tillysmum

Hi this is one for all of those lucky people who have bought some acreage in the past few years. What are the pitfalls, what do you need to put in a contract, how much deposit and how long to pay balance. Any ideas on hidden costs that came as a big suprise! How long do you get before you have to build a house etc. thanks

Trixy

Check this out: http://www.anz.com/aus/homeloans/buy...home/costs.asp
and
http://www.anz.com/common/calculator...nfee/faqau.asp

The emphasis is on homes and is from one of the major banks, but much is applicable to straight land too.

Basic advice. If you mean acreage then often that is in a semi-rural area so be aware of utilities.. especially water. Check that you can either source water on your block (land is called a 'block' here). A well can cost a little and running permits past a local council might be worth checking on. Otherwise it's water tanks and rainwater for you. Also septic or more likely a home treatment plant.. cost and regulations need to be checked. Some councils are very picky because of runoff etc. Power's another obvious one. It can cost a fair amount to get power to your home if an existing pole isn't close by as well as the line to your projected home. We've found local councils want a payment for every little thing.

If you can deposit about 20% and avoid lenders mortgage insurance then that helps save quite a bit in fees. (Play around with the calculator. It'll ask for the purchase price and how much you want to borrow. The more you borrow the more likely you'll pay that fee. Eg on a $175,000 Queensland purchase price if you borrow 130,000 the total fees are almost 3,000 less than if you need to borrow say 165,000 because of that insurance which the bank requires to cover them if you default.).

tillysmum

thanks for that. How long after you put in offer do you have topay balance most of capital still in very slow house sale in uk. Is it possible to get interest only mortage's in oz perhaps till money comes through?

Trixy

In our situation we had a home in Oz plus we were buying the block. The bank calculated the collateral in the house and let us effectively borrow the full purchase price of the block. I don't know if the bank would have a problem lending you the full amount, (bridging finance more or less) I suspect they would even though your major existing asset is elsewhere. What they need to know is that you have an income to pay any loan they offer you. So if you can show them your capital, incomes, pending house sale etc,, they'll weigh it up. A line of credit is another option as a form of loan. If you do put in an offer with the real estate and put subject to your house sale then that is another way to go. If the house sells, fine, if not that's unfortunate but it was part of the deal so you're not at fault. You nominate the time between the offer date and settlement date. Usually it's around 8 weeks but you could ask for more time and if the buyer wants a sale they may well agree.

tillysmum

Thats sounds good to me, we do have some money to put down. when we find something will try and negotiate the time of contract which should help.

Timber Floor Au

Gday
Have bought land, and just buying some more ( hopefully )

Contracturally, you need to pay for the entire piece of land ! Before you get to say .. I own Land. That said, how you contort a contract deposit wise etc is entirely at negotiation with you and the vendor.

You need to acertain, any easements on the land, from the OFF ! Such as power cables, for energex etc, water ways for council so on and so forth

You need to ascertain from council, as to building restrictions, ie height proximity etc, and any such building envelopes that are apparent and restricted by council.

You also need to find out if the block is serviced, for power, water, sewerage etc. And look carefully at the costs this can imply, ours had zilch, but did have a power box to the corner of the block.

Thats it, apart from checking its usability, as some land will be declared res a res b rural a rural b etc ( speak to solicitor )

You have no defined time within which to build, however, there maybe covenants on the land, which determine certain criteria, by the deveoloper.

These could be:
Type of house, pitch of roof, to be built by such n such a time.
May also be restrictions, on animals on the block, and living in a shed or van on the block.

Get your solicitor/conveyancer to check it all out

Ste

oh and make sure it isnt classed as flood risk

tillysmum

Thanks for that Ste absolutely spot on what I wanted to know, see your not a P--t

Timber Floor Au

I have a fondness for your name, my wifes mate is called Tilly, and her mum adores me, and we always call her tillysmum

True

Ste