Browse Forums Buying Land 1 Nov 27, 2012 7:07 am Hi guys, i'm in the process of waiting for a land to be ready, only put in the initial holding deposit of 1k. While that's happening, still discussing the building bit of it. was wondering, is it normal to have the builder soil test the site before we have settlement? or is it the other way around (buy land first then soil test)? cheers Re: soil test before purchase? 2Nov 27, 2012 11:08 am It all depends A lot of builders include the soil test in the price so you can wait...But it the soil test reveals any nasties you are then hit with a late increase in sit costs. If you get a soil test you can then get prices from various builders for the huse including all site costs. (this explains a bit about the soil test: http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?p=347) The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: soil test before purchase? 3Nov 27, 2012 11:15 am I think OP meant if you can do a soil test before you purchase the land.. I dont actually know the answer to this question. I think you would need to ask the person selling the block or the developer. Building Henley Monaco Nouveau Q1 - Mernda Villages https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57810 http://razbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: soil test before purchase? 4Nov 27, 2012 11:15 am We were given a checklist and once thats complete they will do soil test. My soil test will be done within next 10 days but titles still like 4-5 weeks away. Checklist is things like, road/curbs/foothpaths complete, all services are in, block is level etc Re: soil test before purchase? 5Nov 27, 2012 5:18 pm boosho I think OP meant if you can do a soil test before you purchase the land.. I dont actually know the answer to this question. I think you would need to ask the person selling the block or the developer. Well the developer/agent is not willing to put subject to soil test on the contract. plus the land is still being developed and compacting is still occurring, but i don't think i would want to sign the contract until i am sure the site is suitable. is it the norm to have subject to soil test on land contracts? LeanneR We were given a checklist and once thats complete they will do soil test. My soil test will be done within next 10 days but titles still like 4-5 weeks away. Checklist is things like, road/curbs/foothpaths complete, all services are in, block is level etc Have you already signed land contract? or is it subject to result of the soil test? Re: soil test before purchase? 6Nov 27, 2012 6:20 pm Already signed contract. We live in this area. I don't know why it wouldn't be suitable to build on?? Re: soil test before purchase? 7Nov 27, 2012 6:40 pm LeanneR Already signed contract. We live in this area. I don't know why it wouldn't be suitable to build on?? Well maybe i'm being over-cautious. but what if the soil test comes back to be Class E or P ? and it would add significant costs to the build potentially... Re: soil test before purchase? 8Nov 27, 2012 7:11 pm I think we may have already been told the class or something. Sorry I'd have to ask hubby but he is away. But I remember him mentioning to our sales rep when signing up to build. Think its same class as our current lot (we built last year) so we knew it wasn't going to be an issue. Perhaps you could ask others in your area? Re: soil test before purchase? 9Nov 27, 2012 11:20 pm LeanneR I think we may have already been told the class or something. Sorry I'd have to ask hubby but he is away. But I remember him mentioning to our sales rep when signing up to build. Think its same class as our current lot (we built last year) so we knew it wasn't going to be an issue. Perhaps you could ask others in your area? Well i would but even though some of the lots have been sold, the land is still being developed so i don't think anyone would have been able to do a soil test anyway. so i don't know Re: soil test before purchase? 10Nov 27, 2012 11:36 pm Our soil test was done after we put an offer in on the block. I haven't heard of people putting a condition into a contract about soil but doesn't mean it can't be done. We had to do ours before we settled on the block as we needed the buidling contract to get finance approval.... our builder did site survey and soil testing prior to drawing up the plans and contract. Our only surprise was the retaining wall we needed, which added nearly $10,000 to the initial build cost. Re: soil test before purchase? 11Nov 27, 2012 11:43 pm fmac Our soil test was done after we put an offer in on the block. I haven't heard of people putting a condition into a contract about soil but doesn't mean it can't be done. We had to do ours before we settled on the block as we needed the buidling contract to get finance approval.... our builder did site survey and soil testing prior to drawing up the plans and contract. Our only surprise was the retaining wall we needed, which added nearly $10,000 to the initial build cost. So you only did the soil test after you signed and agree to purchase the land (ofcourse subject to finance) ? i'm just thinking worse comes worse its a H1 (which we've provisioned for), but what if it was worse than that. having that said, our disclosure plan indicated that max slope would be only 40cm so pretty flat... any opinions/ideas? Re: soil test before purchase? 