Building single story inbetween 3 double stories? Advice please?

• 

  Skramit on 28/08/2019 - 09:38

  My in-laws recently built a single story house. Of the 5 surrounding blocks (including rear diagonals), 4 are double story which can effectively overlook their backyard and living room. It doesn't bother them and it doesn't bother us when we go around and play with the kids in the back yard. It does have a slightly more 'enclosed' feel in the back yard, but it's not overwhelming.

  It does mean that privacy is limited, certainly. You cant do nude sunbathing in the back yard. However the in-laws building a double story house wouldn't have mitigated this, it would simply have meant they can see their neighbors too, which doesn't change much.

  It also depends on the northern orientation IMO. For example my in-laws backyard faces north so it gets a lot of light all day. However if it was south facing it might feel more enclosed and a bit darker in general.

  For re-sale value, you'd need to ask real estate agents if it alters things. I doubt it does. If the house is in a good spot and has the fundamentals right, re-sale value wouldn't be impacted much IMO.

  • 

    Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 09:48

    That's great to know, thanks for commenting I appreciate it.

    My house will be facing West, which means Ill get the morning sun but not much in the afternoon, so if anything if I build a double story I'll be getting less sunlight into the back yard.

    The land itself is in a good estate, I might get into contact with a real estate agent and just ask the question. The last builder I spoke with seems to believe that it wont alter the price as much as it will limit buyers.

    • 

      Skramit on 28/08/2019 - 09:51

      The last builder I spoke with seems to believe that it wont alter the price as much as it will limit buyers.

      That's a confusing sentence. Did he say it will or it wont alter the price? 'Limiting buyers' would certainly not help resale value.

      Does the house behind you have a backyard too? If so their house will hardly be right on your rear fence right…. and most standard blocks tend to all have backyards next to each other…. unless there's subdivisions which have built a house right up against the back fence. So unless your backyard is literally gonna have somebody's window right on the fence overlooking your back yard I doubt it'd be a big factor.

      Need MS Paint diagram PLS :)

      • 

        Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 10:01

        He pretty much said that he doesn't think it will affect the value of the home itself. But it could reduce the amount of people interested in purchasing.

        I get what your saying, its confusing, the more people interested in the home the better the pricing you can get.

        The way he explained it, is that there are people out there who would only purchase single story homes not doubles. So no matter what I do there will always be people that the house will appeal to more then others. Hopefully that makes sense I may have butchered it from his exact quote.

        My Rear neighbours house is about 6m away from the fence line. I'll have about a 10m Backyard.
        I'll try to draw something up!

        • 

          nith265 on 28/08/2019 - 14:06

          +1

          @Sacco07:

          The way he explained it, is that there are people out there who would only purchase single story homes not doubles.

          Then subtract the number of people who would never ever consider a single storey walled in by 3 doubles and factor that into your pool of potential purchasers.

          If I understand what your builder is saying - that the extra cost of a double storey is negated by the extra price people will pay for it – then your safest option is going with the double storey.

          I doubt I'd consider buying a single storey overlooked by all my neighbours. Where as those looking for double storeys might like living in a strip of similar houses and even pay slightly more for it

• 

  87percent on 28/08/2019 - 10:14

  personally wouldn't be ideal to live inbetween 3 double storey houses BUT the double storey houses need to have those frosted windows/higher placed windows or they wouldn't have gotten council approval (normally), which is some consolation

  • 

    ihbh on 28/08/2019 - 10:29

    +1

    BUT the double storey houses need to have those frosted windows/higher placed windows or they wouldn't have gotten council approval (normally)

    Not sure this applies to new estates; definitely a consideration for renovations and additions in established areas.

    • 

      Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 10:33

      +1

      I think ihbh is right here. I think it has something to do with who establishes the housing first.
      For instance, if I built first they would have to ask me permission but because they built first they don't have to worry about it. My neighbour to my left has a few large windows facing my backyard.

      • 

        87percent on 28/08/2019 - 11:07

        +2

        well then i would NOT want to live inbetween 3 double storey houses!

• 

  Seraphin7 on 28/08/2019 - 10:30

  +3

  This might be more a matter of personal taste, but I would have thought a single storey surrounded by doubles will look like the runt of the street. I would have thought that based on your description, a double storey would be the way to go.

  • 

    Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 10:35

    That's what I'm worried about, there are other single stories on my street but there about 2 blocks down from mine. It would be 3 double stories, my block, 2 double story and then another single.

