Which is the best investment –an old or new property?

It can be quite a daunting task to try and evaluate what property to buy when building up

your investment portfolio. Do you buy new properties or old properties?

Do you buy a unit or a house? Do you buy in an established area or a new development?

Of course all of the answers to these questions can only be answered by your personal preferences but there are a couple of important things to remember when entering the property market for investment purposes:

• Always buy a property that other people would want to move into, in an area that they would want to buy or rent. Of course remember how you present your property determines the type of tenant you will attract.

Tenants will be attracted to a property that presents value for money, has security, in a good

location, is clean, has good sized bedrooms, low maintenance and offers heating

or cooling facilities with off road parking.

• Always do your research beforehand. Use statistical information to find high growth areas and look for high rental yields in your price range. Identify the potential returns on your investment and ensure it covers your loan repayments.

• Try and buy in a suburb that is experiencing a growth spurt rather than buying at the peak of the growth.

• Your investment should be tax effective and provide you with good depreciation costs.

• If you have more than one property in the same area, it may be prudent to have one property

manager making the process easier and more streamlined.