So you have visited the Developers Office and been shown a site plan with some blocks for sale that are the Size, and Orientation, you want.
The next thing is to get a copy of the Title Plan and go and look at the blocks you think may be OK.
Here are some things to think about.
Find the Boundary Pegs Normally the actual boundary peg will be driven in so the top is at ground level, there is normally a tall peg next to it to help locate it. Once you have found the pegs you know the piece of land you are thinking about buying.
Manholes Sewers and Drains A lot of blocks have Easements for sewers and drains which will restrict how much of the site you can build on. (The Title Plan will show the Easements) If you can see a manhole you will also need to think about how this might limit what you can do in the garden.
Site Slope As little as a 1m slope from front to back can add $3-4,000 to your site cost. A 1m slope from one side to the other can add even more. The steeper the slopes the more the builder will charge for site costs.
Below or Above the Road Where there is a sloping development site some blocks will be above the road and others below. Sites above the road are less likely to flood and can be more private than ones below the road.
Effect of Building on Neighbouring Blocks. Shading and blocking views are common problems that can affect your proposed house and garden. If you are keen on building a solar pasive house you can minimise the effect if the block you choose is higher than the one to the north. Obviously if the surrounding blocks are already developed its easier to consider the effects.
Road Crossover Many blocks now come with a driveway crossover if this doesn’t suit your design it will cost quite a bit to get it changed.
Look Up One thing I didn’t notice on my first visit to my current block was the overhead power cables just outside the block. They aren’t big pylons or anything and the poles are some distance away so its just a single cable. It does however restrict the size of tree we can have in our garden.
You will be very lucky if you get a perfect block so you are probably going to compromise on some of the above points. Good Luck!
A Community Title it is basically the same as a Strata Title that would be used for a block of apartments.
These developments can look great……..but what are the issues of having a new house on these developments?
Body Corporate
Buy a house or block of land in a community title development and you immediately become a member of the community or neighbourhood association (body corporate), bound by its bylaws, and also the co-owner of the shared property.
Often schemes are subdivided into separate stages. . . .So the stage for your new house may have its own body corporate in a neighbourhood scheme, but this will be under an overall community scheme.
By-laws
Bylaws can include:
What you can put in your garden.
What pets you can have.
The appearance of your property (including acceptable colours).
Who can live in the property, which can make properties difficult to sell.
Not allowing washing hung out.
Facilities
Facilities can include; streets, pavements, parks, a “village green”, clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, etc.
However these “exclusive” facilities have to paid for and maintained, unlike the public facilities in a conventional development which are paid for by the council.
The extent and quality of construction of some of the facilities, for example road construction can sometimes be below the standards required by councils who insist on minimum standards for roads they know they will be responsible for!
Another typical problem is a lack of space for parking particulaly if residents don’t use their garages.
Costs
In addition to the cost of maintaining the facilities,you will be hit by body corporate management fees.
In some cases two fees; for your neighbourhood, and then for the overall community.
Its worth remembering that there is no saving on rates as these will still need to be paid.
I’m not saying don’t buy a block on a community title, just understand what it means.
For posts on issues to consider when buying land see Blocks
Do you think because you have paid a deposit on a block you can settle on the land straight away?
Waiting up to a year could be a possibility!
The Developer’s on site agent will usually be pushing the latest land release but this is the most likely to have the longest wait until settlement.
Some options to minimise delays
Don’t look at blocks that are yet to be fully approved. Although a development will get an overall approval before blocks will go on sale the actual stage with the blocks is likely to need a separate approval. If there are environmental issues such as rare plants, rare animals or aboriginal heritage issues this can hold up the process for months.
Whenever possible only look at blocks where the roads are already in place and the blocks pegged. Construction of roads and services can take 3-4 months, longer if its bad weather.
An Alternative to developers land offices. See if any estate agents have single blocks for sale. These might be blocks where the sale has fallen through, or have been sold and the owners situation has changed meaning they can no longer build on the block.
It may suit you to have a delayed settlement if you are not in a rush to build. . . .but most people, myself included, are usually keen for an early start.
