Browse Forums Buying Land 1 Jun 05, 2011 10:02 pm Hi All, Long time trawler first time poster. I have been reading all your posts with much jealousy and am finally ready to make a post myself. My fiance and I are looking at buying land in Wallara Waters in Wallan but don't know the first thing about buying land. What I need to know is how do you buy land? Do I go into the Real estate agent (we have picked two blocks that we like that have already titled) and make an offer on a block that we like then go and talk to a broker or should I go and get our loan sorted out first? Any help would be much appreciated! OH! And any other advice you could give me to!! Cheers and thanks for reading! Cat Buying Land Advice 2Jun 06, 2011 7:23 pm cattycatcat Hi All, Long time trawler first time poster. I have been reading all your posts with much jealousy and am finally ready to make a post myself. My fiance and I are looking at buying land in Wallara Waters in Wallan but don't know the first thing about buying land. What I need to know is how do you buy land? Do I go into the Real estate agent (we have picked two blocks that we like that have already titled) and make an offer on a block that we like then go and talk to a broker or should I go and get our loan sorted out first? Any help would be much appreciated! OH! And any other advice you could give me to!! Cheers and thanks for reading! Cat Hi Cat, There's a couple of ways - Through a real estate agent for land that has titled, or from the land sales office of the estate, for untitled land off a subdivision. In either case, I think it makes for a smoother process if you have a good understanding of your financial situation - and that the bank agrees with you! There are basically three stages with finance. Pre-approval, Conditional Approval and Unconditional (or Formal) Approval. Pre-Approval is not really worth the paper it is written on, as it is based on what you put in an online form. There is no proof of income, current debt level, expenses or credit worthiness. It just indicates that if all is true and accurate, then you may be eligible for a loan of $X. Still an ok start to give you an idea of what you could loan - don't forget you'll be loaning cash for the build too. Conditional Approval is where it starts to gets real. You can get this without a Contract of Sale, however you have supplied proof of income, proof of identity, liabilities, bank statements etc etc, and completed an application form. Another factor is how much you are borrowing and whether LMI is required (it generally is if you borrow more than 80% of the value (n.b. value is NOT necessarily the same as contract price. As part of preparing a mortgage, the bank will most likely get your land valued, and loan against that. For example - you buy land for $200k and want to borrow $160k (80%), then the bank gets the land valued, and the valuation comes back at $180k, but you still need to borrow $160k, your loan-to-value ratio goes from 80% to 88.8% and you will need to pay LMI which then gets added to your $160k loan, thereby increasing your minimum monthly payment for no real gain aside for the joy of being allowed to borrow money)). The Contract of Sale will have a finance clause in it. This is to give you time to get Unconditional Approval, as the bank may require more documents, order an evaluation and will require the signed contracts to issue the mortgage against. Look at giving yourself at least 3 weeks to get this done, and make sure your solicitor / conveyancer is aware of your obligation in case they need to extend the Finance clause date. Do both things at once (looking at land and organising finance) and be honest with the sales people. If they know where you are at with your finances it just makes everything easier and almost enjoyable! I don't work for a bank or finance place, just been through it a few times and have a fairly good handle on how it works, so please take this is very general advice only. Best bet is to contact a broker, or if you have a good relationship with a bank lender, speak to them. Good Luck!! Re: Buying Land Advice 3Jun 06, 2011 9:38 pm Thanks so much for your reply. There seems to be a lot of steps involved in getting it all sorted out but I guess it will be worth it in the end Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 5Jun 06, 2011 9:49 pm Honestly, No we haven't looked at any other estates. Mostly because Wallara waters is closest to the train station. We are going to come up on Saturday and spend all day there looking at land and talking to everyone we can get to stand still for long enough. I will check out the other estates. What really won us over to Wallara Waters was the price of land. Is Hidden Valley as cheep? ($170k for a 16 by 35m block) Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 6Jun 06, 2011 9:52 pm We lived in Wallan for 12months, then sold and moved back. Hidden Valley is nice, I havn't seen Wallara Waters. When we bought our land there, we bought it from the Estate Agent, they wouldn't budge on the price, but get your loan approved first. Which agent has the land? Re: Buying Land Advice 7Jun 06, 2011 9:58 pm Hidden Valley is cheaper. But we have stricter estate covenants concerning external colours and higher site costs due to it being more sloping. But the trade off is that you get views. We payed $155k for 1639m2 (25.5m x 67m or something) a couple of years ago. There is a block for resale opposite me that is on the market for $190k, and it is just over 1000msq. I've heard they'll accept around $170k. And there's one further around from me that is 1500m2 and it's on for $199k. There's also acres in a different section that are just over $200k, and then there are smaller blocks as well. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Buying Land Advice 8Jun 06, 2011 10:00 pm Robert Gordon Real estate has the land. I'm looking at between 170k and 180k for land the size I want. We were originally going to build in Doreen but figured that the 80K in land price difference was worth moving a little further out of the city. What made you decided to move back? (If you don't mind me asking that is ) Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 9Jun 06, 2011 10:04 pm joles Hidden Valley is cheaper. But we have stricter estate covenants concerning external colours and higher site costs due to it being more sloping. But the trade off is that you get views. We payed $155k for 1639m2 (25.5m x 67m or something) a couple of years ago. There is a block for resale opposite me that is on the market for $190k, and it is just over 1000msq. I've heard they'll accept around $170k. And there's one further around from me that is 1500m2 and it's on for $199k. There's also acres in a different section that are just over $200k, and then there are smaller blocks as well. I don't think we would want a block that big but I will have to check it out on the weekend. My brother and sister in law have just built in Wallara Waters and that's what got us thinking about moving out there. We still can't believe how cheep the land is compared to just 15 minutes down the road! Considering we were thinking about paying 244k for a 14 x 32 block with no views I would be willing to pay 180 for a block with views and a bit of a slope! Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 10Jun 06, 2011 10:10 pm cattycatcat Robert Gordon Real estate has the land. I'm looking at between 170k and 180k for land the size I want. We were originally going to build in Doreen but figured that the 80K in land price difference was worth moving a little further out of the city. What made you decided to move back? (If you don't mind me asking that is ) Robert Gordon, try and beat the price down, he normally marks his house prices way up, don't know about land. The fog was one of the reasons, I used to leave for work at about 7am, I swear I couldn't see an inch in front of me, I used to drive by the white road lines, it was very scary. I also had my two older children in Mill Park, my Son who was 18 at the time didn't want to move up there so he went and lived with my Daughter, I really missed being with the kids. We sold our home in Bundoora to move there, our youngest was 4 at the time and we thought it would be a better life for him. We are now building in Doreen at Laurimar, the best thing we have ever done, wish we had of done it when we sold the house at Bundoora. The land is expensive, we paid 180 for a 448sq meter block, but it's gone up to 218 since we bought ours, we bought our land about 12 months ago. Have you looked at other estate agents prices for the land in Wallara Waters? Re: Buying Land Advice 11Jun 06, 2011 10:13 pm I guess the difference between HV and WW is that WW is probably feels like a bit more of a traditional suburban estate, whereas HV is more of a country feel. We still get roos in the front yard, see them every day around here, wombats, echidnas... it's awesome. I love that part of it! But it definitely isn't for everyone, and WW has the big advantage of being near the station. Only 40-50mins to the city on the train too! I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Buying Land Advice 12Jun 06, 2011 10:16 pm So far we have only looked online and hes the only one that has posted on realestate.com and domain.com. I'm looking forward to going and seeing whats on offer in the windows of the estate agents on Saturday, I'm sure he's not the only one in the area with land for sale. Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 13Jun 06, 2011 10:18 pm joles I guess the difference between HV and WW is that WW is probably feels like a bit more of a traditional suburban estate, whereas HV is more of a country feel. We still get roos in the front yard, see them every day around here, wombats, echidnas... it's awesome. I love that part of it! But it definitely isn't for everyone, and WW has the big advantage of being near the station. Only 40-50mins to the city on the train too! The train is important as both of us work in the city but I would be more the willing to drive 5 minutes to the station if it means that we live in the better estate. Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 14Jun 06, 2011 10:20 pm cattycatcat So far we have only looked online and hes the only one that has posted on realestate.com and domain.com. I'm looking forward to going and seeing whats on offer in the windows of the estate agents on Saturday, I'm sure he's not the only one in the area with land for sale. Stay away from Wilson and Partners, that's another story. There are some other big real estate agents up there now, I would go there and have a look. We sold with Raine and Horne but I think they have merged with one of the big ones up there, they were great. Good Luck. When we bought our land there 6 and a half years ago, we paid 90grand for a 600sqm block, two weeks before we bought ours it went up 20grand a block, due to demand. Re: Buying Land Advice 15Jun 06, 2011 10:31 pm http://australand.rtrk.com.au/?scid=498 ... 7518625617 try the land office, you might get a better price Re: Buying Land Advice 16Jun 06, 2011 10:34 pm To be able to buy land for 90k would be a dream! Unfortunately for me 6 years ago I was still in year 12 oh well 6 year makes a big difference in the housing Market. Actually even 6 month can be huge in some areas! Is Wallan still growing or has the demand started to drop off a little bit? Is it worth building there in terms of property appreciation? Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 17Jun 06, 2011 10:43 pm cattycatcat Is Wallan still growing or has the demand started to drop off a little bit? Is it worth building there in terms of property appreciation? Wallan is at the beginning of an explosion. The projection is 20,000 residents in 10 years. It's currently around 7,000. There is a new police station (currently 16hr, will be 24hr within 5 years I was told last week), a new CFA station, there will be an ambulance station, a super clinic and there is talk of a swim centre. The train station will be getting a major upgrade as well. I have seen a gov website that shows pretty much all the land between Craigieburn and Wallan has been sold to developers. There is Lockerbie, which will be a new suburb, scheduled to start.... all this means that Wallan will eventually be a suburb and prices will be higher. In the time we have been here, our place hasn't appreciated as much as some other suburbs, but I think long term, the appreciation will be pretty good. And we don't live with people on top of us, and that's something that few other areas can offer. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Buying Land Advice 19Jun 06, 2011 10:47 pm Joles, thank you. You just put my mind to ease. That was one of my main concerns and it sounds like I really had nothing to worry about. Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 Re: Buying Land Advice 20Jun 07, 2011 7:21 am Deb17, we did check out the land sales office and the prices are pretty much in line with what we are expecting. The only problem was that the current land release doesn't title until march 2012 which is way to late for us. We have to be in by June at the latest. Building the Drysdale 30 Wallara Waters, Wallan My Blog : http://www.ourwallanhome.blogspot.com My thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=50975 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. 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