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House or unit? Unit of house?

House or unit? Unit of house?

Old Mar 21st 2012, 11:04 am
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Default House or unit? Unit of house?

With a budget of around $650k, choice is between a unit within reasonable commute to the Sydney CBD or a house somewhere far away. We are a relatively young family of 3, with the child going to primary school. How did you decide when you bought your property?
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Old Mar 24th 2012, 7:49 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Answering this is really personal and will depend o your lifestyle and interests wherever you decide I'd recommend living there first to check the area is for you (as if you make a mistake the costs to move are significant. Been there done that)
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Old Mar 24th 2012, 10:02 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by spottydog
Answering this is really personal and will depend o your lifestyle and interests wherever you decide I'd recommend living there first to check the area is for you (as if you make a mistake the costs to move are significant. Been there done that)
Thanks spottydog!
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Old Mar 24th 2012, 7:43 pm
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by DhakaBoy
With a budget of around $650k, choice is between a unit within reasonable commute to the Sydney CBD or a house somewhere far away. We are a relatively young family of 3, with the child going to primary school. How did you decide when you bought your property?
Realestate.com.au is (i think) the main property lisiting site. At the bottom of the listed properties it gives stats on how many families live in the area.

Otherwise check out domain.com.au and im sure there are others + the individual real estate agencies - LJ Hooker etc

I think if your smart about it you can find a house within a reasonable commute to the city. By reasonable I would say up to 60min. The best way to get to the city is by train in my opinion - some whinge but they're pretty reliable and dont get stuck in traffic! In peak hour if your stop is closer to the end of the line then you are more likely to get a seat (eg cronulla - sutherland (if your in the middle (mortdale, sydneham), not much chance!)

Check things like
* how close to train line? (my opinion better than buses)
* bus services
* schools
* traffic (ie western sydney can get really bad)
* local council websites for info on areas and services
* gumtree - pretty popular site in sydney for various local things


I am sure there are many other places and the north side of sydney (incl castle hill, chatswood etc) is worth checking out but some options to consider on the south side include... there is also a lot of jobs in north sydney so you may not need to cross the (harbour) bridge for work. you could say the same for liverpool or parramatta in western sydney.


The Sutherland Shire is a nice area not too far from the city that has good schools, services and beaches. (takes 30-60min on train to city - lots of people do this) You should be just/almost be able to get a house for your budget (but unfortunately priced out of ocean views) - (janalli, kirrawee, gymea?, sutherland, loftus, engadine? are nice with train stations and more likely to be in price range) http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/pro...ocation-search

Dulwich Hill - inner western sydney is very central to city (few stops on train) - prices risen a lot recently - quite a few parks, busy coffee shop, close to city, lots of new families. smaller terrace house and semi detatched and some units. most likely too expensive or too small. (some of the places back onto the big park which gives you in effect a huge backyard when you open the gate)

Also check out
mortdale/penhurst/hurstville (hurstville has a strong asian influence, lots of shops and is a major train station that gets express city services)

bexley

One way to do it would be to go the the City Rail website http://www.cityrail.info/ - and look at the network map - http://www.cityrail.info/stations/network_map . Zoom in on the station and work your way out from the city. May a list of stations that arnt too close (too expensive) and not too far away then do searches on those suburbs on real estate.com within your price range (+ # of bedrooms & house/unit specification) and make sure to include surrounding suburbs. Then you can google search the services/schools/other transport etc about the specific suburbs where you can get a property you like.

Also worth looking up local papers websites - to get a feel for the area and they will have likely have some property listings too. e.g. the st george and sutherland shire leader
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Old Mar 26th 2012, 9:19 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by jessicajane
Realestate.com.au is (i think) the main property lisiting site. At the bottom of the listed properties it gives stats on how many families live in the area.

Otherwise check out domain.com.au and im sure there are others + the individual real estate agencies - LJ Hooker etc

I think if your smart about it you can find a house within a reasonable commute to the city. By reasonable I would say up to 60min. The best way to get to the city is by train in my opinion - some whinge but they're pretty reliable and dont get stuck in traffic! In peak hour if your stop is closer to the end of the line then you are more likely to get a seat (eg cronulla - sutherland (if your in the middle (mortdale, sydneham), not much chance!)

Check things like
* how close to train line? (my opinion better than buses)
* bus services
* schools
* traffic (ie western sydney can get really bad)
* local council websites for info on areas and services
* gumtree - pretty popular site in sydney for various local things


I am sure there are many other places and the north side of sydney (incl castle hill, chatswood etc) is worth checking out but some options to consider on the south side include... there is also a lot of jobs in north sydney so you may not need to cross the (harbour) bridge for work. you could say the same for liverpool or parramatta in western sydney.


