If you’re a first home buyer, you’ve probably heard the same advice over and over again: never buy on a main road, never buy a one-bedroom, never buy off the plan.

These “rules” get passed down by parents, friends, forums, and social media—usually with good intentions, but almost never with proper explanation. And that’s where the trouble starts.

In Part One of this two-part series, Meighan and Veronica break down the most common “never do this” property rules and explain where they actually come from. They unpack what these rules are trying to protect you from, why they exist, and—most importantly—what happens when you follow them blindly. Because rules without context don’t create confidence. They create fear, hesitation, and second-guessing.

You’ll hear a practical, honest discussion on buying on main roads (and why not all roads are created equal), the real risks of one-bedroom apartments, why off-the-plan purchases can quietly lock buyers out of the market, and the truth about house and land packages in large developments. They also tackle buying with friends or family—and why this rule isn’t a “never”, but a “never without the right structure”.

This episode is designed to help you replace confusion with clarity. By the end, you’ll understand how to think critically about property advice, how to spot when a rule applies to you—and when it doesn’t—and why strategy always matters more than soundbites.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Introduction: Common Property Buying Rules

00:06 — Understanding the Rules and Their Origins

03:05 — Rule 1: Never Buy on a Main Road

05:02 — Rule 2: Never Buy a One-Bedroom Apartment

08:13 — Rule 3: Never Buy Off the Plan

10:50 — Rule 4: Never Buy a House and Land Package

13:19 — Rule 5: Never Buy with Someone Else

15:17 — Conclusion and Next Steps

Mentions

1. Episode 256: Mortgage Strategy for First Home Buyers

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HBA 268  the Rules of Buying Real Estate and When They Can Be Broken, part One.

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Veronica: ~All right, this is episode 2 68, the Rules of Buying Real Estate and When They Can Be Broken, part One. Um, aj this is our working heading, which we like the title. If you have a better one, then please let us know before you go and do all the, um, the work on it. We wanna see the titles suggestions before you do the work, so if you've got a better one,~

Meighan: ~we do like this one.~

Veronica: ~but we do like this one.~

Meighan: Never buy on a main road. Never buy one better. Never buy off the plan. If you're a first time buyer, you've heard these rules over and over, usually with zero explanation. The problem is following rules without understanding why they exist can actually push you into worse decisions.

Veronica: In part one of our two part series, we are breaking down the most common. Never do this property rules. Some that aren't that common too. I will say we explain where they came from, what they're trying to protect you from, and why blindly follow them creates fear instead of confidence. If you're feeling overwhelmed by advice that contradicts itself, this episode will help you make sense of it.

Meighan: ~Down, ~

Speaker 2: Our mission to cut through the Bs, keep it real, and make sure you are buying smarter, not stressing harder. Quick heads up. We've created the First Home Buyer course, our step-by-step program to help you buy your first place with confidence and without the costly mistakes. The links in the show notes, but stick with us first.

Speaker: You'll wanna hear this episode. I.

​

Meighan: Today we're talking about the, so. Called rules of buying real estate, the ones that get repeated over and over again as if they're universal truths. Most first time buyers hear these rules long before they understand how the buying process actually works. They're usually shared by parents, friends, they're on online forums, and while they're often well intentioned, they're rarely explained properly.

Meighan: The danger is that rules without context don't create confidence. They create fear and they, create hesitation.

Meighan: a little better informed.

Veronica: Yeah. What we understand, what we see to be deal breakers now, we see constantly with first home buyers who feel paralyzed by advice that contradicts itself.

Veronica: And there are contradictions of often when we're asked questions, we go, well, the answer is, it depends, right? ~Um, ~you know, one person might say, never buy an apartment. Another buyer says, never buy a house. Someone else says, never buy anything. I, unless it's brand new. And when buyers try to follow every rule, they end up second guessing every decision.

Veronica: Instead feeling empowered. They feel overwhelmed. So that's where we come into it. 'cause we know what we're talking about.

Meighan: Absolutely. And in this episode we, I'm packing the most common, never do this rules and giving you our rules not to encourage you to break them. Right? So we're not saying that you should. Take the rule and break it, but to help you understand why they exist in the first place and why they're important to us in our buyer's agency business, and how we coach and mentor first time buyers.

