Houses and areas from my recci

[Damms]

Hi All

Before I go on about areas to live and houses I just want to say this is really a matter of personal choice and what you are looking for so please don’t be offended if you live in an area we discounted it’s only my opinion!!!! :roll: I recommend you buy a map we bought one from the internet before we went so that we could look at the areas when looking at houses on realestate.com.au the other website they use is domain.com.au.

 

Our must haves were: pool or room for one, a garden, lawn area for our little girl and an outdoor entertaining area… (I know we want it all!!!!!) So I was looking for a house on a plot bigger than 800sqm. The other thing on our list was we had to be a maximum of 20 minutes drive to the CBD as Mike will probably be working in this area and a max 15 minutes drive to a nice beach. Before we went we were looking at the following areas: Golden Grove, Mawson Lakes, and suburbs to the west of Adelaide CBD Glenelg, Brighton, Hove and the costal areas and Flagstaff hills, Happy Valley and surrounding areas.

 

The first morning we arrived (Saturday) we got the Adelaide Advertiser and looked for all the open houses that weekend we looked at 5 houses on the Saturday and 6 on the Sunday you just turn up and look round with everyone else, it’s a great way to get use to the way they show houses and also an eye opener as the pictures on the web can be very deceiving!!! :shock: Also it’s a good, quick learning curve to ask about the process of buying and the etiquette used. We were told that there was only 70% of the normal number of houses available at this time of year (typical when I want to buy!!!)

 

We found a fabulous house in Golden Grove with a great pool. Golden Grove has a bus which also goes on tracks into the CBD and takes about 40 minutes, it has a big shopping centre with lots of clothes shops and also some smaller local shops, it has good schools, day nursery, swimming pools and a number of playgrounds and parks for the kids, I really like it but upon reflection it was too far from the good beaches which is on our must have list (due to the road layout). We found West Lakes a bit run down (good candidate for re generation which is happening in a lot of places so could be a property boom area) and were also concerned if it was in the flight path for aircraft noise. Mawsons Lake we discounted it was lovely very new again and good parks close to water and the CBD but the plots are generally really not big enough for a pool and by the time we looked at this area we decided we loved the beach and cafes around Brighton. So we decide to concentrate on the eastern suburbs and coastal region.

 

Glenelg was unfortunately a bit noisy from regular aircraft takeoffs and more of a tourist area (bit built up) but a nice place to go for a day trip or evening out. In fact we found that nearer (walking distance) to the beaches the houses were packed in a bit and didn’t really have the space we wanted in the gardens, This included Brighton which was our favourite place to go, less busy than Glenelg but has some great cafes (restaurant quality food and wines) lovely pier and beach and park nearby. Further down the coast towards Hallet Cove and surrounding areas it eases and these areas looked nice, we found Hallet Cove toward the end of our stay but this area through Seacliff and up to the bottom of Brighton, could have been a possibility. But we wanted to also be nearer to the CBD (I know how fussy are these people!!!).

 

Flagstaff Hills (established area) and Flagstaff Pines (very new area still building) Loved the areas bigger plots with a nice amount of open space for kids, smaller amount of local shops so you would probably have to drive to the main shopping centre for your weekly shop (about 5 minutes away) but this doesn’t bother me but we just couldn’t find the right house. It’s a nice area well established there are some hilly areas. It’s about a 10-15 minutes drive to Brighton beach.

 

We bought our house in Blackwood Park which is close to Flagstaff Hills and Craigburn Farm, it’s a lovely leafy suburb close enough to the CBD well established with local shops, schools close by and also some nice Day Nurseries, it is a little further to the beach but the main roads take you there in about 18 minutes (approx!!!) and close to the bigger shopping centre.

