My First Home Buyer Journey – 29th October 2024

Update on previous blog post

Coming back to the previous blog post where the bank wanted a university letter from me. I have been trying to hold back on providing the university letter to the bank until my full time job was confirmed for next year. In my emails with the bank; though, apparently they only wanted the university letter to show that I am working in the university full-time. They were not going to use the university letter against me to show that I did not disclose one of my fixed-term contracts ending soon. Instead, they asked me whether I thought my contract would not be extended into next year. I confirmed that my contract would likely be extended into next year as I am working on a project that will continue into next year. With the crisis averted for now, I sent the latest set of documents to the bank. Hopefully I pass the bank’s pre-approval process so that my home loan application can be passed onto the Victorian Government to assess my eligibility for the Victorian Homebuyer Fund.

Attending more inspections and observing auctions

While waiting to get into the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, I have continued to do some research on the suburbs and properties I want to live in. On most Saturdays, I have been attending inspections to see firsthand what the properties are like and auctions to see how they are run. On Saturday 19th October; though, I took a break from going to auctions and inspections as there were not many auctions going on. Instead, I spent the morning touring some suburbs in Melbourne’s south-east, taking notes on what the streets were like and where the shops were located.

On Saturday 26th October; though, I managed to watch an auction where the property was sold during the auction instead of being passed in. That property was unique in that, despite being near the train line, it is surrounded by green space and trees that shield the apartment from outside noise in the train line and main road. There was also plenty of outdoor space for one to walk around in and get some fresh air. Consequently, around seven bidders came to the auction. However, only two bidders made bids during the auction, initially raising the price at $10,000 increments before varying increments from $3,000 to $7,000. After one bidder pulled out, the other bidder won the property outright without it being passed in. That auction gave me a good taste of what it is like to bid in an auction. In particular, I see the balance between knowing in advance how much I would be prepared to buy the property and being tactical in bidding to ensure that I win the auction for the property.

My view on Melbourne’s activity centres

Something that has been on the news in Melbourne recently is the announcement of activity centres being planned across Melbourne. These activity centres are suburbs in Melbourne where more houses will be built to provide more people access to public transport and town centres. These are associated with high-rise buildings (up to 12 storeys) close to train stations and town centres and medium-rise buildings (up to 6 storeys) within walking distance of them. Ten suburbs were previously earmarked to become activity centres, but now 25 more suburbs will become activity centres, with more still to come. While some groups such as Property Council of Australia and YIMBY (Yes in my Backyard) Melbourne have welcomed the move as more homes would be built in areas where people want to live, others have lambasted the move, with local residents and the Victorian Opposition feeling concerned that high-rise buildings would change the dynamics of the suburbs.

Personally, I am fearful of how the announcement of activity centres will affect my property search in the suburbs I want to live in. Plans have not yet been announced on the activity centres that have recently been announced, so I am not sure what plans will be in the suburbs I want to live in. I am avoiding high-rise apartments in my property search as they are not only uncomfortable for me to live in, they are also bad investments as the numerous similar apartments would cause prices to stagnate or fall. Instead, I would like to live in a low-rise apartment or unit with not too many people in the building, where I have plenty of indoor and outdoor space to walk around. If houses and apartment blocks have to be repossessed and demolished to pave the way for more high-rise apartments, it would rob me of my home that I plan to live in for over 10 years.

The announcement of activity centres will not deter me from searching for the ideal property that I can live in for 10 years or more. Hopefully plans for activity centres will be released before I start seriously looking for my first home. That way I can mark out areas where I do not want to live in, refining my property search to areas and properties that would not be affected too much by the activity centres.