Duplex Development Toowoomba

Hello all,

I have noticed a lot of people post their developments in here and would also like to provide my information. I would also like to get peoples input etc, as this is my first building development.

We (Me and my fiance) bought a property in Toowoomba which has a house on the front left, and DA approval for mixed housing down the back for 315k. The house is a small 3 bedroom place with renovated kitchen, bathroom and toilet. The land down the back has access via a new 6m driveway.

There has been a lot configuration approval to sub-divide the two block of land into 319m2 (current house) and 692m2 (duplex development).

We have approached a number of builders within Toowoomba to get quotes for a duplex. I provided all the builders with my desire to build under $1000 per square metre. We provided a rough design and got some quotes back, got some builders saying they didnt want to touch it and got a great building company which provided us a great new plan. The building company is currently drawing up the design for free and will submit it to us with the quote. Hopefully under $1000m2.

Looking at finance for the construction at the moment. I'm hoping Suncorp can come up with the goods. :)

We have some decisions to make in regards to after the build. Do we sell the current house which is on the 319m2 land for around 230k and have the positively geared duplex making us money. Or do we sell the whole lot?

Anyway I will keep you all posted on the outcomes. Would love any questions or advice on duplex developments.

Thank you all. :)
 
Congratulations on your development.

Have you tried Coral Homes for a price to build (I think these guys only have standard designs so if you are set on a plan of your own these guys might be no good but are cheap and not sure if they do duplex builds).

Some builders that may or may not be of use:

Dream Property (Will do duplex builds)
Dixon Homes (Same here only have set plans to use but will do duplex builds)
Pure Gold Homes (Should do duplex, not as cheap as the above builders but a higher spec).

Can I ask what is the address of the house you have purchased, You are lucky on your subdivison approval I thought council had a minimum lot size of 350 m2.

If you are looking at a Duplex build on the new lot check with council but I heard on the grape vine they had changed their minimum driveway access handle width from 6 m to 6.5 m (Feb 2010 I think) but if you already have approval council should not back flip on it.

I personally would sell the front house and keep the new duplex, with a bit of luck you might get some good growth with all the mining activity coming into effect from the surat basin.

Good Luck,

Fourex.
 
Gday Fourex,

I gave you a message of the address. Tell us what you think. It's on realestate.com.au.

Yeah I thought the subdivision was strange but will take the good with the bad ;)

At the moment I am looking at building with suncrest homes. I have spoken with dream property, sixon and pure gold. Dream property were quoting too expensive. Pure Gold didnt want my business unless I provided them some cash and I have heard too many bad things about dixon homes. (I would like to know if the Toowoomba franchise is better then the Ipswich one).

Suncrest Homes have been fantastic so far and are drawing up plans for free, without any contract signed etc. Looking very forward to the quote. It better be near the $1000 sq m.

I think Ill keep the front house whilst development is happening and then sell off once completed.

Provide us with any additional information. Im keen to learn.

Regards,

Roachy
 
Congratulations on your purchase? Why did you decide on Toowoomba as a place to invest?

A mate used Dixon homes to build his house in Toowoomba 2 years back and was quite happy with the outcome. I saw on their website that they had some plans for duplexes there.

Mixed housing minimum lot size is 250m2 - not sure what % GFA is though? I had the paperwork sitting somewhere.. Is it 40% for 2 storey? Not sure what 1 storey is; maybe 45-50%?
That's maximum 276m2 for the duplex; going on 40% anyway.
Some plans from GJ Gardner that would fit on your block.. http://www.gjgardner.com.au/regions/DesignFeatures.aspx?id=37-9643

Keep us updated on how it goes and all the best with it; Toowoomba's one of the areas I'm keeping an eye on. Prices are REALLY stagnant at the moment so don't plan on selling the front house off in a hurry, going on the current climate anyway.
 
Update: Soil test will be coming in this week. Once its complete the final plan and quote will come from the preferred builder. Can't wait.
 
Update:

Finance has been approved for the purchase of the house and property. Finance is currently being discussed for the duplex. It looks like we will have to put a pretty hefty deposit for the construction, around 40k. Lucky we have funds :)

Should be getting the final plans tomorrow with quote for the building of the duplex. Fingers crossed under 300k.

Once settlement is achieved (18 Jun) we will start buildind ASAP.

Got a question for everyone? I'm looking at selling the house at the front of the block, but the land is yet to be subdivided. How much does a subdivide cost in Toowoomba. I'll need to start saving hahaha.

Have a good day and hopefully I'll have some nice plans to show you tomorrow.

Roachy
 
G'day Icarius,

I chose Toowoomba mainly because its a city, its a growing community, the purchase price was cheap for the suburb it was in and I know a number of property developers up there who have made money in duplex, triplex and student accommodation. Also, Toowoomba shadows the Brisbane market and Im personally hoping that Brisbane prices will go up, since we are at the start of the proeprty cycle in Brisbane.

I think the GFA is 33% for dual occupancy. On the current plans we under that 33% by 8m2.

What areas are you looking at investing in Toowoomba?

Roachy
 
The Duplex Design

The following attachment shows the positioning on the block.

