Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 08, 2009 2:53 pm Hey all, This is a great site, I hope you are all having fun. Hey.. i needed an opinion or more I am in my final stages in making an offer on a land to build. But you see, the land has just been approved to be subdividable. It is 655m2 in Maddington WA, I like the location, but I know I am paying a premium because of the potential subdivision. This potential can be to our benefit, if things become tight with finance one day, we could just subdivide and sell one half. At times, My Mrs and I think about our dream home, number of kids etc.. . Having a big land like this will help us build a big house. But you can't have both the subdivision potential and the big house. Here is the questions: 1- Site works --> vendor claims the block does not need any site work, as they have shown me documents to say they have sewrage/water connections to the block, 350mm of sand is already in place, 33 m of fencing on one side is already in place, sub-soil drainage also catered for. I spoke to a builder who claims all land especially in maddington will need at least 20k worth of site work, regardless of what condition it is !!! it seems too general. Is there an independent body I can commission to do a survey on the block, because then if more work is needed, It will not be worth my while to cop anothe $20k. What are your experiences. 2- should we build on only one half of the block, ie maximum building size of 190m2, (or maybe a double storey that will give us about 300m2 of total living space on the one half) and spare the other half till later.. ? what would you do? 3- Any experiences with large houses costing 200k absolute max. I am new to all this, so any advise/directions will be great... Hope to hear from you soon. thanks a mil Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 2Aug 10, 2009 11:28 pm I don't think you are paying a premium because the block is subdividable. Any block over 600m2 can be subdivided in adelaide, it's not special. 300m2 is way too small to have a large house, and the back yard would be tiny, and probably no double garage. From my experience i dont think you can get a nice large house for $200,000 max unless you are not counting the extras. My 230m2 house was $200,000, then I have to add aircon, paving, landscaping, fences, tiling, carpets, curtains which is approx $50,000, and $10,000 for a 2pak/stone kitchen. Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 3Aug 10, 2009 11:46 pm ok, I think buildingwithhamra is pretty right. I def think you need to decide if you are going to subdivide or not prior to doing anything (eg. plans) because it's just not going to work well as an after thought. Decide if you want it to be your home, or a dual occ right from the get go, it may also assist you with stamp duties too. The only thing I'm not sure about is if you can subdivide it. In Vic (so I'm not sure about down your way) you can subdivide even under 600m2, but it has to have certain open air requirements filled, so that means smaller house usually. Also, if the certificate of title has a covenant on it, which many new home subdivisions do (to avoid builders mass developing - AND to maintain the integrity of the estate!!!) then you would also find yourself in a pickle. You must get a lawyer to look over the title first. Then discuss your ideas with a local real estate person who can advise on true viability of single home or 2 units. A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 4Aug 11, 2009 5:34 pm if there's an existing house on the land, you can just grab it and make the decision later, as the house can be rented out and start generating income. But since it's land only, you surely have to make up your mind before the purchase. There's no right and wrong answer, all depending on your financial situation and plan. If budget is not an issue, I would build a duplex with a door in the middle. When situation changed, that door can be easily sealed. And you can even rent the other half out to ease the financial burden if required. Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 5Aug 12, 2009 1:36 pm Hey everone .. thank you for your replies. True, there is no right or wrong answer. But in WA not every block over 600m2 is subdividable, not yet any ways. for example, I have a house on the same street as this block, my house(30 yrs old) is 680m2, but it is not subdividable. Council reviews potential rezoning depending on population growth etc.. 300m2 is a small block of land, but I had forgotten to mention that next to this block there is a large block which is most likely to be built as a complex of units, I think I heard it was going to have 12 units or so. I thnk the idea of buildin a duplex with an access in between is a great idea. thanks "buidling our first house" , I need to investigate it to see what size houses can be fit there. I will let you guys know what I have come up with. Regards Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 6Aug 12, 2009 3:40 pm ibb09 if you already have that type of zoning nearby then chances are in a few years your own block may be rezoned to similar. I know up here in the northern suburbs in my area and nearby areas they first rezoned to 400m2 per dwelling but rezoned again to 250m2 per dwelling so the zonings change from time to time. This all coincided with deep sewerage access to the areas, you dont have to be hooked up but the sewerage line needs to be running through the property, do you have deep sewerage yet? the thing is, land is not going to be in less demand, the demand will keep growing and councils will rezone depending on that demand too. Do you know the definitive boundaries for different zoning in your area? you can get this information through your council and since your block is larger than the one you are looking at it will have more value if the zoning changes.
ps. I would also say that if you plan on building your dream house and having kids then these small blocks really dont work. The majority of people buying these houses on small blocks in my area are older with no kids at home, and the younger couples Ive noticed usually move out soon after starting a family. It takes money to develop these blocks and developers are more interested in larger blocks for development so once you put a house at the front it will lose it's appeal to them so unless you can develop it yourself then it may not work out that profitable. This is just my opinion, though, if it were me I would sit tight and either rebuild on your existing block or sell up if it gets rezoned and make a nice return. again, just my opinion based on what has happened with land values up this way, some of my neighbours did very nicely with rezoning and sold up to developers grinning all the way to the bank Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 7Aug 12, 2009 3:52 pm Hi ibb My friend has a property that they built at the front of their block and they have put up a back fence on the first block's boundary. They've left vacant land to cater for a driveway and second house when they are ready to develop it. They live in it quite comfortably but it is not big by any means We are looking to build a cottage lot home at the moment in Perth and there are plenty around the $150-160k mark (3x2) hope that helps! ~*~Moved in on the 16th April 2011~*~ Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 8Sep 06, 2009 7:55 pm Hi again every one. thanks for your ideas. We have gone ahead and bought the block. We have decided to build two houses on it, one right now and the other when subdivision goes ahead in 6-8 months. We are talking to a few builders. It seems possible to build a 4x2 on 350m2 and 3x on 305m2. They will both be rental porerties. till next time. Thanks all. Ibb09 Re: Your oponions pls : subdividable land 9Sep 06, 2009 8:36 pm Hi, I know my situation is different because I live in QLD (30 min from Brisbane) but my family gave us a block of land provided we paid all the subdivsion costs. The land was free but has cost us close to $120 000. the council made us pay for subdivision (extremely expensive and much more than we were told) , future foot path, plumbing report, environmental reports, driveway bond, water fees even though we are not ever using town water (environmentally freindly tanks instead), survey costs, and so on. This has also taken 2 years. I know this would not apply in all circumstances. Just be careful and the cost to subdivide may be a lot more than you realise (the council originally told us only $10 000 !) and most people (those i know) would not even look at such a small block as yours might be when divided. I would make use of the big block and enjoy it. Also sellers will tell you a block is subdividebale (most are) to help sell. Hope this helps. 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 6439 Need advice on the backyard plan above. Should I excavate and cut all of the dirt to level with the house slab or semi-excavate as per photo above? Both left and right… 0 24861 13 6631 |