By Paul Reid
Apartment vacancy levels rise over Christmas and New Year, but come January, many GrownUps start shopping for an apartment for their sons and daughters in time for the new academic year. The CBD apartment market is at its busiest from late January to the first week of March.
The big thing to remember in preparing to become your son or daughter's landlord is you are not buying an apartment for yourself to live in. You are buying for a set purpose, and once your child graduates, the apartment needs to have increased in value when you go to sell. A car park, for instance, is not necessary in terms of an investment and can add another $50K to the purchase price.
When it is time to sell and realise your apartment's value, you are probably going to get a better price if the apartment is vacant and presented well by a home staging company.
A nice box apartment in the Auckland CBD currently sells on average for $150-200K. If you want a second bedroom for a flatmate to help pay the mortgage, you're looking at around $250. Add a carpark and you are looking at $300K. A balcony's nice if you can get one. Cash buyers get a better deal and are in a strong position to negotiate a discounted price.
Stick to the guidelines to buying well
1. Buy for the purpose
2 & 3. Look for a well located, freehold apartment
4. Get a builder's report first before you present your offer
5. Do your homework and check the body corporate minutes for the last three years
Once these five boxes are ticked, you can present an offer that doesn't involve any hold-ups which puts you in a strong position in terms of competing offers. Get in early if you intend to buy in January before others pick the eyes out of the best buys on the market.
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