Tips on Assessing Apartments

With 100+ apartments being in various stages of planning to building, opportunities are available for investors.

Most of the designs we have seen to date are high spec providing aesthetic features such as quality chattels, lots of glass allowing natural light in and modern accommodations such as built-in audio systems and good storage planning.

These apartments will cater to a different tenant pool than the applicants looking for homes, primarily

  • Professionals moving into the area for fixed term work assignments
  • Empty nesters looking for low maintenance, secure lock and leave situation
  • People moving into the area before they decide to build or buy.

Two to three bedroom apartments provide the most flexibility and cater to a majority of folks looking to live in an apartment situation. Two bedrooms is always preferable with these apartments to accommodate flatmate situations and guests. One or four bedroom units cater to a smaller subset.

Modern, open-plan, well-appointed kitchens are a big magnet and bright, tiled bathrooms are a selling point. Most units come with some form of heating, but that is something you should enquire about when assessing a potential purchase. The other feature that really attracts is some form of indoor/outdoor flow such as big windows, balcony or patio for base floor units that offer views or shelter for entertaining.

Light is critical – a good amount of natural light helps prevent that boxed in feeling. Look for units that are north or north/west facing and try to avoid the south facing apartments as they can be darker and colder. Most developers give this thought in their designs but do not take that for granted. Apartments are mainly being sold off plans so you can’t always get a feel for this aspect. If possible, go to the physical site at different times of the day to observe the angle and area of where the apartment would be and how the light may be affected by surrounding buildings, trees and so on.

Carparking is a commodity and we recommend acquiring at least one park space with an apartment. Two spaces are better than one – think of the professional working couple that want their cars secured off-street. Central apartments without a carpark option are more challenging to rent out.

One last tip is to take a good look at the Body Corporate rules to ensure that you are aware of any restrictions related to renting out the units.