curle

can anyone offer advice. i am thinking of buying 2/3 bedroom house in armadale area of perth. i have been told i can still buy for 120,000 to 150,000 dollars. if this is true what are the down sides of living in this area. also any information on other areas in this price range would be appreciated.
curle

cherry6

Another member on these boards, Suz, lives in Mt Nasura (next suburb to Armadale). Armadale is cheap, but there are some dodgy parts. There is a high number of poorer people in the area, and last time I was there, a fairly high number of aboriginals. Not that I am against the native folk, but some people find it unsavoury.

cherry6

Other cheap areas (but cheap for a reason) Leda, Orelia, Windsor Hills, Clarkson are some others. In 2002, land in Leda was around 30k, and you can build as cheap as 80k (remember 2 years ago though).

owieb

It's cheap for a reason, I suggest you go and have a look at it yourself and decide. Make sure you go in the evening as well to see what the streets are like at night. Most suburbs are quiet by about 9:30pm, I've got a feeling Armadale may have a bit more action!

Jirrupin

It looks as though you have already had some good advice. As far as I am aware Suz and her family are very happy in Armadale and spoke positively about the schools.

Armadale has cheaper housing and is well situated for commuting to Freemantle, and other suburbs like Bibra lake and the City. We first looked at an area close by called Roleystone and we liked it but we were advised by Aussies that there were problems with youth in the area.

There was also an issue about pollution but the treatment plant at Brookdale has recently shut down.

I think you get the usual Hoons, but you can also get this problem in more 'well heeled' suburbs too. If what you are looking for is mortgage free living, a nice house on a reasonable size plot then Armadale may be for you.

My advice would be to look around when you arrive, I know Suz bought very quickly and it felt right for them, but usually I would say take your time, if you can afford to.

Also when looking at house prices don't forget you have to pay stamp duty on top of that, although you can also apply for the first home buyer grant.

Kelpiegirl

Hi Curle,

I lived in Armadale for about a year. We rented a small unit in a complex close to the train station. The train takes you right into the city centre in 35 minutes.

There's a huge shopping centre and cinema in Cannington, which is about halfway between Armadale and the city. Near the shopping centre there are a lot of major retailers like Ikea, Freedom Furniture, Harvey Norman,...

There a small shopping centre in Armadale itself as well, with several supermarkets, Kmart, banks, fastfood restaurants, news agencies, post office, real estate agents,... so everything you basically need can be found in Armadale.

I enjoyed some parts of living in Armadale: its location (outskirts of the city, close to nature, near several major highways), it wasn't very busy, etc.

But I didn't like the neighbour playing loud music every Friday and Saturday night, so we couldn't sleep and were up all night trying to convince the police to do something about it - which they didn't. It was particularly sad because I worked in retail and worked most Saturdays and Sundays.

I didn't like Armadale at night. Whenever I got home from work in the dark (and it gets dark quite early in Oz) I had my hubbie pick me up because I didn't fancy walking home alone.

There were indeed a lot of aboriginals walking around at all times of the day, and without wanting to sound like a racist-I know they're not all like that-, a lot of them were drunk and kept begging for money in the streets or on the train/bus.

What I also noticed was the number of 15-16-year-olds with babies. They're the second generation of commission housing people who were never taught they have to work to build a life of their own...it's easier to have babies at a very young age while still living with your parents so you get more money from the dole. Their motto in life is to get as much money from the government for doing nothing.

However, I met people who live in the nicer areas of Armadale and they never had any problems. Mount Nasura is very nice, there's a lot of hills so you have very nice views. You won't find a house here for $150,000 anymore though. Another nicer area is Strawberry Park, there's a lot of newer houses so there's a lot of younger people living there, all working hard to pay off their home and look after their family. I guess no matter what the reputation of the suburb is, there will always be nice and not-so-nice areas within that suburb.

If you prefer living a bit further out, check out Byford, about 10km from Armadale. Bigger properties, not sure about prices, but very popular as well. There's no public transport there, so people from Byford drive to Armadale train station.

Hope this information helps a bit.

Kelpiegirl

gypsey

hi new member here.
i to lived in armadale and if you have got kids then i would stay well away.
we had a neighbour come to us one night saying"make sure you shut your bloody curtains as soon as it gets dark or youll be robbed"
how scared was i?
it is a rough area.
the best way to tell if it is a dodgey area is by the house prices.
my family used to live in kelscott but moved as it became quite rough.
my cousin also worked in real estate and advised us on the house price checking idea.
i know the temptation of buying a cheap house is strong but believe me its not worth it.
i am from perth originally but will always choose north queensland over perth.
dont get me wrong there are some great places to live in perth but the crime rate is alot higher than the rest of aus.
i would reccomend you go north of the river kinross,currambine etc.its worth paying abit more for a good area.