Last time I went the option of the a block where the sale had fallen through and got a much better block than the ones that were available in the latest release.
How long have did you have to wait for settlement on your block?
For posts on issues to consider when buying land see Blocks
Want to build a new house in an established suburb?
One way is to look for a subdivided block, or even buy a house on a big block and sub-divide yourself.
I see quite a lot of large suburban blocks sub-divided with one, or more, house blocksadded.
In a number of cases the original house the original house is demolished and 3 houses are built on the block.
If you want to build the available block will normally at the rear known as a Battle Axe Block
So what do you need to think about when considering a subdivided blocks?
Here are some issues to consider:
Vehicle Access
Any shared vehicle access can be a cause of contention so a separate driveway is much the preferred option.
If you have the rear block and put a gate near the front this can provide extra play space for young children. That can be very useful as the backyard area will be fairly limited.
Adequate Off-Street Parking
With two properties sharing one frontage and the loss of parking if there are two crossovers On-Street parking will be at a premium.
I would recommend having space for at least two vehicles off the street (this can include the garage)
Privacy
When you are squeezing a house on a small block windows are going to be closer to your neighbours on all sides, so overlooking, and being overlooked, is a potential issue.
Orientation
A South facing block with living rooms to the rear (North) is going to give the best results if you are looking for a passive solar house to minimise heating and cooling costs.
Costs
For a rear block you could be hit with extra costs for:
15m plus driveway construction.
Extra utility costs due to distance from existing services.
Builders charging a restricted access fee in addition to the typical/normal advertised price.
Sewer and Drainage Easements
Easements are often run along the back fence of the original block.
A typical 2-3m easement can severely limit what you can build on the block, particularly when you might also have an easement to service the front block running through your block.
I have heard of sewer lines on subdivided blocks running down the middle of the block, so its important you check this before you buy!
Planning
As part of arranging the subdivision the sub-divider will often get planning approval for a type of house.
If that’s not what you want make sure you get the owners written agreement to the design you offer to buy.
It might even be worth making an offer subject to planning permission.
As I haven’t personally built on a subdivided block I may have have missed an issue you have experienced. If you think so why not leave a comment?
To better understand what you can build see Restrictions in the Blocks section
“Just the thing for Entertainment” or something similar is a common theme in house builder’s brochures and estate agent descriptions.
It’s really a way of trying to upsize you into a bigger (more expensive) house.
Before you get sucked in with these statements for your new house here are a few questions you need to ask yourself:
How often do you actually “Entertain”?
Every week?
Once a month?
Or hardly ever?
Will you be trying to impress. . . . or just aiming to have a good time?
How many is it really going to be?
Is it going to be one or two couples around for brunch or dinner or;
A party for 30 or 40 people?
Is a barby your normal way of entertaining? It is for most Australians. . . . .In that case you are more likely to need plenty of outdoor areas, which probably include plenty of space for children to run around. . . . .Not easy if you have filled your block up with a house that has big rooms for “Entertainers”.
For family occasions most people won’t mind if the garage is pressed into service for a meal if it is presentable. If it isn’t perhaps you can just cover the front of the shelves with some fabric.
Think back to the parties you went to that you really enjoyed. Some of the better ones that I went to were in small houses and flats. . . you would normally find me, along with half of the other people there, packed into a tiny kitchen.
Alternatives for Entertaining
When our children were young we used to live in small houses so when it came to birthday parties we used to hire a village, or community hall.
You can normally hire a big room including a kitchen for half a day at very reasonable rates.
That meant lots of room for kids to run around and play games.
You don’t need good weather.
Just put paper tablecloths on the provided trestle tables, afterwards roll it up with the paper plates and plastic cutlery and in the bin.
No worry about damaging your carpet, just brush the floor and mop any spills and go home.
What are some of the parties you have enjoyed and what was the place were you held them?
Budget has more posts about finding a house the right size for you
You frequently see articles saying how expensive Australia housing is compared with other countries ……….But is this really true?
UK Houses
The last time I was in England I had a look at some estate agents prices in my home town which is about an hours commute out of the major city of Manchester.
