Browse Forums Buying Land 1 Jul 01, 2017 9:57 am So, I'm just going to put it out there that I don't know the first thing about anything related to property ownership. Hoping I can get a few experts to shed some light on a few things, or link me to some good reading material. My intention is to purchase land and build my own house. I plan to do this in a few years, paying everything off in full, without any loans. However, I need a couple of key questions answered first: 1: Assuming a fully paid off house, what are the ongoing costs of owning property? I've heard of council taxes, but how much would this be, what is it based on, and are there any other additional mandatory expenses that are incurred on a regular basis that aren't related to your typical wear and tear maintenance? 2: When building a house, what can be self built, and what must be done by licensed contractors? I know gas for instance can't be done privately (for very obvious reasons!). The intention here is to obviously reduce building costs by doing whatever possible on my own. However, I have no official qualifications, so no matter how good I think I might be, I'm guessing this would be a hindrance. These are currently the most important questions I need answered, but if anyone has any other resources they can link to better understand property ownership and construction, I would greatly appreciate it. I keep finding pages for UK and US ownership, but hardly anything relevant to Australia/NSW. Also if this isn't the right area to post this, please let me know so I can get the thread moved to the right place. Re: Looking for information on...well, everything 2Jul 01, 2017 11:39 am Hi, You can have a look at this blog: http://anewhouse.com.au He also sells some guides around building process that I find quite useful. Not sure what is the equivalent building commission in NSW, but in QLD, there is QBCC guide for home owners which explains home owners obligations as well as some tips to avoid "cowboy" builders. So, I 'd suggest probably better to find the equivalent NSW building commission website. Hopefully, they provide some guides. Re: Looking for information on...well, everything 3Jul 04, 2017 8:50 pm There are lots of ongoing costs to managing a property. Council rates are just one of them, my rates are $1500 a year, paid quarterly. On top of that my water bill is a lot higher, renting an apartment $5 a quarter, owning a house (that I'm not yet living in) $150+ a quarter. I'm sure there will be more surprises once I move in. 0 4975 We are at the stage on our build in Kilcoy, Queensland where we need to get our fencing installed but we cant get any contact details for our neighbours to give them… 0 6156 It's possible but a soak well is usually much larger. Your 'soak well' only holds 424 litres when full. What is your soil type? Soak wells need sandy soils. 10 9001 |