 

Well I have gone on for ages so I will sign off now but if anyone wants any more info just let me know. I hope I haven’t confused anyone any further or put you off any areas this is just my opinion for our lifestyle choice

Thanks

Kim

[Guest Tina]

Hi Kim,

 

Fantastic post very informative, what sort of price bracket were you finding the houses. your choice of distance and size plus pool are exactly what we are looking for when we go out towards the end of the year.

 

tina

[Damms]

Hi Tina

 

we had a really wide range, 500-800k but I must admit there is no need to go that high at all :shock: there are loads of houses in all ranges, we wanted a minimum of 4 bedrooms and again these were represented in most price brackets, to be honest, you can get a lovely house for around 475-620k in htese areas. further away from the CBD you can get even more for your money.

 

Hope this helps, let me know if you need any more info.

Good luck

Kim

[cribber]

Hey Kim,

 

Very useful post for me as i'm off to Adelaide for a reccie on Sunday (20th).

 

Did you go into any of the real estate agents in Hallett Cove?

This is one area we're very interested in.

 

Cheers,

 

Paul.

[Damms]

Hi Paul

 

Unfortunatly we didnt get that far as when we looked at the area and decided we liked it we got a call from an agent in Blackwood about our house... But our coonveyancer is based in Hallet cove if you want his details let me know, hes a nice gy and his rates are quite reasonable.

 

I would really recommend you go on realestate.com.au just enter hallet cove and you should get houses up and the contact details of the realestate agents we did this before we went and then sent them all emails on properties we liked to see if we could arrange viewings before we went (as your going so soon they will probably do this for you) also when you get there try to pick up a copy of, I think its wednesdays Advertiser and int he property section they list some of the open houses for the coming weekend. The Advertiser on Saturday has a full listing.

 

Are you hiring a car? there should be a street map book of Adelaide which is great (I think it is called a ULR book) we bought one of these for us as its really great.

 

I liked Hallet cove alot most of the houses have sea and sunset views and there is a nice park there.

 

Good luck with your trip

Kim

[cribber]

Thanks Kim,

 

I need lots of luck, especially on the job front.

 

Have been on realestate.com.au lots just pining to get out and buy.

 

Hiring a car on arrival so i'm immediately mobile. Will check the car has a map.

 

My plan is to cold call on one of the local real estate agent. At this stage i'm only browsing and not buying.

 

Paul.

[Damms]

Paul

 

Just remembered as you get to Hallett Cove there is a large shopping centre just behind this is a smaller group of single story shops and busnesses this is where the conveyancer is but also there is a real estate agent shop try there.

 

Thanks

Kim

[Guest Kiki]

Hi there

 

Can I be nosy did you say you have bought your house ehile on a Recci. Didnt know you could do that. Did you arrange a mortgage while you were there to. Fingers crossed you did so I can start working on my OH. Excellent post really informative exactly what we need.

 

Thanks again

 

Kimberley x

[Damms]

Hi Kimberley

 

Thanks, Yes we did buy our house on our 3 week recci, we bought using an investment mortgage which is based on your income from the UK etc BUt I did arrange our mortgage before we went, it only took a couple of weeks and then we were all set. I am using a mortgage broker in Australia, if you need details send me a PM and I can fill you in and give you contacts etc.

 

Glad you all like the posts, everytime someone askes a question I rememeber a little bit more and it keeps it all fresh and exciting for me.

 

Thanks and good luck to everyone looking for a house!!!

Kim

x

[Guest Aussiebound]

Thanks for the exciting news from your reccie, loads of info for us all. Flagstaff is one of our favourite areas - as much as they can be without ever visiting!!!

 

Also didn't realise you could set up a morgage in this country, will have to look into that one nearer the time.

[Angela]

Just wanted to add my thanks to the list. Its really nice to read a good, honest informative post as I know it can be difficult as its you opinion.

 

If you don't mind me saying you have a lot of $ so I am sure that you have a lovely house for that. Does your house have the pool or the room to put one in?

 

How realistic is it to get a house, on a plot big enough for a pool for <$350k???? What suburbs in your opinion would suit this budget?

