Hi,
I have a house on 764sq in a suburb of Liverpool Sydney. We have been here 20 years and have found out the house next door was sold to the their neighbor on the other side without going to market. This neighbor has just informed us they are going to erect 8 townhouses on the block about the same size as ours.
This will now mean we will have two story brick walls down the whole of the west side of our property except a bit in the middle where they will have parking.
It wiull cut out a great deal of our skyline, we will lose sun around 2.30pm, we will lose privacy all along our yard especially the pool area.
I have been told we cannot stop them, and the developers have said they will keep clear windows to a minimum on our side.
Although we don’t really want to, we will haveto move as skyline and full sun is very important to us over 58 year olds.
2 Realtors have told us we will get $420-$450k tops in this area. We have a great bush and trees/country style backyard that is hard to find in this area and we thought this would give us an edge when we went to sell, however we have been told we would get as much for the property iof the land was cut in half so the house had only a small ez maintence yars.
We have looked from and around Bowral, Mittagong, Blue Mountains,Wollambi, Silverdale et al and see we will need at least $500/$550k to get something close to the fully renovated home we have today.
I am trying to see ways how I can up my chances of getting more money for us to move and they include..
Cutting the property in half so the present home has a small ez maint yard and building a small house in the other area.
This way we could sell them for the $420 for the present house and maybe $380 for the newer home with the newer one costing maybe up to $100k tp plan, build,taxes etc.
Other than we need 350 or so sq for the new home and a 5mtr clearance on the side of the house for access to the new one, is there anything else I should know?
Also is my plan a feasable one, if not are there any suggestions how I can get myself out of this dimemna?
Hope you can give us some advice..
Oz
[confused2]hang on… have you spoken to council? and they have confirmed that these plans all conform and there is nothing you can do? In Perth there would be no hope of getting a development like that through – you couldn’t have any clear windows looking into a neighbours property and you certainly couldn’t build a 2 storey high wall down one side. any plan like this would be put to all neighbouring properties for consultataion – just make sure they aren’t intimidating you and you have the facts right
Extensive list of ‘Off The Plan’ property available for sale in Perth.John – 0419 198 856
Thanks for the reply.
There are these types of townhouse developments all over our area. I’d say in 5 years our whole street except one of two houses, will be the same as other streets in this area have become.
I will still go to Liverpool council myself on Monday to be sure of my rights however I would like advice and thoughts on my options in case there is little I can do.
Oz
Hi OZstar,
Definitely see your local council and they will be able to tell you what your rights are. It is possible the ‘appeals’ period has closed and you have missed the opportunity to get plans adjusted to suit your needs too. On the otherhand maybe not…..
While you are there the local council will also be able to tell you what is required for you to do the same to your block.
A bit of further research with REA, development groups who specialise in such undertakings, builders, architects etc will give you the information you require to establish what is the best course of action for you.
Methinks being a virgin developer is a risky proposition at this stage in the property market.
However selling a block with developmental approval may add siginficantly to your selling price without the building/development hassles to go with it.
Derek
[email protected]Property Investment Support Available. Ongoing and never stopping. PM welcome.
It is usually a requirement for the council to require the developer to seek neighbours comments and / or consent before council will approve plans.
Especially with regard to walls and windows along boundry lines.
It is important that you phone or better still, go to the planning dept. in you council office, and query them as to your rights to object to the aspects of the development that are upsetting you, or affecting your property.KP
Hi Ozstar,
I totally agree with Ausprop, check with the council first!
But in answer to your “alternative options” question, “just in case” scenario, it may be worthwhile considering…..
Using the equity in your PPOR to refinance a loan for your new PPOR, in the meantime, renting out your old PPOR. And if you sell your old PPOR within 6 years of moving out and renting it, you will be CGT exempt, provided you don’t buy another PPOR in the meantime, but say, opt to rent (at a cheaper rental rate) elsewhere.
OR
As you have already stated, going with your subdivision option, selling off the rear premises, and then your PPOR. Don’t forget there are subdivision, building costs etc that need to be taken into account, and the fact that you will be up for CGT on the rear building when you sell it.
All the best, hope things go well at the council on Monday; keep us posted.
Cheers,
Jo
Thank you all, you have been most gracious with your advice.
Yes I will go to the council Monday and report back to the forum what they say.
Oz
ozstar, you could always offer the ‘developer’ the chance to buy your block!!
You never know, they may jump at the chance to be able to build another 8 townhouses on your block as well…….
