First Home Buyer – 2 properties on 1 block Ipswich

I am looking at buying my first house and have stumbled upon what the advertisement calls a “seems too good to be true” deal (and I’m worried that it is just that!)

It is a little 1100squ block (roughly) that has two 3 bedroom dwellings on it. The advertisement clearly states it is one block and two houses with the one at the back being rented out.

The older house (officially the only house on there and in some advertisements labeled with the letter A after the house number)is run down but liveable. I was thinking we could live in there and do her up as best we can on the cheap as mostly it seems cosmetic.

The newer house at the back of the property is tenanted. The agent was very vague about why the two properties, clearly unmatched and having no association with one another would not be approved as subdivided and basically lead us to believe that the current owners were simply lazy and that though the house at the back was not approved it would be no problem for us to just slip into ipswich city council and “sort it out”.

I note “onthehouse.com” has both dwellings listed but pictures only of the earlier one but that the site uses the whole block size for the first house and only 1/2 the block size when referring to the new build.

Is there a way I can know BEFORE I purchase this property whether or not I can subdivide the lot into two properties?

Thanks for your advice. It is all appreciated as I’m new and I’m learning. It seems like a great way to have my cake and eat it too with somewhere to live and also have rental income but of course it is only a good deal if the price is right and I know what I’m dealing with so give it to me straight guys.. where can I go to find out about this? How much will it cost me and does this all seem to fit the advertised “too good to be true”?