Established vs Building what is the correct option?
Purchasing a home is usually the single largest investment for home owners, with this in mind a lot of time and energy can be spent looking for and researching for the right property and location whether you are looking to buy an established property or go through the build process.
When purchasing an established property you are generally aware of what you are getting yourself into providing you go to the effort of organising a pre-purchase building inspection and pest inspection to be done. If carried out by a professional in the desired field the report they provide will generally outline any issues that you will need to attend to. It is recommended that the building and pest inspections are conducted within the cooling off period as you may be in a position where you need to negotiate with the vendor to compensate for any form of repairs needed, however this is up to the vendor whether they wish to act on negotiating or carrying out any repairs needed.
If you go through the process of building a property you can’t exactly get a pre-purchase building inspection done, you can however conduct a visual inspection prior to accepting handover of the keys but this is reliant on the naked eye picking up any defects on the surface that simply shouldn’t be there. If there are any arising issues you will more than likely find out months after the completion of the build which can sometimes be caused by the builder taking some shortcuts to get the job done on time.
When in the research stage of looking at established properties as opposed to empty blocks of land, you will notice the areas in which the established homes are will generally have established surroundings as well such as shopping centres, kindergartens and schools, service stations, restaurants and cafés, parks and playgrounds as well as public transport bus routes at hand no more than a few streets away, however with areas that are not yet established all you have to go on is the information provided either by signage within the area or publicly released articles stating there are certain things in the pipeline but this however doesn’t always mean they will eventuate.
Some other things with an established property is that it is likely to have its own touch of character and be that little bit different to any others in the street, which in your eyes might be that much more appealing. The gardens and paths surrounding the house are likely to be completed, the yard will be secured with fencing all the way around and the interior of the house will be furnished with such as window and floor coverings. Taking these things into consideration, when going through the building process these are some of the things you need to have completed on your to do list when chasing that finished product to call home.
Below are some pros and cons of building a new property:
| Benefits of building a brand new home | Negatives of building a brand new home |
| Access to First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) where applicable | Have to find the right piece of land in a neighbourhood that you are happy to live in |
| Stamp duty payable only on the land purchase price | You need to organise the landscaping, fencing, driveways and other concrete paths around the house to be completed |
| Ability to have a potentially lower LVR over buying an established home | More likely to only be able to find smaller land as opposed to buying an older established home |
| Build a home and finish it how you want to | The length of time to build from when you find the right home |
| Low maintenance | |
| More efficient with energy and other modern utilities |
Below are some pros and cons of buying an established property:
| Benefits of purchasing an established home | Negatives of purchasing an established home |
| The convenience of once you have seen the property you have fallen in love with, within 30-45 days you can move in | Stamp duty is payable on the total purchase price not the land component as if purchasing house and land package |
| Don’t normally have to organise landscaping, fencing, driveways and other concrete paths around the house to be completed | The house you find may be older and may need some work to get it to the standard you will be happy with |
| You may purchase a slightly older property, but have the potential to renovate to how you like it | Maintenance may be more frequent with potential underlying issues |
| Older established homes are likely have a larger space of land to allow you to have your kids play out back or even more beneficial if you like to entertain | Not as efficient as a new build with energy ratings and other utilities such as water |
| The convenience of being in a chosen established neighbourhood close to work, school and family or friends |
Whether you choose to buy or build it all comes down to location, location, location so it is important you do as much research as possible when it comes to the cost of established properties vs the cost of building a new property and what exactly falls into your budget. If you like certain areas but unsure if it will be right for you don’t hesitate to get out on the weekends and start researching and talking to local agents and seeing what they say alternatively keep a lookout on realestate.com.au to keep up to date with changes in the market.
If you would like a free review of your situation and would like to know information regarding any suburb/property in particular please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your mortgage broker Gerry today and he can provide you with complimentary suburb/property reports which he can talk further about should there be any questions/queries you may have.
Adelaide suburbs between $500,000 and $750,000
In South Australia the median house price is $410,000. With this in mind you can find a large variety of properties to purchase in some Northern and Southern suburbs from as little as $200,000 all the way upwards of $1,000,000 in the Eastern and Hillside suburbs.
If you are in the market for purchasing a property and you are wanting to find one which falls into the $500,000 to $750,000 price bracket range, the suburbs to check out are: Broadview, Prospect, Marden, Magill, Norwood, Torrensville, One Tree Hill and Virginia. These suburbs are within close range of the CBD except for One Tree Hill and Virginia, which will give you the feeling of a country lifestyle without being all that far away from all the important places and city lifestyle. There are a good variety of schools in each of the areas with recently established schools including a range of kindergartens, primary and high schools and not to mention high levels of education campuses only within a short commute. To get around these suburbs and to main attractions it is ultimately best to drive or utilise public transport services with the bus and train services running regularly.
All of which have access to food venues, shopping centres, sporting grounds, playgrounds and parks for the kids making getting out and about from the house a breeze. A bonus about living within these suburbs is in reality you are not all that far from the CBD with access to main roads and highways shaving your travel time and train stations close by making commuting to and from the city a breeze or even between suburbs that will allow you to bypass the peak hour traffic commuters. For the likes of One Tree Hill and Virginia residents at the most you are only a maximum of 35-40 minute drive away from the city depending on your location especially being close to main roads.
The majority of these suburbs mentioned appeal to the owner occupied market, they are older style character homes some with ongoing upkeep issues and with generally larger land sizes, unless the property has recently been constructed then you will generally have something smaller but modern. If you are looking to make the absolute most of your investment choice it will be best to look for places where rental demand is high, such as close to public transport, lifestyle areas, and close access to schools, parks, cafes and retail shops. If in doubt it is always worth your time to research by talking with a number of local real estate agents in the respective areas to see what they say. After talking to a number of agents you will start to get a feel and see a trend in what they are saying, giving you a clear idea of what the areas have to offer. The next step if you haven’t already done so will be to both work out with a broker your price range and then try to find something within that that ticks the boxes.
There is some appeal to the rental market at this price point, however in Magill the median house price is $665,000 with a median rental of $400 per week so you may sit back and think twice about making a purchase as an investment but on the other hand know it will make a great place to call home for yourself.
If you would like a free review of your situation and would like to know information regarding the mentioned suburbs or any other suburb for that matter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your mortgage broker Gerry today and he can provide you with complimentary suburb/property reports which he can talk further about should there be any questions/queries you may have.Information above regarding median house prices courtesy of www.realestate.com.au