 

Thanks

Angela

[Damms]

Hi Angela

 

Well we did spend a bit but we are expecting a lot of visitors and wanted the room, so that when they come we are not all on top of each other (you know what they say about house guests and long visits) :shock: :shock: Yes the house has room for a pool it was one of our “Musts” on the list!!

I’m really not an expert, but having had a good look around (property is my “thing” I could look at houses all day long!!), I am sure you will find something that ticks all your boxes, there are properties to suit almost all budgets and if you go out of Adelaide a little you get so much more for your money, especially if your willing to do a little renovation or updating to a place.

 

As far as areas go I'm afraid we just concentrated on the ones I previously mentioned, as we didn’t have time on this visit to look everywhere so I cant really recommend anywhere else I’m afraid.

 

Good luck with the house hunting you will definitely find something

Take care

Kim

[Hayshake]

Congratulations on your house purchase in Blackwood Park. We have been travelling to Aus for quite a few years to visit our son & family who live in Belair, and we have visited Blackwood Park on most visits and watched it grow. A very nice area!!. If we ever get our visa sorted out (11months and still no case officer) we may well move into Blackwood Park as well.

This year when we were there we were advised that there is another land release at the back, (the land was being prepared in Feb.) with another 200 odd houses being built. There always seem to be a good number of houses in this area for sale, and most are only 4-5years old at the most, so you get better insulation etc than on older homes, and between A$ 550,000 and

A$ 650,000 they appear to be good value. Good luck with your move when it happens, you never know, we could one day be neighbours!!

[Damms]

Hi Thanks Hayshake

 

Yes the land release will happen at the end of May as we registered to be kept up to date on this before we found our house, luckly we are not too close to the new building site, but the estate is really lovely and we felt very comfortable with the area, our settlement date is 11th June so not long now until we are aussie homeowners!!!

 

Thanks again its nice to have someone elses opnion.

 

Good luck with everything and hope you get your case worker soon

 

Take care

Kim

[Guest lisaanddaz]

Hello Kim

 

Firstly, fantastic post! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

Now this web site has changed I cannot figure out how to PM someone, so very sorry...

 

But I was hoping you might be able to PM me the details of your mortgage broker? If you would not mind that is?

 

Thank you.

 

Lisa x

[Guest ali@51]

Hi All

 

Just a quick question. Did you find tha theire were loads more houses when you got their or are they mainly on the realestate sight

 

thanks

[sush]

Hi All

Before I go on about areas to live and houses I just want to say this is really a matter of personal choice and what you are looking for so please don’t be offended if you live in an area we discounted it’s only my opinion!!!! :roll: I recommend you buy a map we bought one from the internet before we went so that we could look at the areas when looking at houses on realestate.com.au the other website they use is domain.com.au.

 

Our must haves were: pool or room for one, a garden, lawn area for our little girl and an outdoor entertaining area… (I know we want it all!!!!!) So I was looking for a house on a plot bigger than 800sqm. The other thing on our list was we had to be a maximum of 20 minutes drive to the CBD as Mike will probably be working in this area and a max 15 minutes drive to a nice beach. Before we went we were looking at the following areas: Golden Grove, Mawson Lakes, and suburbs to the west of Adelaide CBD Glenelg, Brighton, Hove and the costal areas and Flagstaff hills, Happy Valley and surrounding areas.

 

The first morning we arrived (Saturday) we got the Adelaide Advertiser and looked for all the open houses that weekend we looked at 5 houses on the Saturday and 6 on the Sunday you just turn up and look round with everyone else, it’s a great way to get use to the way they show houses and also an eye opener as the pictures on the web can be very deceiving!!! :shock: Also it’s a good, quick learning curve to ask about the process of buying and the etiquette used. We were told that there was only 70% of the normal number of houses available at this time of year (typical when I want to buy!!!)