As you can see the white area is where the current house is - Its quite a small house 3 bedroom (2 big, 1 small), 1 bathroom, 1 toilet, 1 Carport. Has quite a large yard which you could have a medium sized dog.

I personally like the duplex design as it isn't symmetrical, like most others are. It looks like a large house and I'm hoping will have a good resale value/rental yield.

Unit 1's garage is located on the dividing wall of the two premises. Unit 2's garage is located at the end of the driveway (drive straight into it). Unit 1 has minimal yard (45m2). Unit 2 has a large yard and I'm hoping we can rent it out for more (would like comments about this).

Tell me what you think. Will provide the floorplan tomorrow.

Roachy
 

Attachments

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Hey all,

Just an update.

Went up to Toowoomba and settled teh property yesterday, went off without a hitch. Letting the current house which is on the block for $250, so we are atleast 'making' some money whilst we are building.

Went and met the potential builder. He showed us some of his houses which he is building and to be honest I was astonished at how good the quality of building was. All the brick work was impeccable and the finishes inside the house were great. His quote came in at $325,000 which I thought was quite cheap. Works out to be $1150 per square meter.

Looking at paying initial deposit next week and then work on the block should start in mid August. Hopefully the whole project will be finished no later than early December.

Attached is the original floor plan.

We have changed some things around, mainly the Alfresco and Dining area on Unit 1. This change will provide movement down the 2.2m corridor, allowing more outside space for Unit 1 tenants.

Roachy
 

Attachments

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Looking at paying initial deposit next week and then work on the block should start in mid August. Hopefully the whole project will be finished no later than early December.

Attached is the original floor plan.

We have changed some things around, mainly the Alfresco and Dining area on Unit 1. This change will provide movement down the 2.2m corridor, allowing more outside space for Unit 1 tenants.

Roachy


My 2 cents worth....
Looking at kitchen in Unit 1 my suggestion would be to add a bench even if that means moving fridge around.


cheers
Sheryn
 
Good Morning All,

Leghorn, Suncrest did the plans and helped out a lot. They even accepted any changes we had without missing a beat. I have been surprised at how easy the whole process has been.

Hello Sheryn, will definately look into the bench idea. The only problem is that dining area is turning into the Alfresco area, so there will be no room to move the fridge up further.

Will definitely sit down today and nut this all out.

Thanks

Roachy
 
Got the quote....a little more than I was expecting, but I did add a few new features including stone kitchen benchtops and air-conditioners to the living space and main bedrooms. The quote came in at 333k fixed price contract.

I was wondering how much other people have spent on their duplexs eg. $ per squadr metre. This one comes to $1250 per square metre.

Will be signing contract once finance is approved.
 
Roachy

333K is OK IMHO we paid 335k with double garage underneath 2 years ago, no alfesco area, no stone top kitchen bench or aircondtioners & no ensuite!.

Plus section fees from council extra. [Charges levied on block that was originally approved for 1 residential building]

Does your quote include all floor coverings, should do.


Regards
Sheryn
 
Yeah Sheryn,

It includes floor coverings. Tiles in living and dining, with carpets in bedrooms.

I added a few other things within that quote including TV coax in each room plus loungeroom,
And a few changes within the site plan, including a gate and garden.

We are at the building contract stage. One question I do have, is the building company wants deposit which is fine....but I'm still wondering if the bank will want a significant deposit. So Im waiting out for my financier to get back to me (was supposed to get back to me tonight).

Sheryn how big were your units? Would you say these are 'good' sized units?

Roachy
 
Sheryn and Roachy,
Both of your projects look great, although at different stages.....I was wondering if your costs to build included site costs? Are these included in your builders quotes or are they in addition? Also was wondering about driveway and landscaping costs?
 
Sheryn and Roachy,
Both of your projects look great, although at different stages.....I was wondering if your costs to build included site costs? Are these included in your builders quotes or are they in addition? Also was wondering about driveway and landscaping costs?

Site excavation costs included, driveway included but not landscaping.

Cheers
Sheryn
 
Update:

Good morning all. Another freezing day in Canberra. Anyway to the update of the duplex.

We recently paid a $5k deposit to the builder so that council plans etc can be processed. We are waiting on my fanancier to get his act together and provide us the cash to go through with this project. My financier ordered a valuation on the finished product at the back which came back around the 600k mark. He forgot to value the front block, which has the current house on it. Thus, the valuers have to go back out there and value it, just after tenants have moved in (great work).

So Im guessing that will come in around 200-230k as the bank grossly undervalues everything.

So I'm pretty confident the bank will front up with the money.

I'll sign the building contract once the bank has provided me a finance certificate for the project.

Got the colour ranges for all goods yesterday and have been actively seeking interesting colour schemes. The colour scheme we are going for is neutral, with a tad of colour, hoping to break up the largish living space. Found some terrific websites for housing designs etc. I will post them on here for everyone to look at.

Have a great cold day.

Roachy
 
Address

Hello ,

Would it be possible to get the address of your development site so I may learn from the layout of the land and what to look out for?

Thank you.

Patrick.
 
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