Hi Everyone,
I am looking to enter the property market, i have a deposit in the region of low $20's once i pool everything together, and my partner and i have recently been looking at building on a hammerhead block of land. We were originally looking at buying a unit not too far from the city, with the city being adelaide and the suburbs i am looking in being plympton and surrounding. A 2 bedroom unit on a main road in these suburbs is approximetly $300k, while from what i can see, i could buy a hammerhead block which is 300-400 sqm and build a 3 bedroom home for a little bit more than this. I have a good situation at the moment with regards to rent, only costing about $75 a week so i can take the time to build. However, are there any other things that i should be considering. Why are hammerhead blocks so much cheaper than standard blocks? What questions should i be asking agents etc. I just dont want to plan to spend $300-320k, or maybe a little bit more, and then find i have to spend $350+. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Hi, is a hammerhead block the same as a battle axe block?
I bought a battle axe block in Redcliffe Qld, and it always rented well and sold for a good price when sold a few years later. Some people like to have their house front a street, others do not. bale axe blocks that back to bush are also often popular for people who like their privacy.
i assume so, its the block at the back of another block after a subdivision. The blocks are cheaper than normal blocks against the road.
yes, that describes a battle axe block. Building on this should be hassle free as long as you have good access to the site. Is there a house already built on the front block? Is there a seperate and defined driveway to the block or is the driveway a 'common' area?Are the services in place to the block such as sewerage etc? if not, these may be more expensive to connect as they are located further from the street.
Hi Super Stig.
We are in your general area and have developed a hammerhead block ourselves. They are cheaper because they are not as appealing to buyers, who are used to having a street frontage. You should know that their value may be a bit less because of this too. However, they provide good security for tenants, and if done well are a great alternative to a unit – I 100% agree with you there. Personally I'd prefer to have the rear house, as it is not so overlooked by the new one (on two sides) which can feel a bit exposed, and obviously there's no passing traffic!
This type of development is more common in New Zealand I believe. I know my granny did it decades ago, by relocating a timber house to the rear of her original home, which one of my aunts took over. I am pretty sure the whole concept is starting to catch on here as it is becoming more frequent.
Regarding costs etc. you will have to pay slightly higher connection fees for electricity and water as they are located on the street usually and builders only allow a certain number of metres to your new house. Also in our council area there were restrictions on the height of the dwelling, I assume as surrounding properties would be overlooked.
Good luck with your plan, I think its a good one.
G
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