Hi my names Ness, I am currently living with my parents in Perth.
We are looking to buy an established house on a front block in Morley WA, and build me a 3x2 at the back with my parents living in the front house, and me having one built from scratch.
We are total Newbies at this game. so any advice about ANYTHING whatsoever would be appreciated. Looking forward to chatting on here, seems like a great site , Ness : )
Congrats on deciding to build, and welcome to the site
There are different things that are taken into account when choosing an established block compared to a new block - make sure you look at things like whether retaining would be required (it almost always is on older blocks in Perth, but the bigger the height difference compared to your neighbours, the more expense the retaining will be); is there anything existing on the rear of the block that needs removing/demolishing like pool/bore/sewer/enormous trees etc which will require properly removing and soil compacting; where does the existing sewer run go (if it will be under the new house, it is a good idea to have it redirected before construction).
Other things that you will have with any established block: you'll have to swap the front home onto underground power when the new home is put on it; you will need to pay Water Corp headworks fees with construction of the new home because you are adding to the services required; and you also have to decide whether you will do a survey strata or build strata on the block (survey strata means the blocks are officially divided on paperwork prior to construction finishing, build strata is if you want to go through that aspect after construction is complete, most people in your situation tend to choose build strata unless you need it divided earlier for finance purposes).
You will also need to assess how much space is at the rear of the block and whether that would give you enough site coverage for the size house you want to build, as well as whether you have the sufficient access down the side of the block for a driveway to the rear.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great process if you bear these things in mind, and can often work out much cheaper than buying a brand new block plus you get the location you want rather than a new block in the sticks. As you haven't been through the process before, it would probably be worth you speaking to a builder that specialises in unit developments, there are quite a few in Perth. They will be able to give you an idea of the process and things to look out for, before you commit to buying a particular block
Thank you CA135 Heaps of info in your reply, I think Im going to start a paper file and jot everything down, step by step, it does seem a huge undertaking, but worth it : )
This will probably be brain overload for you initially but just work through it bit by bit -
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=5823&start=383I bookmarked it not long after I found this site when we started looking into building ourselves.
Thank you so much Zaxon, you have been such a big help to me, it is soooo daunting when you are starting out : ) That is an absolutely brilliant link, thank you so much : )