samnrob2

OK, found a superb house we like the look of (anyone heard of/got any stories of Ownit Homes?)

Now need to find a plot of land to stick it on. Looking on realestate.com.au there is load of really cheap land. Obviously the more remote/inland, the cheaper the land. However, I've also found decent size plots half an acre to an acre for next to nothing in pretty good locations.

I'm assuming that there's either a massive incline and/or the soil is pretty ropey. Has anyone got advice/pointers re. buying land.

Also, we're seeing a mortgage adviser next week, before we see him can anyone give me the overview on how buying land then buying a house works (logistically, do you take out two mortgages?)

Also, is 'M' class soil ok? I've been led to belive that it's pretty much the most common soil?

Thanks,

Rob

MrsDagboy

I know nothing about classes of soil or buying land & building, but one thing I can say is that you get what you pay for. If land is cheap (of course i depends on your definition of cheap too! ), then its cheap for a reason. What you have to work out is, if that reason will affect you or if you are happy with it. If its cheap because of where it is eg further west or north or south, then you may be happy living there. If its cheap because its on the side of a hill or nothing but solid bedrock, you probably wouldnt be as happy.

If you find land that is cheap within the same area as other blocks going for considerably more money, then Id be alot more worried. Without more specifics, its a bit hard to judge.

Good luck .

Ceri

I think the codes as follows for soil tests:
S M H E P (S is class 1, class M is class 2, H is class 3, E is class 4 and P covers 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 classes)
Class M I think requires little fill, and the slab doesn't need big supports. It looks as if it is the second best ( i.e. good)
For instance some slabs if the soil is loose needs supports under the concrete slab - bit like stilts under the ground.
I think it's do with the amount of fill you need, and what type of slab will be required for your type of soil.

I don't think it has to do with sloping land, as if your house pad part is flat - normally you are required to pay/responsible for retaining walls , if you need them with sloping land - I have sloping land overlooking bush land - and we were responsible for the walls, my house pad was flat

You need to confirm all this, as I also know some builders and such use different class codes.
You can get a soil test before buying the land - i.e. when you put a deposit down on the land - you could ask for it to be in the contract it says sale condition to soil test, giving you a 10 day or whatever clause to pull out of the land sale.

Or just buy the land, and when you choose a builder, that builder will do the soil test, get a soil test for you. when you build , most builders in that deposit price includes soil test.

Or ask the seller/estate agent what it means - if you want to trust what they say that is.

Don't take what I said as 100% fact, I don't know all the different types of codes used - they may vary. These are codes that I know when we built here in Qld. which covers the quality of the soil, how much land fill, and what the drainage is like, and also cover "wind rating" too

Ask the seller, what does class M mean to confirm it , or your mortgage /bank company

Perhaps a builder in the know can answer it , and confirm what the codes mean- I think Jad n Rich said he's builder here in Qld ?
Cheers

jad n rich

Rich is at work but M isnt too bad, S site is ideal. However so many other factors come into it. Take 100 M sites not one would be exactly the same composition or depths. Slope stabillity studies are now a very big factor in building too.

Also buyer beware with all the new liablility and litigation the current trend is some builders (the very cheap ones) to bump up the soil test so more engineering has to be done to hopefully prevent any liability later on. Also different engineering firms are having to cover themselves, we have a sloping site that came back M, another engineer for a client wanted it as a P The cost difference would have been major especially as the site is a W50 wind rating.

I'd buy any site subject to a soil test clause, if your not happy you can pull out, however you need a professional to understand the soil test, a P site is not unbuildable it just has to be engineered correctly.

Billabong

My sister in law has just bought an 800m2 plot and has been stung by the developers for an additional 2k because the of the soil rating.

biggy

when we got the price of our house the builder charged for class M footing....but once the soil test came through it was only an S woo hooo so we get $700 back