The typical price for a terraced house, of which there are thousands, is around 170,000 pounds. Now at the current rate of exchange that’s around $310,000.
So what do you get for the Money?
About 60 m2 of living space (around 6 square)
A block size of around 100m2 with a 5m frontage
Five smallish rooms consisting of living room, kitchen/diner, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.
If you are lucky you may get a 2m setback which is a small garden at the front
Possibly a single colorbond garage which will practically fill the back yard.
Melbourne Houses
Lets compare this with a basic house about an hours commute out of Melbourne, say Dandenong.
For around $650,000 you could expect:
About 180m2 of living space (around 200square)
A block size of around 550m2 with at least a 12m frontage.
At least eight generous sized rooms consisting of lounge, family room, kitchen/dinner, laundry, 3 bedrooms, bathroom with separate toilet.
A 5m setback for a garden.
A built on brick garage with concrete driveway.
Conclusion
At three times the floor area and over five times the block size, for a bit more than twice the cost, an Australian House looks much better value.
If we want lower cost houses perhaps we should be asking for smaller homes rather than complaining about affordability.
Is our housing expensive, or do we just expect too much? …………..What do you think?
On a summers day, during a period of dry weather, I came across these recently built houses with lines of sandbags!
You would think that the houses must have fronted a river!
Not much chance of getting a car in the garage!
So. . . . What’s the story?
Well its in a long established suburb where large blocks are being subdivided.
That means the drains, which were designed for an estate with lots of gardens, are now in an area where all the water quickly runs of the roofs.
Any heavy rain and the drains become overloaded and then water starts pooling on the road
Well the houses are built facing a low part of the street, so it doesn’t take long for the water level to rise to the footpath level and then start flowing down the driveways.
What makes it even worse is cars driving through the flood water and creating a wash!
A previous post talked about restrictions placed on block by covenants
So you have found the perfect block. . . but it has a covenant restricting the amount of buildings to 50% and your dream plan will occupy more?
Removal of covenants can be tricky and it may be best to talk with a lawyer experienced in planning matters.
Typical process.
Have a walk around the area to see if any other blocks have been changed which may be a precedent you can use.
Be realistic about how much you want to change the restriction If the restriction is 50% then 60% development may be achievable. More than that and you are likely to get objections.
Talk with the immediate neighbours to see if they feel your proposals are reasonable, as they are the most likely to have objections. They are more likely to object if they feel their amenity is lost. ( for example their sunny backyard is shaded by a large double storey building occupying most of the lot)
Put in a planning permit to the council to change the covenant which will involve a fee. Make sure you put in as much detail as possible including any precedents in the area where other lots have been developed without any detriment to the area.
The council will mail out to everyone that may be affected or who also has the same restriction on their title. Typically all the estate can be considered “beneficiaries” of the covenant as they either all have the covenant or benefit from it in some way.
Wait a month to see if anyone objects. If anyone does object (inside that 28 day period), they have to put that in writing and advise why they object. The objection has to show why the “amenity” of their property (value, enjoyment and aesthetics) would be harmed by lifting the covenant.
The town planners will consider whether your proposal really affects the neighborhood, and if they would normally approve the development. If there have been any objections, these will be considered to see if there is any merit. Objecting just for the sake of it (vexatious objection) is not acceptable.
If you don’t get any success with Council then you can try court proceedings . . . but that could be a big bill.
Good luck!
For more posts about what you can build see Restrictions
It’s now eight years since we downsized. . . . so what are the advantages?
The move meant that we released over $100,000 of capital which meant that we became debt free.
The smaller house meant utility bills dropped.
Rates reduced.
As we live in a retirement village there are always people around during the day which makes theft very unlikely.
Somebody else does the lawnmowing.
We still have a bedromm where my grandaughter can stop overnight.
As we have been still active and are now well established, we have friends both inside and outside the retirment village.
Yes we did have to get rid of lots of things before we moved . . . but the truth was they were things like books we weren’t going to read again, and furniture that had hardly been used for years.
