A flat or unit is great for rental income, if you can charge a high rental for the property. Generally speaking a flat does not increase in value to any degree worth a damn, so it is bought solely for income generation. Obviously this is only helpful to you if that rent will cover the mortgage repayments or more than, leaving you in a position where you are again building equity, allowing you to duplicate the process and use that equity to buy your second investment. kwim?
So personally (and this is just me) I would be inclined to buy a house that will increase in value, even if that means lower rental return, then buy an income generating flat as perhaps house 4 or 5.
If the house is a good price, the area is growing (in population, infrastructure and property value), close to schools, PT shops, etc and is in a relatively safe area, sounds good to me.
The other aspect is looking at the local councils zoning for the property. You said it was an 800sqm block. Can it be subdivided? How easy is it for you to get approval to extend the house to 4 bdrms and 2 bathrooms? Or put a swimming pool in? Or a rumpus room on the back? Or a double garage?
If you are buying this as investment, then you are looking at long term ownership. However, when adding value to the house, you must think about what people would want if they bought the property. Or what you would want should you live in it.
I would still suggest living in the house. Paying rent elsewhere for yourself, whilst collecting rent to pay a mortgage is going to leave you in no better a financial place than simply living in it yourself to pay the mortgage. (Unless you cannot afford to pay a full mortgage repayment atm)
the area we are looking at for the original house is made up of housing trust houses which are being sold off..
so i could see that in the next 5/10 yrs the area would become not so dodgy as it will become more owner occupier then lower income rent assisted (iykwim)
so do you think that it would be a decent area to buy now?
Going by what you have said, I would certainly look into it further.
If the area is being newly inhabited by young families, or working couples, etc, then absolutely the area will become more valuable. The overall appearances of the houses will increase, new paint renos etc, thus improving the value of properties around them.
Friends bought a townhouse in a complex where the housing commission was doing that too, some are still hc, and the value has icreased over the years and they have always had a tenant despite fears from people when they bought.
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