Title – A New House

Community Title

Community Title Developments include;

Gated Communities,
Retirement Villages,
Eco Retreats,
Golf Course developments,
Marinas.

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

Title Delays

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

Easements

When I worked for a drainage contractor almost every month I have to tell people that they are going to have to take down their shed, dig out part of their raised garden bed, or take up part of their paved patio.

Why? ……………because they have built them on top of a manhole on a drainage easement that needs to be cleaned or inspected.

How Common Are Easements

About 50% of properties will have a drainage or sewerage easement generally running along the back fence.

These will be shown on the title plan.

Between 5 and 10% of all properties will have a manhole within their property.

This will be used to access the sewer or drain for maintenance.

When buying a house block be very careful if you find a block that has an easement running from front to back, as this will severely restrict your options on what you can build.

Why are there Easements

Easements are a method of giving other people some rights over your property.

Examples are:

The right to have a pipe or other underground, or above ground, service laid under your property. The most common easements are for drainage and sewerage pipes. You will sometimes come across utility easements for water supply, electricity, telecommunications and gas.
Right of access, for example; to come onto your property and maintain, repair and replace the services.
Right to use a shared driveway

Although the person or organization having benefit of the easement has the responsibility to restore the land after maintenance and repairs this does not usually extend to rebuilding any structures such as sheds or replacing expensive paving.

Building on Easements

It can be difficult and expensive to be allowed to build any permanent structure such as part of your house over an easement.

The actual width of a pipeline easement will depend on the size and depth of the pipes, and on having enough room to carry out maintenance and repair.

Another factor is keeping the foundations far enough away that they don’t damage the pipe.

Do you check your Title Plan?

To better understand what you can build see

Restrictions in the Blocks section

Small Strata Developments

A small strata development is a way of retaining an existing house and providing a rear Block. It is an alternative to a Battle Axe Block. This plan shows a typical Small Strata Development.

With this type of development there are 3 Titles as follows:

A block title, of reduced size for the original house
A block title for the new block shown in red on the plan
An area of common title which is jointly owned by the owners of both blocks

So what are the issues if you are thinking of buying the back block for you new home?

Driveway

If the common driveway is completed it may well get damaged during construction.
Getting agreement about driveway repair can be difficult.
Getting agreement from your neighbour to use the access for during construction can be difficult.
Sharing a driveway means that your parking options are limited and can lead to disputes.
Looking after the shared driveway is like some of the
Community Title issues.

Additional Service Costs

You will be need to bring in some, if not all, of the following service for an extra 20-30m.

Power.
Phone.
Water, could be two services if you want recycled water.
Gas, if it is available.
Storm water drainage, can be a problem if property drains to road.

The sewer is usually at the back of the block but check before you buy.

Additional Building Costs

I have heard additional building costs of more than $15,000 for these blocks because they are Restricted Sites

Lots more information in the anewhouse Guide to Buying a Block for only $4

See Blocks for more information on buying land.

Subdivision – Process

Found a big block and would like to split it into two? ……… or just looking to build another house on your block?……….You are going to need to subdivide the block.

Here is an idea of the process for Victoria (It will be similar in other states but check with your local council to make sure you get the details right)

Stage 1 – Planning Permit

You will need to make a formal application to the Council for a planning permit.

As part of its decision making process Councils time will advertise your proposal to adjoining property owners.

It will also require consent to the issuing of a permit from the Servicing Authorities (water, sewer, gas, telephone, drainage) and the highway authority.

Generally it will take 60-90 days for the Planning Permit but it might be longer if there are objections.

The Planning Permit will outlines conditions that must be met. These can include: Servicing Authorities requirements, such as construction of vehicle crossings, drainage works and contribution towards open space where applicable. The Planning Permit may also request the submission of amended plans.

Stage 2 – Certification

Certification is an administrative step to ensure that the Plan of Subdivision is satisfactory.

The Plan of Subdivision for Certification is referred to the Highways and Servicing Authorities to determine.

Whether Easements are required for their services.
Engineering plans for required works are approved (eg. construction of roads, drainage and services,

Once the Servicing Authorities have consented to the Plan of Subdivision and Engineering plans have been approved the plan can be Certified.

The Certified Plan is valid for five years, if the plan is not registered at the Titles Office within that time, the plan expires.

Stage 3 – Compliance

A Statement of Compliance is required to allow registration of the subdivision at the Titles Office and obtain release of the new titles by the Titles Office.

Compliance requires all the conditions of the Planning Permit being met. This will include construction of any drainage and vehicle crossings, and payment to all Servicing Authorities for water/sewerage/drainage/electricity supply.

Council will only issue the Statement of Compliance after it has received a letter from each Servicing Authority and carried out a final inspection of the site.

Costs

See this post: Subdivision Costs

Also see Battle Axe Block

What Sort of Plan?

Buying Land…….There are several sorts of Plans/ Surveys of your Block to think about before you can start building a house.

Here is a guide to the various plans based on the same block:

Title Plan

Title Plans are the legal document that describes the land. Initially they are usually the only plan that is available They are limited to:

Showing the dimensions and bearings of the boundaries.
Showing the locations of Easement.

The drawing below is a typical title plan

Feature Survey

The Feature Survey is an accurate representation of the block prepared by a surveyor. Typically the information shown is:

Boundaries.
Site Contours.
Locations of trees.
Any other above ground features such as driveway crossovers and manholes.

If you buy direct from a project builder they will normally arrange the feature survey. If you want to get quotes from several builders it can be worth getting a feature survey done first.

Geo-Technical Plan

The Geo-Technical Plan is more in the form of a sketch than an accurate representation of the site. The main purpose is to indicate the approximate location of boreholes. Other information that may be included is:

Indication of location of trees as these may affect the Geotechnical Recomendations.
Any rock outcrops.
Direction of fall.
Ponds / swampy areas.