What to build on 640sqm in Huntingdale/Oakleigh South

[Vchieng]

Hi all,
I'm keen to get some collective feedback on what to build on approx 640sqm (16mx40m) of flat land in Oakleigh South. The property is on North Road and less than 1km from Huntingdale train station. Due to the proximity to Monash University, the initial thought was to build student accommodation however with the train station nearby, townhouses would also have general appeal for people who worked in the city.

I'm also keen to understand and learn about any issues with council approval in that area.

My criteria for the property:
- investing for cash flow (good yield over capital gain)
- looking to maximise the number of rooms
- potentially looking at renting individual rooms out (not compulsory)
- looking to build 2 units with potentially 2 downstairs bedrooms and 2 upstairs (with maybe kitchen on each floor) and option for separate entries.
- either rent as 2 separate or 4 separate units
- understand that there will be easement and car park requirements

I'm keen to know:
- experiences of people who have done this before
- key learnings and advice
- is this even possible?
- should I target students or professionals?

Thanks and looking forward to your feedback.

Kind regards,
Victor

 

[Aaron_C]

Victor,

Sounds like you have a good piece of land there.

I presume you are looking to keep the buildings after the construction and focus on cashflow? Student accommodation will give you better cashflow for sure - but I think in most cases it will lead to a devaluation of your property because the banks may (depending on how you configure it) view it as a 'specialised security' built for students-only, thereby reducing its resale value and valuation.

How many units can you fit on there? Judging by the land size and width I would say probably a maximum of 3 units. What is the zoning?

 

[Property Meister]

640 student accomodations

sorry, just had to!

 

[Vchieng]

Thanks

Hi Aaron,
Thanks for your response. The property is zoned residential and is nestled among other houses. Yes, I do intend to keep them as a source of passive income and focus on cash flow.

Based on previous research, I thought the rule of thumb was 1 unit per 300sqm so I wasn't expecting to be able to fit more than 2 units? Happy to be corrected?

I do see your point about building student accommodation and negative impacts on resale value. Perhaps the other option is to build units with as many rooms as possible and rent out the rooms individually? This would require active management on my part which could be an issue as I currently live in Sydney.

Alternatively, I could just build 2 double storey townhouses with 2 rooms on each floor giving me effectively 4 floors that I can rent out. That just means that each of the levels will need 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen (at a minimum).

Keen to know your thoughts and if you have any stories of success or failures that I can garner some insight from?

Thanks,
Victor

 

[Aaron_C]

You may be able to fit more than 2 depending on your set-backs and the precedents set in the area.

If you are going down the rooming-house route I would suggest building townhouses that look like townhouses - that way you get the best of both words insofar as cashflow and valuation goes. I've just a block of land where I can fit probably 6 units on it - works out to be 250 sqm per unit.

 

[Change of Plan]

Hi Victor,

Just be aware that if you start adding kitchens and separate accesses to both floors (like you mentioned above) each floor might be classed as a dwelling, bringing with it a range of issues including additional car parking requirements.

The 1:300sqm rule is something that we used to apply nearly 10 years ago and is not really a rule of thumb that is used as much now days, particularly when you are talking about land that is well serviced by public transport and other infrastructure. How many you can fit will depend more on how big you want the units to be and what is around your land.

Regards,

 

[DaveM]

Build a half scale Eiffel Tower.

 

[Stacey Survey]

Hi Victor,

At this stage you're probably best speaking with some (local-ish) private town planners and looking at your various options and get their thoughts on the development. Here you'll be able to assess how to get the best bang from your buck on this project.

Cheers,