B

burntbad

2 Reviews0 Questions0 Answers

Reviews

Point Cook

"Over-hyped western suburb"

Some residents are so embarrassed at having to live in the western suburbs that they have to refer to this place as a 'resort' or call it 'inner west', both descriptions are complete BS.

The reality is that this is just an over-hyped western suburb full of McMansions. There is near zero public transport, the drive to the CBD is a nightmare, it took me 3 hours to get home by car one night recently.

The body corp fees are way too high and keep going up. The 'resort' facilities are a joke. The gym is such a dump that the local real estate agents will not take perspective buyers there to inspect it.

While Melbourne's property prices have boomed in the last 5-10 years many SL properties have barely increased in value. The surrounding housing in the 'non-prestigous' areas of Point Cook have actually had a better ROI.

If you come here you will be trapped for life - you will never be able to get back into the 'real' Melbourne market.

Not great for

  • Very High Fees
  • Low Resale Values
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3030

There is a bus route out the front of Sanctuary Lakes, or it's a 5-10 min drive to the local train station (depending on traffic).

I used to live in Chadstone on the south east side of Melbourne prior to moving to Sanctuary Lakes and the closest train station was even further than here! Further, some days it would take me 3 hours to get to work or home from there also.

The reality is that driving in Melbourne during peak hour time is a nightmare wherever you live these days. Further, public transportation is constantly unreliable. Just because you had a bad day getting into work one day, don't take it out on the suburb. Imagine the poor guys driving into the City from Geelong.

During off-peak time (incl weekends), it takes me 20 minutes to drive into the CBD.

We drove around Hawthorn a few weekends ago and it took 30 minutes to drive about 100 metres at one point. You don't experience that sort of traffic out our way, during off-peak time.

Body corporate fees are reasonable considering you get 24x7 monitored security, a tennis court, a gym (might look a bit tired, but has beautiful view of lake), landscaped surrounds/incl golf course and so on.. I think you should compare the body corp fees to high-rise/low rise apartment blocks and other areas before you cast judgement.

The 'real' Melbourne market? Sanctuary Lakes is less than 20 kms to the CBD. Regarding house prices, we've seen them appreciate. I think it's fair to say though, that the area is still a great investment for the quality of home you can buy here in such a beautiful location.

burntbad

It takes 30 minutes to walk to the bus stop and if you just miss the bus don't worry - there'll be another one in one hour!

It is well known the Werribee line is the worst serviced rail line in Melbourne. You can't get a car park and the few train services are so full you might as well hang on to the outside of the train.

I have compared the body corp fees of the apartment blocks - they charge MUCH less for the basic admin fees. SL owners are being gouged. I don't pay high fees so that a bunch of tossers can play golf on their private course at my expense!

Why don't I move? - because I can't, I'm trapped here - I was stupid to buy here and now the Melbourne market has boomed and is out of reach. I'm stuck here. Other people should pay heed and not make the same mistake as me.

This site is about trying to sell your house so of course people try to make the place sound like paradise - it's all BS they just want out. I just wish I could go with them!

miremax
miremax

Having lived in S/L in 2004,renting, and now here again,since 2010, for just over a year....drive to work in Glen Iris, approximately 3hours plus a day on road..forget public transport unreliable,dirty, smelly ....adding even more time being on road,forget the facilites...best is the golf course open spaces whilst the petro chemical pollution isn't invading your nostrils especially at night just as you fall into deep sleep....add lake phosphors rising due to temp changes from the shallow lake as more pollutants invade you, it is so horribly sad to have lousy tap water- low pressure water, lack of clean fresh air and the golf course is heavily 'sedated' with chemicals so that all the bugs,insects including some real nasties invade your home...for good, you need a pressure hose to dislodge most of them from your walls...I guess it is a troubling scenario...and just now I heard a duck call...which made me realise how beautiful surroundings and serene the scenery really is when you care to forget for one moment all that man made crap that is limiting one's enjoyment of this place...as far as Real Estate... well some are nice enough homes...most are cheap builders blocks of concrete that inevitably crack and are sinking....due to the soil physics....something one should really invest in knowing before they buy... Real Estate here is supporting the golfing patrons...and they're decent enough not to disturb your peace and quiet....in summation renting is a far better option here, at least you can move ... and as for investment, well if you have tennants as good as us....you're on a high...too bad for some whose homes weren't exactly smelling like roses on inspections.For those of you who jumped from East to the West...all I got to say is "we moved backwards....and there's no turning back" as most of Melbourne is succumbing to low(er) class demographics....maybe I should take photos to better emphasise this fact....as it happens to confront me on a daily basis to and from work.

mcparks

Wow sinking homes?! I can see a lawsuit coming on now. Now that you mention it I have noticed a few homes below the ground level. I'll buy a boat in case my house sinks one day. And here I was thinking that the load bearing of the local clay soils was actually pretty good!
I don't know what petro chemical smell hangs around your house but you better get onto the EPA! Most industries have EPA licences where they are not allowed to discharge pollutants beyond the boundaries of their properties. So if you believe that a petro chemical smell is being emitted you better notify the EPA so that they can investigate. Are you sure one of your neighbours is not running a backyard lab?
It amazes me how some people chose to live hours away from their work and then constantly complain about the commute. Poor choices.
Hint for the water pressure: there is a little filter in your taps - change it - worked for us.
Sorry the what? phosphors? due to temperature changes? hmm... well they could probably do something about minimising the nutrients entering the lake.
So why did you move back to SL?
Another hint: if you are not happy in SL then MOVE.

