Browse Forums Real Estate 1 Jul 02, 2010 11:29 pm Hello Everyone, My question is about buying land in rural Victoria. I'm finding it quite difficult to find information on getting a loan for land, so this is the background story. My partner and I are interested in a 5 acre plot of land in country Vic for around $80,000. We rent in Melbourne and own no property and have no debts. We are interested in buying it and working to pay off the majority before putting a house on it. The land is zoned township. So my question are: 1) What kind of loan should we be researching? Would it be a normal home loan? 2) What kind of deposit do you need? 3) If you buy the land, how can you be sure that you would be granted permission to build or put a house on the land? (Or is that the big risk in buying vacant land?) 4) Do you pay stamp duty on land or a land tax? 5) Does the zoning affect the likely hood of getting a loan? Sorry, so many questions!!! If anyone has any answers - that would be so appreciated. Gemma Re: Buying Land in Victoria 2Jul 03, 2010 12:28 am I'm not expert but... 1) If you need to borrow for the build as well as for the land, you'll need to check out building loans. They really only seem to differ in that they allow for the 5 stage payments to the builder instead of it all being one big lump sum like with a usual loan. For just the land, it's like any real estate loan I think, but many will not give you a building loan if a different lender holds a mortgage over the land, so you need to plan on getting them from the same lender or refinancing what's left of the land loan when you take out the building loan. 2) Deposit depends on the lenders policy. Depends on the loan-value-ratio, how much you want to borrow, their minimum loan size, any guarantor, etc. 3) If the land doesn't already have all permits required to build a new house on it, you'll need to get them and yeah - unless it's in something like a new estate, there would always be a question mark. My cousin and her husband bought a hundred acres of so out west and there was no initial planning permits and they spent several years going back and forth with the council before they got approval to build. So check with the local government about what is involved and check the section 32 statement for any permits already granted. 4) No idea. Check http://www.vic.gov.au/property-planning ... d-tax.html 5) Depends on the lender. In summary, check the section 32 statement and talk to i) local government to see what they say about the process and ii) a lender or three. Status: sold our first house, moved in with parents, bought our second in Pakenham, still planning to build in a few years time. Re: Buying Land in Victoria 3Jul 03, 2010 12:36 am Hi gemma, I'll try to answer your questions with the numbers 1. Yes, you will need just a normal loan. 2. Most banks require a deposit of around 20% if you don't want to have to pay mortgage insurance. But each lender is different. 3. The zoning & covenants on the land usually dictate whether you can build (and what you can build). Those things should be included in your contract to purchase which you should go through with a conveyancer to make sure you understand what it all means. 4. Yes you will have to pay stamp duty as well as registration fees. A conveyancer or your lender can tell you how much the "extras" will cost. 5. Zoning may effect what the land is valued at and therefore whether the bank will give you a loan (ie: do they think it's a good investment) but that's probably the only effect it will have. Hope that helps. Good luck with it all! Re: Buying Land in Victoria 4Jul 28, 2010 9:51 pm I have 10k in the bank. Does that mean a bank will lend me the rest to buy a 50k bit of land with no property on it? Do they not require it to be your main dwelling or to be somewhere you recieve a rental income from? advice appretiated. cheers Re: Buying Land in Victoria 5Jul 29, 2010 12:05 am Hi rory, I'm assuming you want to purchase a block of land with no house on it? If so yes, provided you meet certain criteria that the lender sets (income, credit rating etc) you should be able to purchase the land. You don't need to live there or earn income from it to get a loan, the bank will just need to assure themselves that its a good investment (ie that it is worth at least what they are lending you to buy it) Just remember that you'll have to pay stamp duty, transfer fees & bank fees on top of the $50,000 price tag. Good luck! Re: Buying Land in Victoria 6Jul 29, 2010 12:14 am Please don't make the mistake of thinking you will "likely" get permission to build on land zoned township. I would hazard a guess that if it is 5 acres and zoned township that there is not actually much of a township there, and that there definitely wouldn't be any sewerage available. One of your biggest hurdles with being able to build on such "small" plots of land is being able to adequately dispose of any septic wastes. Definitely check with the council to see if that is an issue for that particular block of land. Re: Buying Land in Victoria 7Aug 01, 2010 9:21 am dilla Please don't make the mistake of thinking you will "likely" get permission to build on land zoned township. I would hazard a guess that if it is 5 acres and zoned township that there is not actually much of a township there, and that there definitely wouldn't be any sewerage available. One of your biggest hurdles with being able to build on such "small" plots of land is being able to adequately dispose of any septic wastes. Definitely check with the council to see if that is an issue for that particular block of land. I agree with Dilla You must go to the local shire council to see if you can actually build on those few arcres...rural councils have tightened up zonning regulations as valuable farms are being carved up for the 'holiday/hobby farms' that producers nothing for our future. We had a 110 acres and just managed to scrap in another home on the property but had to sign papers that it couldnt be sold on a seperate title. As yours is zoned township you should be OK but still always check Mrs B 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 4063 Hi folks, Victoria resident here. I've submitted my owner builder application to the VBA. I thought I'd share my experience so far. I submitted my application… 0 6173 |