The Sutherland Shire is a nice area not too far from the city that has good schools, services and beaches. (takes 30-60min on train to city - lots of people do this) You should be just/almost be able to get a house for your budget (but unfortunately priced out of ocean views) - (janalli, kirrawee, gymea?, sutherland, loftus, engadine? are nice with train stations and more likely to be in price range) http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/pro...ocation-search

Dulwich Hill - inner western sydney is very central to city (few stops on train) - prices risen a lot recently - quite a few parks, busy coffee shop, close to city, lots of new families. smaller terrace house and semi detatched and some units. most likely too expensive or too small. (some of the places back onto the big park which gives you in effect a huge backyard when you open the gate)

Also check out
mortdale/penhurst/hurstville (hurstville has a strong asian influence, lots of shops and is a major train station that gets express city services)

bexley

One way to do it would be to go the the City Rail website http://www.cityrail.info/ - and look at the network map - http://www.cityrail.info/stations/network_map . Zoom in on the station and work your way out from the city. May a list of stations that arnt too close (too expensive) and not too far away then do searches on those suburbs on real estate.com within your price range (+ # of bedrooms & house/unit specification) and make sure to include surrounding suburbs. Then you can google search the services/schools/other transport etc about the specific suburbs where you can get a property you like.

Also worth looking up local papers websites - to get a feel for the area and they will have likely have some property listings too. e.g. the st george and sutherland shire leader
That's an extremely useful feedback. Thanks heaps Jessica. OMG, was that your first post on BE?
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Old Mar 26th 2012, 9:45 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Think that jessicajane has covered most of it in relation to travel etc. Just to give you an idea of travel costs, I buy a mymulti2 that covers unlimited travel by train, buses, ferry etc, you can buy weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual. Ive just paid approx $530 for a quarterly ticket for a mymulti2 - mainly for train commute into the cbd but use it for all sorts of travel outside of commutes as well.
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Old Mar 26th 2012, 1:20 pm
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by DhakaBoy
That's an extremely useful feedback. Thanks heaps Jessica. OMG, was that your first post on BE?
No worries DhakaBoy. I thought a quick ramble from a local may help point you in the right direction. Goodluck and keep at it! oh and yes, first one

p.s. it is also very advisable to make contact with individual estate agencies in the areas you want about what your looking for and the price range you want because often these things can be snapped up before they are listed and they can probably offer you some good advice if you ask. (This goes for rental properties too)
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Old Mar 26th 2012, 3:49 pm
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Well, may I throw in my 2 cents please? Buying into a strata unit, you don't own the bricks and mortar and whilst you share the upkeep of the structural parts of the block you also have to meet and vote on matters in relation to that. Bylaws exist governing what you can do and what you can't do. There can be acrimonious disputes and living in such close proximity to others and not really owning your own front gate/front door can prove less than attractive. There's always one in every block who throws a spanner in the works or wants to be the "unit police". Before anyone goes into a strata unit I would strongly suggest they check out Jimmy Thomson's column "Flat Chat" in the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald and he also wrote a book, Strata Living I think it was called. It can be a minefield. I am selling my strata unit after 12 years, the first 8 or 9 being hell, and buying a house in the foothills of the Blue Mtns (still only about an hour or so into the city by train) which is the only place I can afford to buy a house but I'm determined to own every stick, every brick and every blade of grass. Good luck with your decision.
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Old Mar 27th 2012, 11:05 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by TopCat3
Well, may I throw in my 2 cents please? Buying into a strata unit, you don't own the bricks and mortar and whilst you share the upkeep of the structural parts of the block you also have to meet and vote on matters in relation to that. Bylaws exist governing what you can do and what you can't do. There can be acrimonious disputes and living in such close proximity to others and not really owning your own front gate/front door can prove less than attractive. There's always one in every block who throws a spanner in the works or wants to be the "unit police". Before anyone goes into a strata unit I would strongly suggest they check out Jimmy Thomson's column "Flat Chat" in the Saturday Sydney Morning Herald and he also wrote a book, Strata Living I think it was called. It can be a minefield. I am selling my strata unit after 12 years, the first 8 or 9 being hell, and buying a house in the foothills of the Blue Mtns (still only about an hour or so into the city by train) which is the only place I can afford to buy a house but I'm determined to own every stick, every brick and every blade of grass. Good luck with your decision.
That's an eye-opener, thanks TopCat3!
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Old Mar 27th 2012, 11:06 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by jessicajane
No worries DhakaBoy. I thought a quick ramble from a local may help point you in the right direction. Goodluck and keep at it! oh and yes, first one

p.s. it is also very advisable to make contact with individual estate agencies in the areas you want about what your looking for and the price range you want because often these things can be snapped up before they are listed and they can probably offer you some good advice if you ask. (This goes for rental properties too)
Thanks once again. I will get in touch with a few estate agencies as well.
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Old Mar 27th 2012, 11:11 am
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by Bikergirl
Think that jessicajane has covered most of it in relation to travel etc. Just to give you an idea of travel costs, I buy a mymulti2 that covers unlimited travel by train, buses, ferry etc, you can buy weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual. Ive just paid approx $530 for a quarterly ticket for a mymulti2 - mainly for train commute into the cbd but use it for all sorts of travel outside of commutes as well.
Thanks Bikergirl. I don't know if it would be possible at all at the end but I fancy cycling to work. Costs apart.... mostly on health grounds.
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Old Mar 27th 2012, 12:15 pm
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Default Re: House or unit? Unit of house?

Originally Posted by DhakaBoy
Thanks Bikergirl. I don't know if it would be possible at all at the end but I fancy cycling to work. Costs apart.... mostly on health grounds.
In Sydney? Then be sure to wear a mask!
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