Hi everybody, I am new to this forum and I would be grateful for your views here.
I am looking at purchasing a car park in Wellington CBD. It is a freehold title 'outdoors' parking space within the cuba/dixon/ghuznee/taranaki quadrant - near the Robert Hannah complex. It is currently rented out at $38 per week, and the asking price is somewhere around $32K. There is a body corp levy of around $400 per year that covers cleaning/insurance etc. It's an attractive option for me as I own two apartments in that quadrant - I am overseas at the moment and the apartments are tenanted - but when I come back it would be handy to have the option of using the park or continuing to rent it out. Plus it seems like a good place to park some funds (if you excuse the pun).
I have some specific questions if anyone wishes to add their two cents' worth.
1. Conveyancing. I have been quoted around $1000 - which is pretty standard I think for residential conveyancing, but does seem pretty steep for a car park given that it's a fraction of the value. Of course, the amount of work the lawyers would do is fairly similar regardless of the value, but can anyone recommend a conveyancer that might be prepared to quote a fee that *better reflects the value of the purchase*?
2. Council rates. Are rates typically payable on car parks? I expect the answer is 'yes', but have had no luck getting an answer from the WCC so far - presumably because their contact centre has been affected by the earthquake.
3. Financing. I am looking at financing part of the purchase (at least temporarily), given the very low interest rates for the time being. My current borrowing for the other properties is with ANZ and ASB. Does anyone have experience borrowing on a car park? Are there any material differences to borrowing on a residential property?
4. Rental income. Does $38 per week sound reasonable? It's been a couple of years since I lived in Wellington but my first impression was that a car park in the CBD, even an uncovered one, could fetch more.
Thanks in advance to anyone that contributes!
I am looking at purchasing a car park in Wellington CBD. It is a freehold title 'outdoors' parking space within the cuba/dixon/ghuznee/taranaki quadrant - near the Robert Hannah complex. It is currently rented out at $38 per week, and the asking price is somewhere around $32K. There is a body corp levy of around $400 per year that covers cleaning/insurance etc. It's an attractive option for me as I own two apartments in that quadrant - I am overseas at the moment and the apartments are tenanted - but when I come back it would be handy to have the option of using the park or continuing to rent it out. Plus it seems like a good place to park some funds (if you excuse the pun).
I have some specific questions if anyone wishes to add their two cents' worth.
1. Conveyancing. I have been quoted around $1000 - which is pretty standard I think for residential conveyancing, but does seem pretty steep for a car park given that it's a fraction of the value. Of course, the amount of work the lawyers would do is fairly similar regardless of the value, but can anyone recommend a conveyancer that might be prepared to quote a fee that *better reflects the value of the purchase*?
2. Council rates. Are rates typically payable on car parks? I expect the answer is 'yes', but have had no luck getting an answer from the WCC so far - presumably because their contact centre has been affected by the earthquake.
3. Financing. I am looking at financing part of the purchase (at least temporarily), given the very low interest rates for the time being. My current borrowing for the other properties is with ANZ and ASB. Does anyone have experience borrowing on a car park? Are there any material differences to borrowing on a residential property?
4. Rental income. Does $38 per week sound reasonable? It's been a couple of years since I lived in Wellington but my first impression was that a car park in the CBD, even an uncovered one, could fetch more.
Thanks in advance to anyone that contributes!
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