Investment build opinions 3-2-2 or 3-2-1

Hey guys,

I've just purchased a 16m x 16m block purely as an investment in Melbournes south east and am tossing up between 2 designs. An approx 16sq 3 bed 2 bath double garage home, which will mean that due to the smaller size of the block, will leave me with a courtyard sized rear yard approx 3m x 6m. Also the design will leave me with no carspaces in front of the garage (only 3m to boundary) and push the house to the min 2m setback.

Or, I can go with a 14-15sq 3 bed 2 bath single garage home, with a carspace in front of the driveway, 3-4m setback for the front of the home and a 'large' backyard with garage access.

In regards to rental desirability and future resale value, which design do you guys go for?

 

Depends on area - in WA it's rare to see single garages and in SA its rare to see double ones.

Have a drive round to see what everyone else has. If you're not doing single purely for space reasons then I'd be compelled to go double.

 

+1

 

Does the first scenario even meet Council/Town Planning laws? The courtyard doesn't sound like it does.

I would check what is being built in the local area, it's values for sale and rental and base my decision on that during the feasibility. You can easily compare the 2 - costs vs end values.

Most people are happy in Melbourne with a single garage if they can park in front but newer estates are going for double garages more and more these days.

 

+1

 

The area is a real mix of both singles and doubles. The land won't title until mid this year so nothing is built in that release yet, but the other lots surrounding my lot in particular are all wide frontages and larger lots. So you'd assume they'd all be double garages.

 

See what stock is selling best/most demand and most suitable for your area and land, and choose that, all other things being equal. Thats what i would do.

 

Yeah I've checked the private open space requirements with the developer and one of the builders and that particular design satisfies the minimum. I learnt that lesson from a previous build.

In regards to costings, they come up to a 10-12k difference which is not much over the long term. End values in the current markets are very similar which is why I was thinking along the lines of desirability and appeal.

Honestly my personal preference would be a 3 2 2

 

I would go 3x2, I know not necessary in Melb, but for minimal cost I would do it to achieve higher end value and also is more desirable I expect

 

With good design I would hope you can achieve both. A double garage is desirable but so is POS.

 

Thanks for your input everyone, its much appreciated

 

Care to share the two options @Connor? I love looking at designs.

 

Will do, just at work atm.. I'll post them tomorrow.
They're just hand sketches from builder tho..

 

Single storey or double?
I had a small look on Metricon and even something like this single storey design might work - needs to be a little narrower
The Tallow Home - Browse Customisation Options | Metricon

 

Westminster, thats a really nice design. A little narrower and it would be perfect.

Ok, it too me a while to get the scanner working but here are the 2 design options the builder came up with. One a double garage with a 3m clearance from the front boundary which would not be enough room to park a car.

The single garage design has a 5m setback so you can park a car in front of the garage. Also this design has a second living area/theatre room.

In regards to rental return and resale Im now thinking the single garage design is more appealing

 

Ok - how big does your private open space need to be?

I have come up with an option for you but the courtyard is 4m x 4.6m which I suspect might not be enough.

I've put in a tanden garage which has 4.5m in front of it. Therefore you have space for 2 cars + visitor. Then I did a version of that Metricon home I linked above

 

I like what you've done with that design. That's definately maximised use of the car space area. I didn't think of a tandem garage.

Private open space on this lot is a min of 25sqm

I'm waiting on the developer to get back to me with the minimum setback for the garage. That will be the decision maker as to what type of garage I can go for.