Wow, that is 3/4 of an acre! What if you only go single storey? Could you do it on a smaller allotment then? Alternatively how many townhouses could you fit on 3000m2? You might need to look for a JV partner with some serious equity/$. Good luck.

My personal opinion is that every home in Australia should capture at least some of their rainfall (if and when it happens). Even if this water is used to water gardens (drought tolerant of course), wash cars and flush toilets it has to be better than letting it run down the stormwater system. Hooking up toilet flushing rainwater tanks or adding a Solahart is compulsary (Five Star requirement) on new dwellings in Vic where we are and can be pricey (depending on who does it) but the other options aren’t expensive in the scheme of things and can be retrofitted.

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

A town planner (call your council or a local building inspector) will be able to help you with all that information. Alternatively if you log onto http://www.land.vic.gov.au and go to interactive maps enter in the address of the property you can call up a free property information sheet that will include the zoning for that piece of land amongst other things. I would imagine that you will need Z1 residential zoning. The block size will have a direct influence on how many units that you are able to put on the lot, you will definately get 3 but you may get 4. You need common areas (driveways to each unit) as well as a certain amount of permeable area for each dwelling (if you are going to get seperate titles for each unit). The height and design of the townhouses will be directly affected by the dwellings that already exist around it, as well as each other, this is a rescode requirement to ensure that everyone has some level of privacy from overlooking dwellings (there are more design elements than just privacy).
As mentioned above the first step is to speak to a town planner and get an idea of the zoning and whether you will be able to do what you want to do. You will need to make sure that it is feasable financially also; don’t want to buy the land, develop and then find out that your townhouses are dearer than others in the same area because you paid too much for the land in the first place. If it has a reasonable dwelling on it already you could also buy, hold/rent and develop in the future if the land is a little pricey at the moment.

Due diligence is the word! Good luck

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

Hope you get better soon Jaffasoft. In North West vic so a bit far away for a visit but if you get bored and want some amusing email attachments to waste some time over send me a PM and I forward some to you. May be even funnier on morphine??

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

Hi Mollymonsta
Cool name! I live in Mildura and the area is ticking over nicely. The town has an immediate population of around 25000 and the small towns around it in Vic and NSW total around 45000-50000 population that it services. Has a large agricultural dependancy with much of the area irrigated by the Murray. Dry land farming and tourism are also drivers to the local economy. Work has began on the first inland Marina in the Southern Hemisphere to house a 5 star motel, 100 unit sites (talk recently of upping that to 200) with retail and cafe sites. The marina will sell freehold moorings for houseboats and pleasurecraft. 15 house site on the man made island in the middle all sold within a few days of being released for up to 3/4 of a million dollars. I expect that these lots of land will come back on the market when the marina has nearly finished construction. There are 3 main areas to steer clear from in Mildura so if you need a heads up drop me a PM and I will help you out. If you get to the point you do some due diligence on a prop then my husband is a builder and I can organize him to do a house inspection for you.

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

Hi Daneye
I have recently done all you are about to do. I found out from my bank when I wanted to know how much i could borrow to purchase our first IP that they valued our home at $250k. I thought that this was conservative and when I asked more about it the bank said that they just drive past the homes and place an estimate on the value themselves (probably in conjunction with council notice). I decided that it was in my best interests to get a qualified valuer to do an independant valuation on our property. It cost $330 but his valuation report came in at $315k which is enough extra equity to buy another property so I felt that the $330 was worth it. The reports was supported by recent sales in my area and compared these properties to my own. It also had a section in the report as to what the expected rental would be on my property (this was blank as they weren’t asked to include that info for a PPOR).
I would find it hard to trust the valuation of an REA, they have a vested interest in it no matter what the reason for the valuation. I recently looked at a home on the market for $192k + in my local city on 1100mt sq. The home is old and original and the REA told me that it was on the market for ‘roughly’ land value. I was aware of the land value as my parents lived in the very next street and I had asked mum what the council valued her land at; there was $50k difference although mums land area was slightly smaller. You have to get someone independant. If I decide to make an offer on this property it will still only be after I get an independant valuation done on it. The banks, vendors, REA’s and your own peace of mind can’t argue with them. I just consider it part of my due diligence.