Veronica: ~Mm-hmm. ~Okay. Rule number one, never buy on a main road. Right. And you know, this is one of my big ones, right? This rule. usually comes from concerns around noise, traffic, safety, resale appeal,~ um,~ and they are all absolutely a hundred percent valid consideration. It's a busy main road, can absolutely impact lifestyle and bio demand.

Veronica: Especially for FA families, the mistake buyers make is assuming that all main roads present the same level of risk. So I guess it's what is a main road, right? There's a significant difference between a high traffic arterial road and a quiet commuter road with good infrastructure. Well, I would say a local rat run.

Veronica: So we do buy on local rat runs. ~Um, ~typically they don't have buses going up and down them, and typically at night there's very little traffic,~ um,~ but definitely would not buy on a highway.

Meighan: Down how the market treats different locations. As you said, you know, a rat run. If you really understand that from a local perspective, you might find that, you know, there are some rat runs in Brisbane that are prestige streets because they have views or they have certain amenities that are really,~ um,~ quite uncommon.

Meighan: So then there's a compromise on a property. Quality or overpay somewhere else to avoid a road name. ~Um, ~Um, sometimes roads sound busier than they are. If you don't have local knowledge, you may actually misinterpret how busy a road actually is. So the real question isn't easy on a main road. It's who's the future buyer?

Veronica: Yeah, absolutely. Now, the second rule, never buy a one bedroom apartment, and this is a pretty strict rule in most cases. Let's talk a bit more about this.

Meighan: Absolutely this rule exists because one bedroom apartments typically have a smaller buyer pool and stricter lending conditions. They also offer a lot less. Flexibility if your lifestyle changes over time, which Veronica, you have shared your story of your first property over and over again.

Meighan: Go back. Check it out guys. There's great lessons in there from Veronica. You know, it's, quite common for first time buyers to have their life changed pretty rapidly actually. And you've gotta be really careful about that. ~Um, ~Um, you know, future needs often look very different to your present ones.

Meighan: And space becomes important. March faster than people expect.

Veronica: It won't get them where they wanna be. 'cause you'll grow up really fast, as Megan said. And your resale pool is diminished. Right. And the, the capital growth on one bedroom apartments typically is less than for other. You know, classes of property. so financial pressure. Some people will be going, oh, but you know, that's my only way into the market, or I can get in quicker if I buy a one bedroom.

Veronica: These are bad reasons to buy a one bedroom apartment because they can lock you in at that level,~ um,~ forever if you're not careful. Right. So that is, that is scary. But I tell you what, you know, we've had a number of our students and even people in the Facebook page. Who are older first home buyers, and when I say older, older, single first home buyers

Meighan: Maybe the children have left home.

Veronica: oh yeah, or maybe they never had kids or, or whatever.

Veronica: They're one and only. And if they can buy in an area where they've got established networks, they're not gonna have a need for another bedroom or more space, then in some cases a one bedroom. It can be Really good option because that then keeps their financial, they're not stretching and pushing themselves out into having a 30 year land loan at the age of 50.

Veronica: ~Um, ~you know, under those circumstances it makes a lot of sense to look at one bedrooms. but that's a very, very small segment of the first home buyer market.

Meighan: Hmm. I think one of the things that you said, and I, I believe it was when we interviewed Stuart Whim. And he talked about, you know, what he wished he knew back then that he knows now one of our favorite questions of our guests. And he talked about,~ um,~ he wished he'd pushed himself a little bit harder because it, felt safe to go small.

Veronica: Yeah, absolutely. And that's where, that's where that rule comes from.

Meighan: Yeah. Now rule number three, Veronica is never buy off the plan.

Veronica: In most cases, we are really steadfast on this rule off the plan. Properties are often marketed as, say, simple, particularly the first home buyers. You know, they've got very glossy brochures. ~Um, ~they put all sorts of numbers about growth. growing areas and all the rest of it. They tell you things like you only have to put down a tiny amount of money now to hold it.

