Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Apr 08, 2008 8:49 am We are currently tossing up whether to buy established or build.
Being a complete novice when looking at a block of land (Point Cook) what should we ask/do before putting in an offer? Is there anything we need to know? Very scared of the whole thing being so ignorant of what it all entails but I am very drawn to the idea of building Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 2Apr 08, 2008 9:36 am Hi and welcome,
I suggest you read some blogs of the fourum members. It will give you an idea of whats involved in the building process. Then decide which way you want to go. Paula Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 3Apr 08, 2008 12:28 pm Hi
Something a lot of people forget about when purchasing a block of land is the orientation. Check out the following site as it will give you a few pointers on what to look for. http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs13.htm Then keep on reading as the rest of the site has invaluable info to consider before you build. A bit of thought up front to something as simple as orientation of the block can make your new house so much more comfortable to live in, not to mention decreasing your power bills. cheers 'chelle We have a hand-over date...15/10...but I won't hold my breath! http://people-in-glass-houses.blogspot.com/ Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 4Apr 08, 2008 1:37 pm Hi,
Before you buy the land to build a house / established house, please check out: 1. If you want to buy land, go and look at some display and get some brochure. You would know how big is the land to build your ideal house. For the established house, check out the market price of the properties to compare with the house + land package. 3. Buy established - you don't need to worry about the construction progress. Some people find it too much work to keep track. Build - you can choose the style, colors, design .. to build your dream house. 4. Don't get the house near to the main road. Too noisy, not convenient.... Cheers Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 5Apr 08, 2008 5:57 pm Penny,
We have never bought an established house, and we've been together for 10 years! Anyway, back to your issue....my husband heard a "thing" on the radio a couple of weeks ago; one of those 'get a finance/property expert in the studio and ask him questions' type thing. This chap was saying that at the moment buying established housing was not a good idea, nor was renting. Prices going up, up, up, and many people pay far too much for what they get. However.... ....he went on to say how building a new home was the best idea right now with the cost of building materials not yet catching up with the cost of established housing, plus one only has to pay stamp duty on the land, thereby saving even more dosh (my word LOL). Fiona Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 7Apr 09, 2008 12:17 am The biggest thing IMO is the amount of fall on the block and the amount of fill. Get a block as flat as possible with as little fill as possible. Site costs are largely dictated by these things. You don't want to buy a nice looking block and then find that it needs screw piles or piers because it's built on 2M of fill. Get a soil test done as soon as you identify a block you're interested in. Site costs can range from 3k for a flat block with good foundations to 60k for a sloping block on rock or fill. It makes sense to pay maybe an extra 10-15k for a great flat block than buying a sloping block that needs big retaining walls. Keep in mind most builders only price foundations based on 300mm of fall and an 'M' class slab.
Another thing is blocks that are less than about 15.5M wide can be very difficult to find a house to fit - especially if it's single story. The wider the block the more choice you will have for house designs to fit on it. Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 8Apr 09, 2008 6:11 am Hi Penny,
we are building in Point Cook at the moment and currently live in the area. If you have any questions re. schools etc pm me and I'll try to help. The block sizes in Point Cook are mostly fairly small so do be careful about any easements on the property. We got caught with this, we were told by our sales rep that the house we wanted to put on our block would be fine but later done the track we ended up paying an extra $15 grand because the house had to have additional pier supports due to an easement at the back. Its a great area though, we really love living in Point Cook. With the new shopping centre opening in August there will be lots of additional benefits incl. library, gym, restaurants etc. Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 9Apr 09, 2008 8:58 am G'day Penny
We just sold in Point Cook ('round early Feb but were settling late so still watching the market) I would say it's probably a good time to buy there. I was recently speaking to the agent who sold our property and the market has cooled a little and the prices have adjusted slightly (maybe down $10k) since that sequence of rate rises early this year. I wouldn't call it a buyers market but properties are moving a bit slower. The advantage of buying in and area like Point Cook is that there are heaps of estates from seven years old to brand new ones so there is a lot of turnover in properties and plenty of choice - like any outer suburban area. Personally, I think the blocks are way expensive but then I haven't kept up to date with the growth of land prices. In 1999 we bought a 670 sq.m block in Point Cook for $67,500, I think you'd be pushing $150k - $200k for about 500 sq.m in some estates. Also a few estates are selling on a ballot system and that market is not for me. I think the suburb is great, plenty of facilities for a young families and starters. The new shopping centre will be good as it's based on a shopping strip concept rather than the air conditioned box model. Plenty of wetlands, parks, etc, etc. And 'chelle is spot on orientation is important. We have an east-west block with frontage facing west, living areas on the north side so we get lots of winter sun. Because the front and garage is to the west it protects the backyard and sideyard from the howling winter westerlies. Oh, and the reason we're moving....we wanted a bigger block and found a nice house on an 1100 sq.m block in a nearby suburb. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 10Apr 09, 2008 10:02 am Wow thanks so much everyone for all this advice.
