Hi all,
We are thinking of buying a block of land in the highton region in Geelong.We have identified a few blocks which suit our budget.We are looking for small blocks in the range 500-650sq.m and planning to build a small house around 22-23sqm (3bed). Considering that most blocks in the highton region are on sloping blocks I am just wondering what site costs should we expect.Some of the blocks are with a very small to moderate fall. I have budgeted around 50k for the site costs and another 220k for the house.We will be doing the landscaping and alfresco later so the house price will not include these.Do you think it is possible to build a house in that range?
Anyone who has recently built or is building on a sloping block can they share their rough site costs expenses.
We are planning to meet a 2-3 builders over the weekend and try to find out construction costs before buying the land.We want to be sure that we can afford to build a house.
Site costs for sloping block
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Hi,
As an ex Builder, it's good to see you're being realistic with the site costs.
$50K is a decent budget, but it obviously depends on the amount of slope, does it slope front to back/back to front, crossfall?
It also depends on whether you are going to cut & fill or house on stumps, or a combination.
With the smaller blocks, you can lose a lot of room on the sides with retaining walls etc and communicating with neighbours is important.
What have others done on neighbouring blocks as an idea.
As for the house, it sounds low but , only one way to find out, get some quotes.
Regards,
Richard
PS When we were doing house and land packages, we would count the site costs with the block price, so we could compare apples for apples, some sloping blocks may look cheap but get you in the end, unless they have nice views or something like that.
As an ex Builder, it's good to see you're being realistic with the site costs.
$50K is a decent budget, but it obviously depends on the amount of slope, does it slope front to back/back to front, crossfall?
It also depends on whether you are going to cut & fill or house on stumps, or a combination.
With the smaller blocks, you can lose a lot of room on the sides with retaining walls etc and communicating with neighbours is important.
What have others done on neighbouring blocks as an idea.
As for the house, it sounds low but , only one way to find out, get some quotes.
Regards,
Richard
PS When we were doing house and land packages, we would count the site costs with the block price, so we could compare apples for apples, some sloping blocks may look cheap but get you in the end, unless they have nice views or something like that.
Hi,
As an ex Builder, it's good to see you're being realistic with the site costs.
$50K is a decent budget, but it obviously depends on the amount of slope, does it slope front to back/back to front, crossfall?
It also depends on whether you are going to cut & fill or house on stumps, or a combination.
With the smaller blocks, you can lose a lot of room on the sides with retaining walls etc and communicating with neighbours is important.
What have others done on neighbouring blocks as an idea.
As for the house, it sounds low but , only one way to find out, get some quotes.
Regards,
Richard
PS When we were doing house and land packages, we would count the site costs with the block price, so we could compare apples for apples, some sloping blocks may look cheap but get you in the end, unless they have nice views or something like that.
As an ex Builder, it's good to see you're being realistic with the site costs.
$50K is a decent budget, but it obviously depends on the amount of slope, does it slope front to back/back to front, crossfall?
It also depends on whether you are going to cut & fill or house on stumps, or a combination.
With the smaller blocks, you can lose a lot of room on the sides with retaining walls etc and communicating with neighbours is important.
What have others done on neighbouring blocks as an idea.
As for the house, it sounds low but , only one way to find out, get some quotes.
Regards,
Richard
PS When we were doing house and land packages, we would count the site costs with the block price, so we could compare apples for apples, some sloping blocks may look cheap but get you in the end, unless they have nice views or something like that.
Thanks Richard for the reply.Of the few blocks which we have seen one is with a moderate fall sloping upwards from roadside to the backside.The other os sloping down from front to back.I will try to add images of the block
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Thanks Richard for the reply.Of the few blocks which we have seen one is with a moderate fall sloping upwards from roadside to the backside.The other os sloping down from front to back.I will try to add images of the block
These are the images of the blocks.Hopefully you can see the fall
http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/mpp2768/media/main_zpsc497dce9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/mpp2768/media/image2_zps5e8a6498.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
Hi,
As an ex Builder, it's good to see you're being realistic with the site costs.
$50K is a decent budget, but it obviously depends on the amount of slope, does it slope front to back/back to front, crossfall?
It also depends on whether you are going to cut & fill or house on stumps, or a combination.
With the smaller blocks, you can lose a lot of room on the sides with retaining walls etc and communicating with neighbours is important.
What have others done on neighbouring blocks as an idea.
As for the house, it sounds low but , only one way to find out, get some quotes.
Regards,
Richard
PS When we were doing house and land packages, we would count the site costs with the block price, so we could compare apples for apples, some sloping blocks may look cheap but get you in the end, unless they have nice views or something like that.
As an ex Builder, it's good to see you're being realistic with the site costs.
$50K is a decent budget, but it obviously depends on the amount of slope, does it slope front to back/back to front, crossfall?
It also depends on whether you are going to cut & fill or house on stumps, or a combination.
With the smaller blocks, you can lose a lot of room on the sides with retaining walls etc and communicating with neighbours is important.
What have others done on neighbouring blocks as an idea.
As for the house, it sounds low but , only one way to find out, get some quotes.
Regards,
Richard
PS When we were doing house and land packages, we would count the site costs with the block price, so we could compare apples for apples, some sloping blocks may look cheap but get you in the end, unless they have nice views or something like that.
Thanks Richard for the reply.Of the few blocks which we have seen one is with a moderate fall sloping upwards from roadside to the backside.The other os sloping down from front to back.I will try to add images of the block
These are the images of the blocks.Hopefully you can see the fall
http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/mpp2768/media/main_zpsc497dce9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/mpp2768/media/image2_zps5e8a6498.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
I looked in Highton too, end up buying in Torquay.
What turned me off Highton was the weird sloping blocks and the site costs associated with them. I have seen some of the homes build with massive cut/fill and retaining wall systems which would cost a fortune. To make this blocks cost effective you need to work with the block, maybe a split level design.
Currently getting my design priced, i have a rise of 2000mm front to back over 32m and they're trying to tell me it will be better and cheaper on site costs if we split level the build, which would mean having a couple of steps in the build.
See if the agent has a soil test for the block, this could uncover rock, clay, fill, who knows!
All the best
What turned me off Highton was the weird sloping blocks and the site costs associated with them. I have seen some of the homes build with massive cut/fill and retaining wall systems which would cost a fortune. To make this blocks cost effective you need to work with the block, maybe a split level design.
Currently getting my design priced, i have a rise of 2000mm front to back over 32m and they're trying to tell me it will be better and cheaper on site costs if we split level the build, which would mean having a couple of steps in the build.
See if the agent has a soil test for the block, this could uncover rock, clay, fill, who knows!
All the best
Related
11/09/2023
3
Give Jonathan a call. Tell him you know me. He is in my opinion the best surveyor I have ever worked with. His number is 0425 285 622 All the best Simeon
22/11/2023
3
i did click it, still couldnt make it out rofl. in any case, doesnt look like too extreme a slope, you may be in luck. Just shoot out some emails to volume builders in…