burntbad

There is now a forum for Sanctuary Lakes at http://sanctuarylakes.prophpbb.com/

rapu54

Jesus, there are NO petrochemical smells here! I know I work at the Altona Petrochemical complex. The prevailing winds are southerly, hence the smell is seawed from the bay/campbells beach area.
My water pressure is too high from the mains, over the rating for the hot water heater! Maybe the tap at the meter is no fully open or the pipes have been restricted/squashed?
Yep if I worked in Glen Iris I don't think I would live here!?
There are no sinking homes, all over Melbourne the the dry weather (past 7 years) has caused subsidence. Most houses on the Islands are built on piles.

miremax
miremax

we live in S/L because it is closer to city than Geelong...we won't be here long enough to get blastoma ....as for commuting it is going to get worse as the sw development corridoor isn't going to get any new freeways and the westgate widening was a solution for yesterday... some of the above comments hardly rate as local nous....but then it wouldn't be amiss of me to state that melbourne's pollution is hardly evident given that most pollutants are let off after midnight when a million plus lungs take care of filtering it...as for EPA they are monitoring with the state of the art equipment...in an outhouse...and it's the Lakes decomposed weed smells not the Bay and minimising means adding more salt water to allow for the decomposed matter to rise to the top... by the way in Melbourne prevalent Summer easterlies and winter westerlies.

mcparks

Let me get this right - you work in Glen Iris, rent in SL because...its closer than Geelong and YOU are calling people buttheads?!
Well if THEY are letting off pollutants at night (to avoid detection by the EPA right?) then the westerlies or easterlies will take care of them by the morning so that your lungs do not have to do the filtering and you won't get blastoma.
Note the wind dominant wind direction in each month butthead:
http://www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_melbourne.html

3030

Houses sinking? Smells and pollutants? I've not seen or smelt any of this!!! I have smelt them in Altona though. The only smell I've encountered is from the bay and that's hardly unpleasant. Our house is 10 years old and rendered all over - there isn't one crack in it.
It might take you 30 minutes to walk to the bus-stop, but it takes me less than 10 minutes. Your distance to the bus-stop is dependent on where you chose to buy/build in Sanctuary Lakes. It is a very large estate.
If you work in Glen Iris, then you are mad to live in Sanctuary Lakes. Similar to a person who lives in Glen Iris and chooses to drive to Point Cook everyday. This is not a reason to take it out on the suburb.
I still believe the body corporate fees are reasonable for what we get, having said that though the owners will be taking over the body corporate management in the next couple of months from the developer, so the fees will be under more scrutiny then.
All I know, is that most people who have commented on Sanctuary Lakes have given it an excellent review as have and I hope that's what readers consider.

3030

miremax, if you are so unhappy with the suburb, why did you move back here? Obviously something's drawing you back and it has to be positive. You're a total contradiction to yourself.
I'm assuming its because you know you can get a very large home here for a cheap rental compared to what you would pay in Glen Iris or surrounding suburbs. Plus as a renter you enjoy all of the facilities, without having to pay any body corporate fees. Stop moaning.

Katharine
Katharine

haha this comment is just ridiculous, ratings given are not thought out and just randomly put. For example: Eating out - There are quit a few lovely restaurants around, some of the best are just 5 minutes drive down to the Point Cook Town Centre. You obviously have not done your research around here.

miremax
miremax

S/Lks ....quiet and clean....it stinks on most days in summer and is ok in winter.... has far too many substandard built homes....hardly worth looking at....as for amenities...I wouldn't ...golf links are great....pool and gym are dirty... rather use my own pool....because of work renting is a far better option as it is cheap enough...wouldn't live in the outlying areas of this side of the bridge....and as for transport and roadways....public transport is dirty and the hwy in peak hour is a grizzly slug .... the best place to be ....is certainly not in Melbourne !

Katharine
Katharine

Miremax, transport is the same wherever you go, traffic is the same too, so I don't think anyone that wants to live close to the city is going to find a place that doesn't really get peak hour traffic... its not going to go away. Unless you move to the rural areas.

Apart from peak hour traffic it is a 15-20 minute drive to the city, we often find that the actual drive to the city is quick and stress free and that the traffic jams are apparent once you are in the city because a short distance of a few km's will take you much longer then the 20km drive from Sanctuary Lakes or Point Cook.

Both Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes are lovely and relaxed communities full of professional couples and young families. The new Point Cook Town Center caters to all your retail and health needs.

Close proximity to the future Werribee South Marina and a stones throw from the new suburb Williams Landing which will provide endless dinning, entertainment, retail, fashion and recreational options and will incorporate a new train station which will be easily accessible to both point cook and Sanctuary Lakes residents.