12Nov 27, 2012 11:48 pm We bought a block in a reasonably established area, not a new estate. We also had a fair idea because of the location the site would be pretty safe soil wise, its sand, sand and more sand. We didn't know that much about all of this stuff till I got on here and discovered that one of the other areas we had looked at where the land was a little bit cheaper the soil is clay and so would have ended up costing us more then the location and block we have ended up with for the exact same house and block size. Though I have to say we fell in love with the block and didn't think too much about the extra costs that could come up... You can always ask about including a clause re soil testing... but possibly worded in terms of it being a certain class or better. I am new to this as well so not 100% sure either. Re: soil test before purchase? 13Dec 01, 2012 5:41 pm fmac We bought a block in a reasonably established area, not a new estate. We also had a fair idea because of the location the site would be pretty safe soil wise, its sand, sand and more sand. We didn't know that much about all of this stuff till I got on here and discovered that one of the other areas we had looked at where the land was a little bit cheaper the soil is clay and so would have ended up costing us more then the location and block we have ended up with for the exact same house and block size. Though I have to say we fell in love with the block and didn't think too much about the extra costs that could come up... You can always ask about including a clause re soil testing... but possibly worded in terms of it being a certain class or better. I am new to this as well so not 100% sure either. Well i think we should do that, we love the spot but at this stage it is still being build/compacted etc. They said title release about Jan and Settlement around March. Are they usually separate times from title release and settlement? Re: soil test before purchase? 14Jan 08, 2013 5:00 pm We paid a holding deposit like you have done, signed the contract "subject to finance AND soil test", and had the soil test done. (Our finance hasn't been organised yet, so our land hasn't settled.) We definitely would not have signed a contract without a "subject to soil test" clause. We even specified that if it's H2 or worse, we can cancel the contract. It did come back as H2 and site costs were increased, but we decided to buy it anyway. I was under the impression that having a "subject to soil test" was pretty standard in land contracts. However, I don't know if it's different with lots that haven't been finished developing and titled yet. Settlement: 10.02.13 Slab: 06.03.13 Frame: 08.03.13 Lock-up: 05.04.13 Handover: 03.06.13 Build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59555 Brisbane Photography Re: soil test before purchase? 15Jan 08, 2013 7:26 pm When a subdivision goes in the developer may fill some areas. This will be shown on the subdivision plan. You can check how much fill will be placed. Unlikely to be much fill, but make your contract subject to a soil test, just for safety. Re: soil test before purchase? 16Jan 08, 2013 11:06 pm leighton When a subdivision goes in the developer may fill some areas. This will be shown on the subdivision plan. You can check how much fill will be placed. Unlikely to be much fill, but make your contract subject to a soil test, just for safety. Well our disclosure plan showed that its a cut land whereas the lot nextdoor is a partially filled land. developer are not willing to go with subject to satisfactory soil test any ideas? Re: soil test before purchase? 17Jan 10, 2013 1:19 pm I don't know what area you are in, but if you are in WA it might be an idea to ask the seller/developer what the soil classification is. I believe these days when sub-divisions are developed with all services and retaining walls (if needed) installed, the developer may state the blocks are ready to build on. It is my interoperation this would include no excessive site costs. In my experience the structural engineer usually determines the soil classification so the engineering drawings can be drawn to suit the classification. Re: soil test before purchase? 18Jun 19, 2013 2:53 pm Before buying check with council in the first instance on what documents and approvals they have for the subdivision - buried in the back of a lot of a lot of paper for our subdivision were the drawings for each block and their respective soil clasification. Our builders of course still insist on doing their own soil test but it will give you a pretty good idea before committing to a block. You are able to view all the approval docs and submissions regardless of who has prepared or paid for them but you are not allowed to take copies. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: soil test before purchase? 19Sep 12, 2014 1:33 pm I would strongly recommend a soil test to all my clients prior to any purchase of land and I usually arrange it and the cost is around $400- $500. Another bit of advice is to find a good Geo-Tech and not just the cheapest and another have somebody that knows what they are doing to read it. Re: soil test before purchase? 20Sep 12, 2014 8:51 pm Berstan Homes I would strongly recommend a soil test to all my clients prior to any purchase of land and I usually arrange it and the cost is around $400- $500. Another bit of advice is to find a good Geo-Tech and not just the cheapest and another have somebody that knows what they are doing to read it. couldn't agree more with this statement.I have come across 5m of fill and natural ground at surface level in the same stage of a estate.It's cheap insurance. We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37160 Three options 1 Ask the liquidator 2 Find another PD customer and ask the source of their report 3 Pay for new report 3 12345 Hi Building Expert, Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated, there is also a code of conduct for building surveyors which they need to follow as well. I am looking… 4 3680 |