Veronica: ~Um, ~and then you get to save the rest of your deposit over the next two to four years or whatever,~ uh,~ that it takes to build it. You know, everything just feels so logical and organized and you get something squeaky clean and brand new. But what's rarely. Blamed properly is just how many variables exist between signing a contract and settling years later.

Meighan: The challenges that the, the risks actually don't appear immediately, which makes them really easy to dismiss. You know, you can sort of gloss over them and say, oh, that's tomorrow's problem. Buyers commit based on today's circumstances without understanding how exposed they are to change personal change,~ uh,~ economic change, build a developer, change the rule.

Veronica: Yeah, you could get locked outta the market in total. And then there's the flip side can happen when a falling market where you are forced to settle on a property is actually worth less than you've paid for it. And there's countless examples of that happening over the last couple of decades. So the risks of you losing money are extraordinary.

Veronica: and as Megan said, what a lot of first home buyers don't realize is where those risks, risks are. and how easy it is to get caught out by them. And that's why we're super, super, super,~ um,~ cautious about talking to first home buyers about,~ uh,~ off the plan packages.

Meighan: But what's missing from the conversation is how value is actually created over time. You know, in many of these bigger states, we're talking about bigger states. We're not talking about,~ um,~ um, a house and land package in an infill area. So an established infill area we're talking about in the. Big greenfield developments where there's lots and lots of the same.

Meighan: ~Um, ~in many states, there's limited scarcity or pretty much more of the same, basically with a large supply of similar properties competing with each other. So when you go to sell, there's a whole lot of other properties that are the same age with similar layouts?

Veronica: newer in the next subdivision next to you.

Meighan: Yes. Right next to the newer ones.

Veronica: You know that lack of scarcity absolutely. caps growth and makes resell more difficult than buyers expect. And also because with those incentives that,~ um,~ Megan mentioned earlier, incentives,~ um,~ apply to both first home buyers and investors. They don't apply when the property is not brand new anymore.

Veronica: There can be some traps in there with, with contracts. ~Um, um. ~The exception, as Megan said, can be infill projects and those infill projects are built into more,~ uh,~ densely populated areas where there is surrounded by existing stock, not more of the same type of stock.

Veronica: Exceptions not the rule. Most people, when they're buying a house and land packages are buying on the outer edges of our cities

Veronica: And then when you look at an aerial map and you just go, yep, there you suburb. Could go there, there, there, there, there, all the way around.

Veronica: You gotta be really, really super careful of that.

Meighan: you do. Now, rule number five, never buy with someone else.

Veronica: Now this is not a rule. We hear that often, really, to be honest. But

Meighan: broke that rule. Just letting you know.

Veronica: I haven't,~ uh, um,~ well actually, other than a partner, what we say here is that this is a rule that needs a comma in it. It's our rule. Remember we said these are our rules. This is never by with someone else, unless you get legal advice and put together.

Veronica: And this is where things start to unravel.

Meighan: Yeah, and buying with someone else it's not straightforward. It is actually inherently risky. What creates problems is doing it without legal advice, doing it without written agreements, and doing it without having talked through clear exit strategies. As you say, things change. Circumstances change, relationships change, finance, change.

Meighan: You know, without structure and without a a what if kind of scenario. Those changes can come become incredibly stressful. And if you can have these conversations and arrive at what if scenarios before there's an emotional element to it, then you, you can go clearly through the process when that change happens.

Veronica: That's it. That's just the extra layer of planning that is required if you're gonna do that. So that's, don't do it unless,~ uh,~ uh, right. So this is, brings us to the end of our first five rules.

Meighan: Out of our top 10 rules. You know, every rule we've discussed today exists for a reason, but none of them work without understanding the context. And that's what we really want you to understand is why are these. Things important. Now. Rules don't replace strategy. They're actually meant to support it.

Veronica: And so it's having those sort of guardrails to, to help you make really good decisions. And that's really what we stand for.

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Speaker 4: Thanks for joining us. If you've enjoyed this podcast, we encourage you to join our Facebook group. It's called Your First Home Buyer Guide Australia, and it's your opportunity to connect with us and ask us your questions, which we will answer, meaning you can make sure that you are not getting led down the garden path.

Speaker 4: We hope to see you there soon.