Dear PropertyChat, I recently purchase a new property in SE Melbourne with the intention of developing but tbh being a newbie at this, Im a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities and hoping the community wisdom here can help. Quick facts: Land: rectangular 600+m2 conner block on a slight elevation Exiting home: 40-50yo 3bed 1 bath single floor original brick house Location: next door to major SC, PT, freeway entrance, parkland, schools. The neighbourhood is mostly families with young kids or young adult children, some empty nesters. My end plan is divide the current block into 2: Front block (F) roughly 400m2 with the exisiting house on it and back block (B) around 200m2 to build a new dwelling. Each will have separate driveway and the block B can have its own number. Im not too worried about plan permit etc because there have been similar subdivisions in the area. Im also moving in soon to take advantage of the PPOR claim and minimise tax. Below are my options in order of expected return - the buyers Im targeting would be fam with young kids looking for a bigger home, neat, easily maintained space to grow into. 1: Major renovation house on block (F) including adding another floor, sell it to finance the build on block (B) As the current house is pretty small, a second storey would add significant space and value: moving some bedrooms upstairs, bigger kitchen to replace the current tiny one. Problem is upfront cost, effort but profit margin also biggest. 2: Major reno on house on block (F) by extending the porch and rear areas, sell it to finance the build on block (B) Problem is the limited space: even with this extension I will have to choose between a decent size kitchen or a second bath. Cost is also an issue but probably less than option 1. 3: Sell block (B) with plan permit for a 3 or 4br townhouse, which then would give me the budget to do whatever reno to house on block (F) Easiest quickest option however there's tax implication on selling off backyard. With the other options after the finishing the build on block (B) I can move in and again claim PPOR before sales. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Or share story of how your own projects went. Thank you
Have you checked that the foundations of the existing house are strong enough to support a second floor, or confirmed that a second floor is feasible? Marg
@JHC: it's in malvern vic, block dimensions 15mx39m with slight 3 percentage slope along the length. There are few trees along property's boundaries and one in particular where I want to draw the division line - looking into removing them. @Marg: I havent been able to get an engineer out to test the foundation and house frame as we havent settled yet but it's on the to-do list asap. A close engineer mate who's seen the place said it's most likely ok but I will get professional option on this.
