Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 14, 2010 4:32 pm Hi all, We've been looking for a place for a while and it looks like we'll be ging down the path of purchasing a small block of land, which has an existing house on it, and an adjoining block of land, which is currently part of next door's block (but they are getting old, and no longer want it) Contractually we are all underway and things are looking good - im hoping that some people here can help me with some idea's around the demolition and the re-alignment of boundaries. This property is in SA, unley council area. 1) I understand there are many demolition contractors out there - however im tossing up the idea of doing this part myself... getting council approval, arranging the services (water, gas, electricity) to get cut off, then simply knocking it down - hopefully being able to give the raw materials to someone that can use them. Can anyone help with advice as far as what else i need to do? (apart from check for dangerous materials, like asbestos). Do i have any legal obligation to put up protective fencing etc ? Anyone have idea's on how to find people that may be interested in the floorboards, bricks etc ? 2) When chatting to mates, ive been told that re-aligning the boundaries can cost around $20k. This sounds ridiculous to me - and i cannot fathom where that type of cost would come for something that, on the face of it, appears really simple. Can anyone else who has done this pass comment on cost and difficulty ? It seems to be universal opinion that all councils make things as difficult as possible, but how hard can a surveyor, measurements and "this land now belongs to that block" be ? Any help much appreciated. Re: Re-aligning boundaries and sub-division 2Feb 14, 2010 9:16 pm Hi Verukins Having recently been involved in a subdivision activity (almost 3 years worth), I'm pretty sure you (unfortunately) in for a world of pain. Sounds like you have to go through a subdivision DA, demolition DA and a building DA. Surveyor work will go into the thousands and other fees will also add up, 20K may not be far off the mark in the end. Council will apply all the 'new' rules of the day to the new block of land and reassess everything afresh. These fact sheets; http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1460 document the bucketload of info they and other state organisations demand are provided with the DA. And that's just for the subdivision. Also, re. demolition, after you submit a DA, the council will eventually approve with a whole lot of conditions you need to abide by. All the stuff you are looking to do combined sounds like a couple of years worth of work and fighting through the approval process, so get ready, and good luck. cheers Re: Re-aligning boundaries and sub-division 3Feb 19, 2010 9:55 am Hi, As a land surveyor hopefully I can give you some insite into my profession and exactly what we do to warrant our professional fees. Although I am based in New South Wales surveying and land development laws are similar throughout Australia. A boundry re-allignment implies that the existing land already comprises of two blocks but for whatever reason the dimensions of the individual blocks must be altered, maybe the existing house sits over the two blocks? Before a plan of re-allignment can be performed the dimensions of the existing blocks must be confirm the dimensions shown in your title, this is done through a field survey locating reference marks placed when the land was originally subdivided to create your blocks. These marks are normally located under the ground and In older areas have commonly been destroyed by the installation of services like telephone lines, sewers, and gas lines, meaning that determining the block dimensions can be difficult and time consuming, however it MUST be done before you will be allowed to re-allign your bounaries. Your surveyor will normally also handle the development application, study of environmental effects and in some areas bushfire assessment and work as an intermediatory between yourself, your council and the SA lands authority. It seems like a lot of cost and effort in order to shift a boundary but unfortunately that is what is required now. Bare in mind also that your surveyor has completed 4 years of university training, several years of professional development leading to accreditation and pays yearly licensing fees, not to mention professional indemnity insurance! Custom Design, Private Builder Floors Sealed, Ready To Move In! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=19196 Re: Re-aligning boundaries and sub-division 4Feb 19, 2010 6:14 pm Thanks for both your replies. I have been speaking to mates and other random people ive met that have completed similar tasks. I have no issues with paying professionals to do a job that needs to be done - and i definately recognise there's more to it than what would appear to someone not in that industry (the same applies to what i do for a living) - BUT, the comments i'm hearing that seem to indicate im looking at a minimum of 6 months - and probably more - smack of standard government slackness. I am, from what my clients and mates tell me, an efficiency freak - and i recognise that not everyone thinks the same as me - but that doesn't mean that blatent inefficency for the sake of it doesn't annoy me greatly! What you've said about the surveying process - is all fair - but it doesn't sound like a task that takes 6 months! More like a couple of days of effort and alot of waiting for other people to get back to you with details - would that be fair ? I realise that all i can do is apply - and try and keep my cool as things that could be done in a few weeks, take many many months! So thanks for both your inputs - i probably will go ahead - but your messages have helped me prepare for how angry i going to be getting! (While trying not too) Re: Re-aligning boundaries and sub-division 5Feb 19, 2010 7:10 pm Hi, I am nearing the completion of a subdivision in Adelaide and it is about 14 months since we first started. We had an existing structure on the site that was to be subdivided into a vacant lot (a large garage) so we had to have a building designer submit a house design to council before we could even apply for the subdivision (took 2 weeks for the building designer to come out, about a month for him to submit drawings to council, another month for them to approve) so a couple of months and $2000 later and we were able to "start"... Many delays along the way including a sewer extention that was required but a significant tree was in the way (had to arrange a report by an Arborist so again took 2 weeks to get the guy out here and 2 weeks to get the report and another 4 weeks later we had approval from the council - so 2 months delay just to remove the tree).. we made our payment to SA Water on the 1st of December.. it will still be about 6 weeks before they will actually do the work because of some paperwork that was missed initially. Delays, delays, delays.. and about $30k later.. still no finalised subdivision having said all that I totally understand that these things take time.. I guess the waiting is largely because people are busy with other work. Maybe I am wearing rose coloured glasses though... Prepare to be frustrated!! Re: Re-aligning boundaries and sub-division 6Feb 19, 2010 7:43 pm Verukins, Yes you're exactly right, the actual surveying process takes around a day in the field and a day in the office for the average two lot subdivision or boundary reallignment. Even for the most pedantic of surveyors. As others have pointed out it's the rest of the process that takes time. Look for a surveyor with a lot of experience with jobs like yours (it may not necessarily be the biggest company) and hopefully they will have close ties with council and be able to efficiently get your DA through. Custom Design, Private Builder Floors Sealed, Ready To Move In! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=19196 A survey must’ve completed by a certified surveyor. This form part of every DA requirement 3 180463 Hey everyone Not for me or anyone I know, just generally interested. For a single allotment house, are you allowed to take the fence on both sides of your house and… 0 15403 The setback from the kerb is 4m. It is council land to provide an area for services like sewer main, gas mains, water mains, underground power or poles for overhead power,… 4 1006 |