We only want to build a smallish house (looking at the Alpha or the Stoneligh by Simonds at this stage) but would like some garden for the kids to play in. So looking at spending about 180k on a block seems I could maybe get about a 550sqm block for that. I am looking at blocks in established areas. I had never thought of the orientation of the land. Thanks for pointing that out. I am a bit shy about approaching the neighbours. Silly I know I suppose if they are going to be jerks I should know before I buy the land I have noticed a slight drop in prices to_do_list as you mentioned. We are looking at spending about 400k all up so with a 180k block plus a house that starts at 165k (adding 30-40 k for extras and upgrades) would this seem reasonable. So I should speak to the agent and organise a soil test first? Regarding the slope I am ideally looking for a flat block but who do I get to organise an assessment on the slope? Do the building companies do this? Have to lie down now my head is spinning!! Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 11Apr 09, 2008 11:39 am penny73 So I should speak to the agent and organise a soil test first? Regarding the slope I am ideally looking for a flat block but who do I get to organise an assessment on the slope? Do the building companies do this? Your builder will do a soil test as part of the build. For peace of mind you could get one done but the builder will still do one. I would confidently say that you will require a H-class slab because of the reactive clays in the west. So when you go to display homes for prices ask about the cost of a H-class slab...some of the standard prices are only for M-class...H-class generally adds $10k+. With regards to slope generally builders allow between 300 to 400 mm across the building area. The reason I highlight this is that our builder tried to sting us for extra site costs because there was a fall of 500 mm across the block, whereas where the house was sited there was only 250 mm. I won that argument. The other thing to check for is rock...this will cost extra to remove if necessary. I've noticed that in some of the newer estates in Point Cook they are excavating a lot of rock, which may be because they are digging sewers through some of the hilly southern areas (well as hilly as Point Cook gets ). Main sewers are pretty deep so that's were they may be coming from....the good news is they seem to be able to pull them out with a machine and not blast (which gets expensive). A tip...when we first looked at Point Cook we did a bit of a scout around on a Sunday when the estate construction crews weren't there and had a look at some of the bigger trenches gives you a generally idea of how rocky it is....deep rocks aren't a problem as you foundations won't be going that deep...shallow rocks (floaters) should be OK as they can be dug out. An allowance of $5k may be wise..that's what we did and ended up not needing it. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 12Apr 09, 2008 12:16 pm Penny,
You could approach your potential neighbours and ask them re their soil tests and site costs. This would kill two birds with one stone. Give you some useful information regarding the local terrain and give you an excuse to meet the neighbours! Paul Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 13Apr 09, 2008 12:24 pm enigma_brennan Penny, You could approach your potential neighbours and ask them re their soil tests and site costs. This would kill two birds with one stone. Give you some useful information regarding the local terrain and give you an excuse to meet the neighbours! Paul Good thinkin' 99....particularly if you buying a vacant block in a more established area. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 14Apr 09, 2008 12:37 pm Any builder in the area should be able to give you an estimate of what site costs are for Alamanda, Innisfail and Williams Landing.
Most builders also offer house and land packages which means that they place blocks on hold at different estates, site costs are quoted in the beginning before you sign anything and then fixed so you don't get any nasty surprises. Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 15Apr 09, 2008 12:40 pm rellie site costs are quoted in the beginning before you sign anything and then fixed so you don't get any nasty surprises. I've never looked into H&L's....but won't they charge for "unexpected" rock? Builders always seem to have magic pull out clauses. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 16Apr 09, 2008 12:51 pm to_do_list rellie site costs are quoted in the beginning before you sign anything and then fixed so you don't get any nasty surprises. I've never looked into H&L's....but won't they charge for "unexpected" rock? Builders always seem to have magic pull out clauses. If it's a H & L "package" and they find rock, it's the builders expense. Edited to add: that's how it is with PD anyway, I can't speak on behalf of other builders..... Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 17Apr 09, 2008 11:25 pm Hi Penny,
Welcome! We're currently building at Point Cook (just across the new commercial centre currently being built) and we really love the area. What we considered in buying the block is the location - near to all amenities - shops, schools, parks, free way, hospitals, etc. Also, the orientation and easement were very important to us. Our block has North-South orientation, so we have living areas to the back of the house. Re: the site costs, when we dealt with 3 builders, the site costs quoted to us range from $7K to $13K. Point Cook is a flat area, therefore site costs would be cheaper than in other areas. We bought our 667sqm block for $160+ 2 years ago.. and it's now selling (for that size) at $240K+. If you want $180K block, you would be looking at around 500sqm blocks. Good luck on your land hunting! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 18Apr 10, 2008 10:16 am We are doing a house/land package, not with PD, and the site costs are entirely fixed.
I think this is standard with packages. the builder usually builds several packages together and is familiar with the land type before they start, they also pay for the soil report (well, ours did) Re: Tips on buying a block of land help please 19Apr 15, 2008 4:59 pm Thank so much everyone I have to say my head is spinning with so much info. We are still trying to sell our house (auction in 4 weeks) once that is done we will look at land.
Looking at a Porter Davis house and land actually the design seems to suit a smaller block. VJ - You are right we are looking at 180-190k for a block can get one in Alamanda for that price it is about 550-580 depending. Title isnt until Feb/Mar next year unfortunately so we are checking a few blocks out on real estate.com.au that are in our price range. Am a bit worried about why people are selling them though perhaps that is just paranoid but I am in uncharted waters with this building stuff I was at Point Cook today going through Porter Davis and Henley homes. Also at the land offices. Feeling a bit swamped with info now. Not sure where to go to get feedback on builders etc. Think I need a drink Yeah I don't know why I came to a forum. Place is full of wierdos/pedos thought internet may help but I suppose I'll try my luck with someone in person. Cheers. I tried… 0 6385 Just be careful with building stability during construction, that is when the structure may be weakened, refer to your engineering drawings for stability methodology. 1 7197 |