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

I can see you are in Victoria. I will make the assumption that the builder who did the slab and frame organized a building permit and warranty insurance for his work as a slab and frame would have cost more than $12k? He should also have signed a contract with you if his work was over $5k . No warranty insurance can be issued in Vic prior to having a signed contract detailing the amount, stages and details of the work and the two parties. If he didn’t provide you with warranty insurance for the slab or frame (many deliberately don’t for owner builders as you have to pass the cost back to the owner and the owner often doesn’t want the extra cost) then you are then on your own if there is a problem with either down the track. However if he has also not organized a building permit he could be in trouble (unless you told him that you had one) as then he has obviously not called you or the building inspector to organize the inspections on the footings, mesh and frame. The frame inspection can still be done if you haven’t lined the inside of the shed but you will to seek advice from a building inspector on what can be done about the 2 inspections that should have been done on your slab.

In our council which is also in Vic we have to supply the building inspector (private or council) 3 copies of the plan, 3 copies of soil reports/footing details, 3 copies of any computations by and engineer, 3 copies of specifications, building permit application form and a copy of the title of land that the structure is to be built on. A building inspector asks for the title to make sure that the person is building on their own land and not someone elses by mistake. If you are building on your grandmothers land, she may be able to put in writing that the construction on her land is known to her and has her permission and that the eventual bequest of that land will be in your favour. I would think that she will legally own the house on the land while the land is in her name if nothing is put in writing (you may need to visit a solicitor as well).
The 12,000k refers to warranty insurance. It shouldn’t be something that council need to worry about for a owner builder unless you are selling the home. Any tradesman or person supplying ‘structural’ work/materials in excess of $12k has to provide the owner with warranty insurance. This would typically include a concretor, carpenter, bricklayer or a builder if he organized a couple of those trades on your behalf. If a builder does the job he has to provide you with warranty insurance to protect you from faulty workmanship or materials in his work. If you are an owner builder you do not have to supply this insurance unless you decide to sell the home within 6.5 years of the certificate of occupancy being issued and then it is only pro-rata on the time left to serve.
A plumber and an electrician are governed by seperate authorities so do not supply warranty insurance as such. A plumber will supply and ‘Certificate of compliance’ and an electrician will supply an electrical certification as well. Neither of these have the $12k limit to warranty. A plumber has to supply his certificate for work over $500! Not sure on the electrician.
I would say that your contact at the council knows less than you do or you have misunderstood his instructions. I would put everything in writing with as many dates, details of discussion and talks and contact times as possible. I would initially contact a private building inspector if you have one in your area. He may be able to argue on your behalf and educate you on the situation. One of you will then need to speak to building inspector at the council who is higher up the ladder and present your case to him and explain that you have done everything the council staff member has told you to and now his inexperience has led to the serious situation you now find yourself in. Make it clear you were acting under a council representative’s instructions and that you place the blame in their lap. It may seem harsh but if there have been no inspections on this property and no building permit issued then the council are within their right (at the discretion of the inspector) to ask you to pull it down and start again. You need to make it clear that the staff member who instructed you was ultimately responsible thus removing the blame (as much as possible) from yourself. You could also contact the builder and ask him who he arranged to inspect the slab before the concrete was poured. For your information not every carpenter is a builder; a builder is someone who is licenced to provide warranty insurance to clients in a limited way (such as a demolition builder or a pool installer) or and unlimited way (such as a residential home or commercial property builder). Unfortunately some carpenters call themselves ‘builders’ when they are not. You could also call the Building Commission in Victoria for advice. Just make sure that you call a private building inspector before you make any calls and get some independant advice relevant to your council and situation. Good luck[angry2]

What state are you in? I may be able to give you some advice. If you want to speak to someone face to face go and see a local building inspector (private not the guy at council) and he will set you and most likely the council employee straight.

Julie Fisher
Daryl Fisher Homes

If building-in the dining room looks original then it will add value no matter whether it is called a bedroom or not. Most houses with a smaller 4th bedroom use it as a study anyway. Many REA’s will market such rooms as study/4th bedroom. It is up to the prospective tenant or purchaser to decide what use it will fulfill. It is more valuable in my opinion as it gives additional options; not because of what that room is named. A family with more than 2-3 children may appreciated the additional bedroom. Another family with the same amount of children but who work for themselves may appreciate the fact they have a study as well as enough room to sleep their family. If you feel that calling it a ‘4th bedroom’ will give it more value then call it that. No one can dispute the name of a room.

Julie

Hi Emil
Can’t help you with a tradie as I am not from those parts but I can tell you that the only difference between an study and a bedroom is the name. Call it what you like. If all the other rooms have built in robes and this one doesn’t then you can easily get the builder to frame some in if the room is big enough and the plasterer and painter can finish it off when they are doing the wall.

Regards Julie[thumbsup2]
Daryl Fisher Homes