Like, what should we look for in a house, built date and stuff?

We are starting our research from Western Suburbs but open for any recommendations :)

Please refrain from asking us about finance.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Dangit on 13/09/2018 - 11:55

    Melton, Werribee or Hoppers surrounding areas would be around that price range

    • jellykingdom on 13/09/2018 - 13:01

      But…..Melton…? Bleagh

    • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2018 - 13:27

      A friend has got a property in Melton recently but its V-Line zone only and we might feel disconnected, however, I am going to look for properties in Melton as prices are "reasonable"

      • TheBilly on 13/09/2018 - 13:48

        What is V Line?

      • Dangit on 13/09/2018 - 14:43

        Vline doesnt mean anything I live in Caroline Springs which is on the same line. Not really disconnected in anyway Vline service when running is much better then Metro due to the amount of stops it has to take.
        Melton has train station, shops + cinemas and prices are decent.

    • dingdong3000 on 14/09/2018 - 10:49

      Why Werribee?? There's a dumpster pit there no??

  • dcep on 13/09/2018 - 11:59
    +1

    what's your rent at the moment ? you can work out if you're better off in renting especially when interest rates continue to rise

    no need to rush , properties won't go up for the next few years

    interesting times ahead with many already starts struggling with $

    • HighAndDry on 13/09/2018 - 12:19
      +1

      when I calculated how much we have paid in rents since Nov 2016.

      Seconding phunky to do a calculation of the cost of owning vs renting. Owning a property isn't free either - and not all expenses are capitalised. Things like council rates, water, land tax (if applicable), mortgage interest, maintenance (especially for a house - that stuff costs money).

  • 87percent on 13/09/2018 - 12:06

    First thing I would do is go to a bank, or a mortgage broker, and find out how much you can actually borrow. Using "about" figures with finance is never a good thing (IMO), you need definite numbers

  • HighAndDry on 13/09/2018 - 12:12

    Like, what should we look for in a house, built date and stuff?

    Asbestos. From memory properties before 1980? 1990? commonly used the stuff, so if the house you're looking at was built before then, make sure there's no asbestos in it.

    • poboy on 13/09/2018 - 12:31
      +1

      Asbestos is dangerous when moved. If left dormant, it is safe. Melbourne has a huge percentage of properties with Asbestos given the majority of inner suburb homes were built prior to its phase out.

      • HighAndDry on 13/09/2018 - 12:38

        Asbestos is dangerous when moved.

        Yes, or if the sealant/bonding agent deteriorates or cracks. The issue is that 1. You need to know it's there to know to be careful around it, and 2. it will limit (or at least make more expensive) any potential renovations or DIY work you might want to do around the house. There's also the fact you need to send in actual material for a 100% accurate test if it is asbestos or not, and if an inspector misses something, you run the risk of doing DIY and spreading asbestos fibres all around.

        There's a bit of hyper-sensitivity towards it, I agree. As long as OP is aware of the risks, they can happily go ahead and buy a property with asbestos. It's just that personally I wouldn't.

      • TheBilly on 13/09/2018 - 13:50

        Alot of places also used an asbestos vermiculite substance which spreads air borne asbestos dust - for the purposes of ceiling insulation.

  • angelkulit025 on 13/09/2018 - 12:34

    What about northern suburbs as western suburbs roads are too congested coming to and from the city.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2018 - 13:31

      Northern Suburbs. Are you talking about houses in Cragieburn

      • angelkulit025 on 13/09/2018 - 13:34

        It depends.. Are you looking for a newly built houses or established ones.?

        • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2018 - 13:38

          Umm either whichever is a good option. Should be new (to be honest)

        • angelkulit025 on 13/09/2018 - 13:43

          @twoperspectives: nah.. You need to be certain of what you want because it all falls to New House = further away from the city, established house = close/r to the city and both can have a good backyard/front yard depending on location.

  • Stimps on 13/09/2018 - 13:19
    +5

    Record low interest rates, record high household debt, negative real household income growth, house prices falling in Melbourne. My recommendation, don’t buy now.

    • Odin on 14/09/2018 - 10:44

      100%. You're crazy to buy now.

  • zond on 13/09/2018 - 13:54
    +1

    Unless you really want to catch a falling knife.

  • jedimaster on 13/09/2018 - 15:16

    Check out Manor Lakes. I have bought some land there last year and will start building next month hopefully.
    Prices are in your range.

    • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2018 - 19:19

      Is it going to be an investment property?

      • jedimaster on 28/10/2018 - 14:00

        I plan to live there.
        Also, if I refer you, both of us get $1000 at time of settlement.

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