 

We found a fabulous house in Golden Grove with a great pool. Golden Grove has a bus which also goes on tracks into the CBD and takes about 40 minutes, it has a big shopping centre with lots of clothes shops and also some smaller local shops, it has good schools, day nursery, swimming pools and a number of playgrounds and parks for the kids, I really like it but upon reflection it was too far from the good beaches which is on our must have list (due to the road layout). We found West Lakes a bit run down (good candidate for re generation which is happening in a lot of places so could be a property boom area) and were also concerned if it was in the flight path for aircraft noise. Mawsons Lake we discounted it was lovely very new again and good parks close to water and the CBD but the plots are generally really not big enough for a pool and by the time we looked at this area we decided we loved the beach and cafes around Brighton. So we decide to concentrate on the eastern suburbs and coastal region.

 

Glenelg was unfortunately a bit noisy from regular aircraft takeoffs and more of a tourist area (bit built up) but a nice place to go for a day trip or evening out. In fact we found that nearer (walking distance) to the beaches the houses were packed in a bit and didn’t really have the space we wanted in the gardens, This included Brighton which was our favourite place to go, less busy than Glenelg but has some great cafes (restaurant quality food and wines) lovely pier and beach and park nearby. Further down the coast towards Hallet Cove and surrounding areas it eases and these areas looked nice, we found Hallet Cove toward the end of our stay but this area through Seacliff and up to the bottom of Brighton, could have been a possibility. But we wanted to also be nearer to the CBD (I know how fussy are these people!!!).

 

Flagstaff Hills (established area) and Flagstaff Pines (very new area still building) Loved the areas bigger plots with a nice amount of open space for kids, smaller amount of local shops so you would probably have to drive to the main shopping centre for your weekly shop (about 5 minutes away) but this doesn’t bother me but we just couldn’t find the right house. It’s a nice area well established there are some hilly areas. It’s about a 10-15 minutes drive to Brighton beach.

 

We bought our house in Blackwood Park which is close to Flagstaff Hills and Craigburn Farm, it’s a lovely leafy suburb close enough to the CBD well established with local shops, schools close by and also some nice Day Nurseries, it is a little further to the beach but the main roads take you there in about 18 minutes (approx!!!) and close to the bigger shopping centre.

 

Well I have gone on for ages so I will sign off now but if anyone wants any more info just let me know. I hope I haven’t confused anyone any further or put you off any areas this is just my opinion for our lifestyle choice

Thanks

Kim

 

 

Hi Kim

 

I have just this minute joined and i would like to say what a fantastic thread !!! It is just the thing that i have been looking for , Someone who is there and able to guide people through, coming over. Me and my partner will be in Adelaide next year for good, we came last year to see what it was like and we just loved it. We lived in North Adelaide but never got the chance to see what Golden Grove was like and now looking at the internet we like the look of the houses there and they seem resonable for the prices. I would look to be working in the city but just wondering if this would be to far ? - But you have answered that question for me again .. !

 

If i could ask you one quick question - Is there job opportunities in Golden Grove ? Is it like a mini town ?

 

Thanks again for a fantastic thread !!!

 

Sush

[Damms]

Hi Everyone

So sorry I have not replied sooner, husband had a operation last week so have been a bit busy getting him sorted out, things are getting back to normal now so I am able to get my fix of Poms in Adelaide again!!!!

I see everyone has been busy so I have some reading to catch up on!!!!

Well to answer your questions::

Lisaanddaz I have sent you a PM with all the contact details on Good Luck he is quite a good guy and gets things sorted for you.

Ali at the time there wasn’t too much available lots of agents were saying there was a shortage of property but we did notice a few more around if you looked locally in agents windows and also the other site they use is Domain.com

Sush

Thanks for the feedback. Golden grove is really nice there are some areas and to the north of Adelaide there is a technology park with some reasonable size business there but it really depends what you are looking for and what industry you want…

Hope this helps guys and good luck;)

Thanks

Kimx