Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 14, 2012 4:08 pm Hello there I'm really after some advice/ opinions. I'd love to hear from someone who has been in a similar situation, but would welcome all thoughts. We love the block that we live on and, after quite a bit of research, we haven't been able to find any land in our local area that we like as much. We decided that we would knock down our existing house and build a new one on the same spot. Our existing house is fine - nothing wrong with it - but we want to build our dream home, which is considerably bigger. We had custom plans drawn up by an architect, and have finished the preliminary design process. We have just had a valuation done on the plans to ensure we don't over-capitalise - and this is where the problem may be. The financial side is not an issue, and we can borrow as much money as we need to. However, we don't want to be reckless, and we want to ensure that IF we had to sell for any unforseen reason then we wouldn't make a big loss. The valuer has valued the plans at pretty much the break-even point of what we would be spending. He said the main issue is not the house itself, but the fact that it would be worth a lot more than the other houses in the street - so we wouldn't have the 'prestige' address associated with a house of that value. He said that if we built it in a couple of other streets locally (which he named) then it would be worth more. Problem is that those are 'new build' streets, and we don't like the land as much. So now we have to decide what to do. We can afford to do it, but don't want to make a big mistake by building something unsellable or a 'folly'. I feel like one of those people on Grand Designs that you shout "No! Don't do it!" at - but we're emotionally invested in the plans for the new house too (much as we tried not to be). Sorry for the essay! Anyone been there? Any thoughts???? Re: Best house in the street? 2May 14, 2012 4:15 pm personally, if money isnt really the issue, i would be building on the block you love. what goods a nice house if the location isnt what you want...you would end up not loving the house as much. Re: Best house in the street? 3May 14, 2012 5:44 pm if you had to sell cos you now had an emergency, and you cleared the debt and walked away with the equity you have in it now, but didnt 'make any money on top' that wouldnt be the end of the world. if you had to sell and it cost you 100k over what you can sell it for and you walk away with a 100k debt cos you have no equity..then maybe invest in something else? but if you can build something that is nice and big on a good block in an area you like, then selling it will be easy, cos others will see how great it is too. just watch your $$$ maybe dont go full marble powder room etc cos you wont get your money back. just build a great shell, and kit it out with nice things, but not gold carpet etc good luck Re: Best house in the street? 4May 14, 2012 5:51 pm Thank you for the answers so far - much appreciated. We would walk away debt free. Just worried about building a house that is worth double that of the neighbouring houses. I don't want to end up with one that we couldn't sell if we did need to (even though we are not planning to sell at this stage). Re: Best house in the street? 5May 14, 2012 6:00 pm when we extended our home we then had the highest govt value in the street. we knew that would happen and we had to pay higher rates because of it! but we LOVED the area and all the houses were 2 or 3 beds at the most around us so we couldnt move to a bigger home..there werent any so we added an ensuite (rare for that area) a 4th bedroom, and another living room..we had 4, a dining, a family, a lounge /tv room and in the roof line a loft/play room space. for our family of 5 kids, walk one end to sch, the other to the park..it was BRILLIANT we were there for LIFE then we couldnt get work after my hubby decided to train as a teacher. for 3 yrs we waited...for a permanent job and it came 1800 kms away we had to sell. (we sold 2 mths before the first earthquake in chch...the house was destroyed after the 2nd but we wont go there) so our house went on for more than anyone else had put their house on for.. cos it was 'worth more' and it was.. it was the biggest! BUT it sold for about 20k more than a 3 bed place had but it sold in a short space of time cos people wanted to stay in the area in a home that was larger. we walked away with more than we bought it and extended it for, but we prob would have made the same in the hand if we hadnt extended BUT we had the best time in that house and it housed us really well and I am so glad we did it, even if we dropped 75k to sell it. cos no one had the money 'in that area' to spend that much on the house. if they did they went 2 streets over to brand new homes... it is something only you can decide. yes, ours looked odd! but I didnt care...I had space, my kids had space and I know they were all jealous!! we have since built a home where the job was and included a lot of the things we loved in the last house. i think you should just suck it up and build...you be 'the jones's' in the street and if you have to sell, deal with it then. the market might have doubled by then..so really..who cares if you get more than you thought!! Re: Best house in the street? 6May 14, 2012 6:07 pm Assuming a basic house costs $150K to $200K to construct and you have said yours is in "fine" condition, that represents equity you would be demolishing! I would say go for it if you lived in a blue chip suburb where the value of the property was the land itself and/or if your house was falling down- doubtful as you said you have "new build streets" nearby. If I were you I would settle on a block of land that was good enough or if you like yours so much renovate/extend the existing house. Re: Best house in the street? 7May 14, 2012 8:14 pm Yes I would as it suits your circumstances and you are going into it with your eyes open. The fact you don't plan it to be a short term investment makes it irrelevant whether its the most expensive house on the street. Re: Best house in the street? 8May 14, 2012 10:19 pm You can't allow for everything and everything is a compromise You only live once, follow your dream. You can't rewind and don't spend your money on something you don't like You are also a teacher to your kids and inspiration to people around you. Make it count. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Best house in the street? 9May 14, 2012 10:44 pm Are you planning on selling the house anytime soon? If not then I'd do it, why move from a street you love to one you don't just because the house would be worth more built in the other street. Re: Best house in the street? 10May 15, 2012 7:29 am Thank you - I really appreciate all of your thoughts. It's very helpful in trying to decide what to do. We've spent most of the night agonising over it, and it's great to read your comments this morning. It's always a compromise between heart and head (building a home), and we just wanted to make sure we weren't letting the heart completely overrule the head. We told ourselves we'd stay dispassionate until we got the valuation but, of course, that's almost impossible to do when it's your dream home! Edited to add: No, we're not planning on selling (potentially ever), but we wanted to protect ourselves against some sort of financially catastrophic and as yet unseen situation occurring. Hi all. I'm thinking of installing an electric gate in front of this street front villa (link below). The gate would be between the bush on the left and the letter box on… 0 2774 Thanks! I'm spoke to the builder I'm not sure if this is all true but basically went along the lines of they considered all options and if I was to compact and fill it… 2 6386 Hi, I'd like some advice on the best option please on the estimate options we've been provided from our builder. This is for the… 0 4063 |