Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 06, 2010 4:29 pm Hi, I have few investment properties but have never undertaken a townhouse project before. I have a 700 Sqm block of land in Burwood with a 4 bedroom weatherboard home which we bought couple of years ago. We have presently leased it out and it is in a reasonably good condition. We however want to knock it down because we want to move in there and we did our calculations and research which shows that townhouses sell in Burwood area for a good price so would be better for us to build two townhouses and move in to one and rent out the other rather than building a single 45 squares of home for us to live in. Our research shows that a 24 square of a standard Metricon townhouse sells anywhere between 800k - 890k in Burwood. We intend to build a 30 Sq townhouse for us to live and a 24 square townhouse to lease. Since I am a newbie in this trade, could you please advise/comment on the following questions I have: Has anyone done such projects in Burwood area? If yes, how was it to deal with the Whitehorse council? How did you approach? Did you first get a plan drafted from an architect/draftsmen and then applied for the permit to the council? Or did you approach standard builders such as Metricon to see if townhouses can be built? Our land is trapezoidal, it has a frontage of 23.9m and back is 14.9 m with a depth of 36m. Would be able to fit 2 townhouses? What has been your experience dealing with councils and builders? Would it be preferable to go through known volume builders such as Metricon, Formula homes etc. or have an architect and a builder? Which option would be cheaper? We have no clue on how much it would cost actually to build 2 townhouses. From what we have seen on the internet is Metricon charges 260,000 for a 29 sq standard facade townhouse with standard inclusions. Will the architect/builder option be cheaper? Your advise and comments will be highly appreciated. Cheers, PSMS Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 2Dec 21, 2010 1:11 pm Hi, I'm in the very early stages of a very similar process. I'm looking at building two townhouses in Box Hill South (Also Whitehorse Council) My block is approximately 600sqm and also trapezoidal in shape. So far i've spoken to the planning department, they've informed me that there are no major restrictions on the block and that two townhouses are possible. It all comes down to the design. For myself, as i am also very new to this, I will be going through an architect/planner to get drawings made up and submitted. They will basically control the whole process from drawings to obtaining the permit. I have spoken to one firm who said my block is a little on the small side but still possible. They have experience with the council and seem confident to take on the project. I will be going through a licensed builder rather than a volume builder. I have some contacts in the industry and should be able to save more cash this way. Im budgeting approx 400k for 20sq each. We should definitely update each other on our current progress. Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 3Dec 21, 2010 3:11 pm Hi , I am also interst in building two units. Which is best way ? I was told to go to a drafting company which does units and then take the plans to builders for tendering. I asked many builders like metricon , porter, but they don't tender for unit. I build with Formula Homes and they said they will quote. I noticed they build units on Springvale Road. Any advise if drafting company or use architect ? My land is in Nunawading - owned by my sister. Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 4Dec 29, 2010 5:06 pm hi, same case here, we would like to demolish and rebuild our house, which sit on a lot 17 x 38m in DONCASTER, we spoke to METRICON, they only build with their design and promised time will be around 18weeks, which i think its superb. But we have access to import finishing materials, incl windows from CHINA, which we feel that will save alot in building costs. lets update each other. cheers henry cheers Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 5Dec 30, 2010 10:03 am Hi Henry, I am waiting for new year to contact a few builders about my sisters land. Tell me more about the materials from China. will local builder agree to use your materials ? My experience so far they not agree. I will be checking with Liberty Builders, Sanna , PRD and Formula Homes. Any one can recommend for 2 units ? Thanks Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 6Jan 18, 2011 4:06 pm Hi I can recommend a design company that do customise house or unit designs at a good rate and is flexible to your requirements. They've done a friend of mine's subdivision and new house separate from their existing house at a fraction of the cost. If you're interested I can send you their details. Cheers stm Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 7Feb 11, 2011 9:30 pm psms Hi, I have few investment properties but have never undertaken a townhouse project before. I have a 700 Sqm block of land in Burwood with a 4 bedroom weatherboard home which we bought couple of years ago. We have presently leased it out and it is in a reasonably good condition. We however want to knock it down because we want to move in there and we did our calculations and research which shows that townhouses sell in Burwood area for a good price so would be better for us to build two townhouses and move in to one and rent out the other rather than building a single 45 squares of home for us to live in. Our research shows that a 24 square of a standard ***** townhouse sells anywhere between 800k - 890k in Burwood. We intend to build a 30 Sq townhouse for us to live and a 24 square townhouse to lease. Since I am a newbie in this trade, could you please advise/comment on the following questions I have: Has anyone done such projects in Burwood area? If yes, how was it to deal with the Whitehorse council? How did you approach? Did you first get a plan drafted from an architect/draftsmen and then applied for the permit to the council? Or did you approach standard builders such as ***** to see if townhouses can be built? Our land is trapezoidal, it has a frontage of 23.9m and back is 14.9 m with a depth of 36m. Would be able to fit 2 townhouses? What has been your experience dealing with councils and builders? Would it be preferable to go through known volume builders such as Metricon, Formula homes etc. or have an architect and a builder? Which option would be cheaper? We have no clue on how much it would cost actually to build 2 townhouses. From what we have seen on the internet is ***** charges 260,000 for a 29 sq standard facade townhouse with standard inclusions. Will the architect/builder option be cheaper? Your advise and comments will be highly appreciated. Cheers, PSMS Hi - I am building two town houses in Glen Waverley and I am going with Formula Homes. I went through Architect to get Permit. He was very professional and he did right from "concept plan" to getting permit. There were few iterations of plan. Fortunately my architect had very good knowledge of council rules and it was easy to get permit. Please let me know if you need my architect details. Re: Townhouse project in Burwood....a newbie in this trade! 8Jan 15, 2013 10:34 am Hi, I have a similar property in Elsternwick. 686sqm. Thinking of going down a similar path to you guys. I am thinking of the best way to maximise space/profit. Did you consider 3 townhouses in that space? or more? Why did you only do 2? Any help would be appreciated as this is my first such project. Regards, BJR. Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi, sorry if this is the wrong place - Iām new to the property/building journey (trying to buy my first home) so not sure where/who to go with these sorts of… 0 19163 a building inspector should be able to tell you about any major problems but we need a floor plan with dimensions to clarify options for extra bedrooms ... sometime an… 1 8731 |