Cheers
MelLiverpool, once a happy family area is being turned into a lowerclass area with too many townhouses/units in close proximity to each other. Yes its time to move, but have you thought you may be better off trying to get into a nice property on the coast like Port Macquarie or Coffs Harbour. There have justbeen released 40 good sized building blocks in “Boambee Heights” at the top of a hill overlooking the south coffs harbour urban sprawl. A good block is $180k and look what kind of mansion $220k will get you these days. So maybe sell the house now before the demo/construction starts next door, maybe research splitting your block and selling it with DA approved but dont do the hard work yourself. Another greedy investor will snap it up for more townhouses quickly. Move north for warmer climes in your senior years and build the dream home.
Sounds like the better option with change in your pocket for a boat. Hmmmm sounds better than a cold Mittagong or Bowral freeze in winter. Sun was out so we walked on the beach here in Coffs today collecting shells with my 4 yo daughter. Nice!!!
Good luck whatever you decide. Just thought a different perspective may be needed.
DD
Don’t sweat the small stuff,and it’s all small stuff!!
Well..
Went to the council and found out the front must be at least 17 mtrs wide (5 metres driveway plus 12 metres) and the back 12 metres wide, to get another house at back.
The driveway must be at least 5 metres wide from the roof gutter to the fence.
The DA application is just over $300 with the money adding up after that with the plans, building aps, inspections and so on.
We took out the tape..
We can do the 17 at the front, just miss the 12 at the back, miss the driveway by 1 metre and they say we can still put in the app but 99.99% it will be rejected.
So, the upshot of this is..
We are left with a house and no options.
A realtor told us the market around this area has really really quickly dropped, 2 of his sales crew are about to quit.The house he got a buyer for $420k next door to us a month ago, would maybe not get to the $400k now with it taking maybe up to 8 weeks instead of the 3 or so a few weeks ago. Buyers are just not around as much!
Also he said, the next door guys will need 1500sq mtrs to build 5 units and while they may have hoped for 8, they will not get them. They only have about 1450.
The council also had no record of their plans as yet..
This area seems to have struggled getting the prices to rise at the rate of most other areas, I guess due to many new areas opening up with new homes everywhere. We learnt last week 90,000 homes going to Bringelly within 7 years, 7,000 to Hoxton Park airport in 7 years, 8,000 at Leppington and 2,000 behind Flowerpower near Milperra Bridge. Talk about supply!!!
Yes Coffs looks great.. so does Coolangatta, but we have to be in this rat hole of Sydney, you know kids, work, friends.
Still looking around Glenwood in the Blue Mtns, just hope prices drop there like they are here.
Yes, I’d like to hear responses to my ramblings..
Thanks all!
at least we are healthy.. so far!!isn’t this good news? I thought you had to move because next door was being developed in poor taste – seems they don’t even have plans drawn yet. If the market is so depressed there I doubt they will ever build.
The psychology of buying and selling from my experience is that whenever you buy it feels like the market is hot and you can’t find anything, yet when you sell all you can see is competition and lack of buyers.
If you want to move by all means go for it – but don’t undersell your biggest asset and pay top dollar down the road. And certainly don’t use an agent that is telling you how unsuccessful his business is – my god – is this what he will be telling potential buyers of your property “yeh this area is rubbish and is not selling and my staff are all leaving” ?!
Extensive list of ‘Off The Plan’ property available for sale in Perth.John – 0419 198 856
Well..
Went to the council and found out the front must be at least 17 mtrs wide (5 metres driveway plus 12 metres) and the back 12 metres wide, to get another house at back.
The driveway must be at least 5 metres wide from the roof gutter to the fence.
The DA application is just over $300 with the money adding up after that with the plans, building aps, inspections and so on.
We took out the tape..
We can do the 17 at the front, just miss the 12 at the back, miss the driveway by 1 metre and they say we can still put in the app but 99.99% it will be rejected.
So, the upshot of this is..
We are left with a house and no options.
A realtor told us the market around this area has really really quickly dropped, 2 of his sales crew are about to quit.The house he got a buyer for $420k next door to us a month ago, would maybe not get to the $400k now with it taking maybe up to 8 weeks instead of the 3 or so a few weeks ago. Buyers are just not around as much!
Also he said, the next door guys will need 1500sq mtrs to build 5 units and while they may have hoped for 8, they will not get them. They only have about 1450.
The council also had no record of their plans as yet..
This area seems to have struggled getting the prices to rise at the rate of most other areas, I guess due to many new areas opening up with new homes everywhere. We learnt last week 90,000 homes going to Bringelly within 7 years, 7,000 to Hoxton Park airport in 7 years, 8,000 at Leppington and 2,000 behind Flowerpower near Milperra Bridge. Talk about supply!!!
Yes Coffs looks great.. so does Coolangatta, but we have to be in this rat hole of Sydney, you know kids, work, friends.
Still looking around Glenwood in the Blue Mtns, just hope prices drop there like they are here.
Yes, I’d like to hear responses to my ramblings..
Thanks all!
at least we are healthy.. so far!!
at least we are healthy.. so far!!You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
