I know bardon\paddington and personally like them having looked to develop there a few times. Given you have investigated these markets better than me more recently I wont make any off the cuff comments regarding the feasibility of your project only to remind you to include fees\plans\holding as part of your costings (which I am sure you did and only surmised the details for this post).
However given you are living in the property and having downstairs rented it sounds like a fantastic idea to get perhaps a home you could otherwise not afford to buy completed, or afford comfortably without the added rent.
What I commend most of all is your commitment to living in a trailer on site and having downstairs rented out - many people wont for reasons of ego or fear about what "others may think". I genuinly do commend you, I feel its a rarity these days to find someone (youngish - guessing your my age or thereabouts?) is willing to work anymore or have a "lets get it done" attitude and actually do the work required not just say it.
Personally I have lived in a 1 bedroom budget hotel in Canberra, slept days on end in the car, Commute back and forth from Brisbane to Sydney (staying in Manly), Sydney to Canberra, lived on-site, in the houses we have renovated, tents on site as has my brother in law who works with me. I have a family back at home, a wife who is a soldier by my side taking care of two kids.
This year I have bought 3 sites making the total to 4, finishing 1, mid through another and got all 4 approved. I had settlements totalling 4m+ financed by a major who has been with me from day one.
Stress levels have been high, I dont show it but my body feels like its shredding - for anyone who has a controlled stress they may know what this feels like. Add to this the birth of my 2nd daughter this year giving my mother - my friend enough time to look at her before passing away from cancer.
So when I hear stories of woe or negativity in general on SS or anywhere for that matter I feel like saying stick it, this is life.. fight for what you want, dont waste time on haters and no matter how bad it ever gets keep smiling you only have the one life make the most of it and never ever regret anything.
My wife laughs at me each time I stuff up because I always say, "Oh well its a learning lesson" about 3 times a day
. many people on this forum and in general have a need to be right (I fall victim of this too) or hate with a passion people who succeed doing the opposite of what they preach and cannot wait to see them fall in order to get a sense of self-vindication of their views\choices.
If you and me fall and that makes someone else happy, someone who would usually say something like "you will see" type comments on this forum then I pitty them for two reasons. One, if your happiness is linked to the success or failure of someone you dont even know personally then your pathetic and second you will be waiting a long time if youve picked me to fail and cry about it if ever I do.
I dont care about being right or wrong, I make the best decision I can at the time and If its wrong I learn, I adjust and I move on.
So congrats again and good luck with your development! I will definetly blog something about my developments to get the ball rolling it would be good to put into a single post\thread or blog a discussion about peoples actual experiences rather than what SS has become in large part a battle ground over ideology.
Hi Tcocaro,
I just bought my next development site, it settles on Monday. Nothing fancy, just a 430m2 empty block in upmarket Bardon Brisbane for $370K. 4km from the CBD and 500m stroll to Paddington. Originally on the market for $440K, dropped to $380K for quick sale and accepted my offer at $370K. I've got plans being drawn up from a local pole home company with estimate to build a 5 bed, 3 bath, 2 kitchen, DLUG three story split level home for about $300K. I'm going to do it myself as an owner builder and bring it in for under $250K. If I can get it to under $230K then Anna Bligh will even give me $10K for my efforts with her new grant.
Got to love the current market. So a completed brand new home in Bardon for $600K when comparable product is circa $850K or more even in today's market. I'm setting the bottom level up as a stand alone granny flat so I can rent it out separately and live in the top two levels. Give up one bedroom/bathroom/kitchen but get about $15K-$20K a year income from it. We still live in a 4 bed, 2 bath, DLUG job fully paid off.
And THIS while I am still halfway through my big Mona Vale build and servicing that construct with no rental income. The banks are mighty generous at present! We'll move into a van on the new site for 6 months until Mona Vale is finished then kick off the build at Bardon in earnest. Plan is to refinance the Strata'd Mona Vale units at completion to 80% lend thus clearing the LOCs on our former PPOR in Narrabeen. Sell Narrabeen and bring about $800K cash from the sale North to discharge the new $300K loan on the Bardon site and pay cash for the build. The balance left over to sit in the offset account against the Mona Vale 80% loans.
All good. Just demonstrating even more "delayed gratification" by committing to living in a van for 6 months to achieve my goals. It was my wife's idea, not mine...
Might be worth another development thread as this will be an owner builder and should be very interesting.
I think we're an over-representative 1% though Lizzie...
Cheers,
Michael
