Is it a waste of money to raise/build under/extend in QLD?

I bought a tiny 80sqm workers cottage on 450sqm and now I need to get the ball rolling so I can move in within 4 months. We'll stay there for 6+ years. But I'm stuck deciding which direction to take / which options to rule out.

It seems that new builds provide much better value - probably for $300k a 24sq 4 bed, much more at $400k. If I go that way, I guess I have a sunk cost of $60k for the house.

Initially I thought I'd do a raise (~2m > 3m), slab, exterior walls, some bathroom renovation and then DIY as much as legally allowed. But it seems that after adding a garage and deck to get to 24sq, the total cost would be about $300k. (just guessing based on online posts)

The minimum needed to move in would be to add a driveway, add a 2nd bathroom + toilet in the existing bathroom, get one aircon. My guess is this could be $40k+? Then I'd DIY the kitchen for $10k.

My worry is the lack of living space. Ideally I'd want to extend an enclosed space on the living area level (2m high). I have no idea what this would cost.

But once developed, raising isn't feasible anymore and I'm unsure whether to drop that consideration. It would add a neater space below (currently strange uneven concrete blocks form a slab). But it could cost a bit - as I understand the slab would be removed. There's also asbestos, a laundry, the water heater.

There's a 375mm storm water pipe across the width and unsure whether the inspection hole is next to or under the house - but it should be close to the edge. The house is 2m from the side and as I understand the house would need to move sideways a bit so that the roof is 2m from the perimeter.

 

Location?
If it's prime waterfront property then go and spend some money....
Otherwise it's expensive to raise and hard to determine ROI...
6 yrs..80sqm house....maybe not worth it....my deck is almost 80sqm...
Can you make a covered deck area off the house?
Or build higher on the garage?
Is it a flood area?

 

Stop guessing and get some quotes.
I'm not sure how you've determined a brand new build would provide better value if you don't know the costs or have any quotes?

 

Raising is not that a big deal is it? Especially a small workers cottage.

 

You'd could guess my address - inner West Brisbane.
No flood but slightly below street level... I will get quotes on an enclosed deck / extension - there's no garage.

Sure but I had to narrow down what to get quotes on and who to get quotes from. I've found anecdotal posts to see that a volume builder base cost + $100k is a safe bet and would be better than a lifted 60yr old house or am I wrong? I'm worried about investing too much in an old house which the next owner will likely knock down.

I think raising is cheap - will get an estimate. From this forum it seems like the slab will be 35k though and take the cost up to 80k. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to raise without plans to build underneath though.

 

I don't think it's safe to assume those figures at all.
You might be completely wrong, I don't know, I'm not a builder - get some quotes from a builder.
Some people prefer houses with a bit of character, vs a boring volume builder, cookie cutter style of house.

If the renovations are done well why would someone want to knock it down? I don't understand why you're worried about what the next owner does with it in any case.

 

Check heritage rulings as to whether you are actually able to knock it down.

Anything pre-WW2 may have restrictions. (Brisbane).

 

My advice would be to forget about the urgency to do anything before you move in.. and just move in. Live there for a while and think long and hard about what you want to do.. get a feel for the house, the nice aspects and design around this..

The last thing you want to do is spend money now and then spend more money later redoing things.. we spent probably $20k re-stumping our house, putting in a driveway/retaining wall etc so we could park under the house.. we've now ripped that all out raising our house with our proper renovation.

There's no way you could plan something with a designer/draftsman, get it through council, find a builder and start work in the next 4 months.. Most (good) builders are too busy to even provide a quote.. I'd wait until this construction boom cools off a bit and plan a proper renovation.

 

Because I'm not familiar with wooden frames or Australian construction at all - it seems like high risk Vs new building. If the house is not decent for the area in 6 years, I may only sell for the land value so any renovations would have been an expense - and I'm heading to retirement broke - I need to maximize what I can.

oh it should be post war with no character overlay so think that's ok

 

Thanks we may have to just move in - will see if the marriage survives this also

Actually I only have $70k before next year so just wanted to consider the option of raising now to avoid moving out for that in future if we go that way. Driveway has to come though.. the wife won't be able to enter the way it is. And we're paying rent till end January.

 

Thanks for the details, I read all the house raising posts btw I will share what renovation we do end up making.

 

As soon as you know your moving date give notice of your intention to break your lease.

Rentals are tight in Brisbane at the moment so the PM should be able to find a new tenant to take over your lease relatively easily.

 

It is generally far cheaper to build a new dwelling than to extend and renovate a property. Renovations generally use up the existing floorplan and its never perfect. Then plumbing, electrical and structural issues and invisible issues always impact. Before even starting consider exctly what you hope to achieve and get quotes. They may shock you.

Compare this to a fixed price project build + rent while it occurs. It may also get finance easier

 

Fwiw next door to my parents in Auchenflower spent roughly 650k on a Reno in 2019, he is a project manager. I.e he had a super efficient and high quality team from the start. It was slowed by rain but the whole process only took them about 16 weeks.

They got the place fully fenced, 2 car garage, 4 or 5 beds and fancy outdoor space with tv and pizza oven overlooking a nice pool.


It's a bit flash but not top tier.

I'm considering doing the same but weighing up moving vs renovating. I estimate our 95m² place will be around the $350k and that's not paying labour for asbestos removal, plumbing, electrical or HVAC. Heck, it cost me 28k to build a 30sq hardwood deck 2 years ago.

Raising is around 15k with steel, add 5k for sliding or more steel for less posts.
Concrete is where I'm stuck, had quotes from 20 to 40k for seemingly the same product.

Getting a set of plans is crucial to any quote to compare builders. This cost me close to 10k last time.

I think it's worth saving these post war homes, I think they have more charm than these Hamptons styled things going up everywhere. That's got zero factor into what will make you the most money.

My estimate for a new build was in the 4-500's, including demo in the current market and also needing to live somewhere during construction, which is now drawn out so that could cost 10k alone.

I'm not as limited on a 700sq block for room so I can push out and back easily, using your more valuable block wisely would be critical for extracting the best value from the land size available.

 

Hi, yes thank you.. this is what worried me. I will get the exact quotes before deciding, but will likely go live in the house as-is first. Except for needing to add a bathroom.. and a driveway+carport.