Buzzy--Bee

Thanks. Thats very helpful.

Cheers

Buzzy

michellemac

Hello,

I grew up in a semi-rural community (estate with 5-10 acre bloks and houses). We had horses and my brother and his friends had trail bikes, quad bikes and three-wheelers (one of them becoming an international champion before having a horrific fall and is now a quadriplegic ). Luckily for them there was a lot of vacant land not too far away and they did most of their tearing around on that land, away from the neighbours which resulted in a more harmonious neighbourhood. I have to say from expereince that 1 and a half acres is probably too small to be able to ride the bikes effectively though (not to mention the complaints you will get from neighbours!) and you might want to look at somewhere bigger (unless you meant 11 or 12 acres in which case then it would be OK for the boys but you would still get complaints from the neighbours). it is a big issue though in these kind of communities. I know the next estate along from us had problems with police involved etc.

As far as growing up in a semi-rural community goes there are pluses and minuses.

There is a lot of maintenenece - firebreaks, fences, watering grass (if you have paddocks and horses) gardens etc. None of this is cheap!

You have to drive EVERYWHERE. Even worse with kids who have a social life. No takeaways or deliveries (I spent the first few months of my first houseshare constantly ordering deliveries as it was a novelty!)

Often the closest schools are on the outskirts of a metro area, meaning that your closest state school might encompass some of the rougher elements of the suburbs.

There are lots of spiders etc and you will see snakes. We used to see a few each year.

On the plus side - you should get a free school bus

You can yell at your partner in anger and the neighbours won't hear . no worries about turning down the telly or the music at night so the neighbours can't hear you.

The other wildlife is amazing!

(If your kids find somewhere to ride their bikes) the neighbours are usually very friendly - all of you are in the same boat when it comes to the distance thing!

Your kids will get a real outdoorsy lifestyle. We used to spend loads of time outside and doing loads of cool sporty stuff like horseriding, camping, running, long walks etc. Your UK visitors will love the place.


Michelle

Caroline G

Funny enough I had a quick look at a vacant plot today which is 2.28 acres. It's the developers last lot going up for auction. It has underground services i.e. mains water, gas, power & phone but has no mains sewerage (septic sewer being the usual way to go in the area) It also has a protective covenant for 'lifestyle security' It was basically a sub-division of land but as it is in a low density area the plots were much, much bigger than the regular new estates.

I also spoke to a lender & they said they had a proviso about building the house within 5 years of land purchase. We would get the 1st time buyers rebate once the house was under construction.

I have read a little bit of helpful buying land information but would like to obtain some advice from someone in the know. i.e. What questions should you ask the vendor?, What inspections should be arranged?, How do you know whether you are paying a fair price?, If it's not built on for a while what kind of maintenance & outlay will be required? Can you get lumbered with any unexpected costs? Who are the competitive lenders to approach, etc. etc.

I'm going to attend the auction just to get the experience.

mr mover

WE paid $127,000 for 2.5 acres in 1994, 30 km north of Adelaide today it is worth in excess of $400,000, dont think that Acreage is a waste of time..... mm

BadgeIsBack

After acreage, you'd never live anywhere else, unless you were physically incapable of mowing etc.

Apart from mowing there is no real extra work. Firebreaks - well, in the main that is the mowing, and the trees down the back might shelter you from ember attack in a bush fire.

Where we live, we are only 15mins from the 'town', and there are enough people that kids would always have somewhere to play.

B

JaneandJim

We live on 5 acres 30 minutes from Brisbane (outside rush hour).

We have just built and are busy landscaping now. We are planting tropicals out the front and natives out the back (all waterwise once established). We already have 4 acres of rainforest out the back and are leaving it as it is. We are under water restrictions here and will be for the foreseeable future so what's the point in putting down a lawn? We can't water it and have better things to do than mow it.

We got rid of any trees near the house so the gutters get less clogged now than they did when we lived in suburbia.

To the original OP, an acreage block needn't be much more work if you plan it properly and needn't be too far from the city if you can find the right spot. We get wallabies, deer, goanna, frogs and lots of birdlife. Have yet to see a snake and have less spiders than we did in suburbia.

Jane
P.s. when I say "we", I mean Jim. He's moving rocks around with the dingo tomorrow again.

mr mover

Well badge , since my tree,s [lemon scented gums] are hitting the 30 ft mark , we sold the ride- on , to the neighbour down the road [$500 bucks] an old {westwood] but did a good job.
The blue gum wood lot is going well , we have 2 merino X sheep ,they keep any weeds at bay , life,s easy .............. mm

arkon

Yes and don't do it! But if you really insist you can buy my farm!

*edit, Sorry I thought you wrote 11 acres. for that your would probably need a slasher.

Oh and 50 acres is about a 500m by 500m square (ish)

welshpom

We have 100 acres, 300-ish metres wide, 1.2km long. Takes about 35 minutes to walk the boundary.

avroncotton

For those buying a ride-on mower, I will give you the benefit of my error: I bought a cheap mower, which is fine but what you pay extra for is a wider mowing deck (which means I could be having a beer an hour earlier) and a more powerful engine; which means in tall grass or going uphill ther mower doesn't struggle.

Just thought I'd give some free advice

Twin Peaks

What suits one does not suit another. We're renting on a 900sqm block at the moment. We listen to the wildlife each morning as we're nearby to a forest. When we buy we won't go for less than a 900sqm block. What's the sterile environment you refer to, if it's a lowset in amongst 100+ other houses then bring it on, we like the family environment, our kids integrating with others.

Wol

An acre is roughly 4000 sq m.

We are looking ay a Simplicity zero turn ride-on: it looks a lot more manageable than the John Deere or Toro for a small (1 acre) patch. A mulcher is a MUST when you are mowing a reasonable area, otherwise you spend half your time emptying the thing!

draper5

Hi,
We are still in UK and have 1.7 acres. My hubby and 2 of my 3 sons do motocross - but NOT at home on our land! The noise really would be quite disruptive to peace and quiet for the neighbours, so each weekend the boys have to get in the van and drive approx 1 hour to a practice track, where they have approx 40 minutes on a track at a cost of £20 or so each!
We are looking at moving to WA and have been reliably informed that within an hour's drive of the city the boys will be able to ride the trails all day for free! But to keep up the competition side and to meet other like-minded people they will also join a motocross club.
Perhaps this is the way to go for your family?!

BadgeIsBack

when I told my neighbour I emptied (ie I caught my clippings) on a ordinary mower he pissed himself laughing. Everyone just lets the clippings lie on the ground.

moneypenny20

Certainly no one around here would dream of collecting the cuttings. Just wizz round on the ride on and leave everything behind. Back on the veranda for a beer to view the result