900sqm Block w/ 1 House. Worth keeping or Redevelop w/ Townhouses

Discussion in 'Development' started by BobbyJoe, 30th Jul, 2017.

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  1. BobbyJoe

    BobbyJoe Member

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    Good afternoon All
    I have an approx. 900Sqm block. It has existing house at front. I am thinking of putting two townhouses or units (all 3 bedders) at the rear of block. I am not sure if its worth to keep the existing house and renovate it and whether the existing house will impact on the sale of the potential rear ones. Or is it simple worth to knock the existing one down and build 3 all new townhouses/units.

    This will be my first development project so would really appreciate your thoughts / experiences !!!

    Thanks
     
  2. samiam

    samiam Well-Known Member

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    I personally don't like to buy the townhouse behind the old house- put me off a bit. But if you are keeping all for cash flow, it may not matter much
    I have a similar block in nsw (not Syd) but can't subdivide unless I demolish the front house to get the 6m drive way and good turn around point. Depends on the zoning I think
    Btw I have no development experience whatsoever
     
  3. dabbler

    dabbler Well-Known Member

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    Whats the diff between reno budget & new build, if extensive reno, can be easier to just re build.
     
  4. Archaon

    Archaon Well-Known Member

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    Are you around Maitland/Newcastle way?
     
  5. SamK

    SamK Active Member

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    I would want to know the value of both developments in the end and then work backwards to work out the costs. I do whatever makes the most money, that may be to flip the old house ASAP to get some cash back. Look at recent sales data in the area or speak to a valuer and real estate agents.
    In some areas around me here, the older houses are actually what people are after and a newly renovated one is not much cheaper than a brand new one. You could just about flip the house in the same time it takes to get an approval for a new one.
     
  6. samiam

    samiam Well-Known Member

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    Yes
     
  7. BobbyJoe

    BobbyJoe Member

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    Thanks Guys...These are all insightful comments.

    If anyone else wanting to comment whether an old house renovated would put them off if they bought a townhouse behind it & thus More appealing to have newly built houses together I Welcome all your thoughts and experiences...!!!
    Likewise if others feel renovated old houses in front of townhouses doesn't matter to them I love to hear from you as well...!!!

    Also if you go down the road of building 2 or 3 townhouses/units on a block what have people found is the best way to work out the designs of those townhouses/units without paying the services of designers/architects Or is this a thing you can bug Council Town Planning with? Is there a good approach that people can work out themselves initially?? No doubt designs impact not only on block size but also green space %, min setback, private open space etc etc.

    Just to add my block is on a slight slope...
     
  8. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Around our area there are plenty of old houses facing the street with townhouses behind . Character overlay means limited scope for taking a house away. We have a DA for just this set up.

    I wouldn't try to plan designs without a designer. We had an initial plan drawn and I made quite a few changes to maximize internal living space (moved stairs etc). These people know sizes, land to building ratios etc. Worth every cent...
     
  9. BobbyJoe

    BobbyJoe Member

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    We were thinking originally that it might be worth keeping the old front house and reno it...mainly because we will mostly likely live in it whilst renovating it and building the potential units/townhouses in the back...

    Has anybody had similar experiences with this type of development...pros & cons...

    BTW our block has a slope, has anyone had experiences with this ie. impact on construction costs etc. Did you had to be mindful of anything with a slopey block...
     
  10. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I'd guess it would depend on how many townhouses you could put on the block if it was clear. In our case, we didn't have an option as we had to keep the house, but if it could have come off, and we could have planned two townhouses instead of one old house, that is the way we would have gone.

    If it comes down to losing one house to gain one townhouse, I'm not sure if that would be worth it.
     
  11. BobbyJoe

    BobbyJoe Member

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    Good point...designers know there stuff...This thread might also benefit those looking to buy and dev a block... Out of interest how do you think those looking to buy a block could potentially get around knowing the design requirements without acquiring such designer services each time they have a property they might be interested in?
     
  12. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Town planners would know what can and cannot go on the block. When we first bought our block, we went to a town planner at no cost for that initial visit. He knew what we could put on it.

    We did nothing for quite a few years.
     
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  13. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    Getting good advice is cost saving in itself. Don't rely on council staff to help - they either won't, don't know or have different objective - they are there to assess, not help
     
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  14. Archaon

    Archaon Well-Known Member

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    This is so true, my talks with the duty officer at my local council were confusing and frustrating, as well as being dead-ends.

    Town-planners are the go-to as they know the councils inside out (hopefully)

    If you are looking to sell the townhouses, i'd remove the front house and build new (as long as the DD adds up)

    If you were looking to retain and rent, i'd keep the front house and perhaps reno for yield.
     
  15. Archaon

    Archaon Well-Known Member

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    What is the Frontage of the block? Dimensions?

    Does it slope towards the road or away from it?