Some of us who own properties here consider our selves very lucky that this amazing suburb is not yet discovered and consequently that the prices are not YET over inflated and unaffordable, saying that, an average size block of land in Point Cook (around 600sqm) cost around $95,000 ten years ago and now days you expect to pay anything between $300,000-$400,000 for a similar block in the same area. That's an increase of around 300% in land value. Cant think of better returns or a better suburb to invest or live then right here in Point Cook or Sanctuary Lakes.

P.S. and since you mentioned 'substandard build homes' I have done research and checked out many properties in some of the most popular and most expensive suburbs in Melbourne and most of them are only fit to be pulled down and the others are out dated with non functional floor plan, lack of parking space on very small blocks of land and in narrow streets.

rapu54

".but then it wouldn't be amiss of me to state that melbourne's pollution is hardly evident given that most pollutants are let off after midnight when a million plus lungs take care of filtering it...as for EPA they are monitoring with the state of the art equipment...in an outhouse"

Do not post such ignorant comments, I have worked in the Altona Petrochemical complex for more than 35 years in a Laboratory. NO pollutants are let of at night! If there are any odours in your home they are most likely source is from inside the house.

"has far too many substandard built homes"

In my opinion totally false. Inner city homes = rising damp, poor foundations, poor ventilation/sunlight, it goes on....

I was in Hawthorn the other week, the traffic was horrendous.

miremax
miremax

Melbourne has it's charms and most of it is along the Yarra and by the shores from Willies to St Kilda's pier and further east....west is an industrial wasteland....mordor....as no other in Australia.....
.....Melbourne is not a place to retire.....

.....as for petrolab rat rants....you have no choice but to live here....you'd be out of place anywhere that's considered healthy.

miremax
miremax

sadly its people like you that have allowed this part of Melbourne to be savaged by toxic industries....and its by product aftermath....health hazards and health issues that is screened by apathy and greed.

rapu54

Wow the only pollution around here is in your mind!
"Savaged by toxic industries" okay so what exactly has been "savaged"
Your the one ranting, give us some facts, instead of your emotive baseless dribble.

Be careful walking around St Kilda, that you do not step on a syringe.

Most photochemical pollution is caused by cars. The main health issued face by westernized society are smoking, drinking, drug taking (legal/illicit) food additives, insecticides, GM food and obesity!!!!. Not Qenos the Co. I work for! Which turn Ethane gas (naturally occurring) in to plastic (100% recyclable)

miremax
miremax

Katherine, I agree with most of what you're saying and I guess it all boils down to one's likes and dislikes..have lived in many other parts of Australia and overseas, not just here in Melbourne where I purposefully chose to live in the west, for all those reasons you have mentioned and more but I have realised that ....the invisible is the ultimate hazard often maligned by apathy and greed.

Being in Melbourne solely because of work makes me quite 'unemotional about this place'... I look at it as it is and not because I 'must be here'....I am observing the trends that have long before taken a toll on many other developments around the world...it is not a joy to impose my views on the domain of others...

greatgenes

Sanctuary Lakes isn't the only estate in Point Cook.... I live in Innisfail and love it! Much easier o get on to the freeway, prob closer to the new marina & the towncentre and no body corporate! When we were buying we felt SL was a rip off and having spoken to a few residents I am glad we didn't buy there... Everyone bagging PC, please give the rest of the suburb a go... We love it and you will too :)

The opinions expressed within this review are those of the individual and not those of Homely.com.au.
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River Walk Drive

"ZERO percent captial growth after seven years"

This development is a DUMP!
After seven years ZERO capital growth. Very high body corporate fees and they don't even maintain the common property properly - strewn with rubbish and weeds. There is an outdoor pool - all the kids from the surrounding suburb use it at the lot owners expense. It is gated - the gate never works - it is either open or visitors can not get in. The parking is terrible - people park anywhere and everywhere. Mostly rented property so the houses and yards are not maintained properly the place is unsightly. It is infested with tiger snakes - at least the snakes eat the mice.
Just go and look at it with your own eyes if you do not believe me - or purchase one of those property price reports for the street and calculate the numbers for yourself.
I recommend this place for people who are down-and-out as an alternative to living in a caravan park.

Great for

  • The houses are selling cheap

Not great for

  • Very high body corporate fees
  • Poorly maintained common property
  • Low resale value
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rapu54

Please don't generalize! Your comments DO NOT reflect on the whole of Sanctuary Lakes. Looks like you brought in the Signature compound, which is gated with double the standard Owner Corp (BC) rates, you new that when you brought there. So my advice to anyone reading this is to ignore these rantings.....

burntbad

You are correct. I was an idiot to buy a property in Signature Boulevard.

rapu54

If I was in your position, I would lobby all the owners there with a proposal to remove/leave the gates open. Also close the pool/gym or whatever is there, even better sell it, maybe it could be turned in to a residence? Then get your B/C cut in half. It would $100k to your property values overnight!
The B/C Owner Corp can be changed I witnessed it a GM a few years ago.
Personally I vote to get rid of the whole B/C, security the works, the place is no better maintained than the rest of Point Cook.

The opinions expressed within this review are those of the individual and not those of Homely.com.au.
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