    • 

      Skramit on 28/08/2019 - 10:48

      +2

      I thought it's usually better (in general terms) to have the worst house on the street. The better houses on the street around you improve your value. Whereas having the best house on the street can have the reverse effect.

      • 

        Seraphin7 on 28/08/2019 - 11:18

        +1

        I've always taken that in the context that the "worst house" will be undervalued by the market in its present condition. When you then renovate/upgrade, you'll get the best bang for your buck because not only do you get the value from your work, you also get the kick from the undervaluation being removed.

        It's therefore best to buy the worst house … and by extension, worst to sell the worst house.

        • 

          nith265 on 28/08/2019 - 13:00

          +1

          @Seraphin7: I agree with your interpretation but I reckon these rules apply only to established areas where the largest percentage of the sale price is the land. When prices surge it’s really the land and area that goes up in value not the house on it.

          In a new estate where houses are still going up everybody at first only wants the newest, biggest and best house. There is a lot less focus on the land as it’s all just empty blocks of dirt. It takes a decade or so for the dust to settle and for the “best street” to emerge in an estate. Especially if there are still blocks available for sale.

• 

  Quantumcat on 28/08/2019 - 11:04

  Have you considered building right at the back of the block so your "backyard" is at the front and won't have anyone looking into it (assuming the two neighbours are set a bit back from the street and wouldn't have massive windows on the sides because what will be the point once they have neighbours on both sides blocking the light)?

  Assuming where you live doesn't have rules like Canberra where you're not allowed to build a wall or fence at the front, you could enclose the back/front yard in a nice big wall and have 90% privacy (just little windows on the sides of your neighbours that might overlook it). Your neighbour to the rear can just have a nice view of your roof and not really anything else. You could have an automatic gate for the car and a pedestrian gate, the automatic gate can lead up a driveway to a carport or a garage attached to the house. Good for avoiding thieves if you ever don't park in your garage too.

  • 

    Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 11:10

    Unfortunately this isn't an option due to Design Guideline Restrictions. Not allowed to have any fencing and all houses must start 6m away from the cross over, so all houses are kept in line.
    Would of been a nice idea though.

  • 

    Skramit on 28/08/2019 - 11:11

    Assuming where you live doesn't have rules like Canberra where you're not allowed to build a wall or fence at the front

    Wow never knew this. What's the logic, is it purely an aesthetic thing?

    • 

      Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 11:38

      I know where I am is an aesthetic thing, they want all houses to look and be built in a similar manor.
      For instance I have to have 2 different coloured renders at the front of my house. Bricks cant be Tan or Red, must be brown, grey or black. Roof must be white, grey or black. Must have timber look garage door.

      They really go overboard with restrictions these days.

      • 

        spal on 28/08/2019 - 13:40

        +1

        I think, this is called maintaining neighbourhood build character. They want the houses to look similar, but not the same.

• 

  pyramid on 28/08/2019 - 11:11

  -2

  You were trying to be builder 2 yrs back ->https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/290612
  So by now you should know whether its worth building single story house surrounded by double story….

  • 

    Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 11:27

    So what does wanting to be a builder have to do with the question asked?
    I just finished asking a real estate agent who sells houses for a living and he wasn't even 100% sure on how it would affect sales or not.

    Secondly, the question is purely opinion based. If it was a common question for builders to know I would of had an answer by now.

    So now are you actually able to respond with some helpful advice?

• 

  weezlebub on 28/08/2019 - 12:07

  I'd recommend going 2 story, turn your 3br 1 toilet into a 5br 3 toilet for around 80k more …

  Only benefit to single story would be resale market if it's older people who want to buy the house …

  Depends a lot on the market and the suburb and how much you think the area will change over the period that you're there … if you're close to universities, you're better off getting as many bedrooms as you can for resale value (and you may want to get some tenants to help with the bills at a later stage) …

  Floor plan and design can make a big difference, but with lighter weight material upstairs and descent (but cheaper) material downstairs, you can get a lot more for not too much extra money (hebel instead of brick, steel instead of wood, builders range instead of fancy, sticking to the standard design if it's for resale) … leave the land scaping out of the contract because builders generally charge excessively for stuff that you can do yourself …

  • 

    Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 14:45

    So at the moment the house is a 4 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom house. Suburb is completely new also, pretty much no older houses around. Its about 30 mins from the CBD. I've spoken with my builder who pretty much told me that if I have to build double its gonna cost me between 60-80k more at a similar size. However If I had to make the house bigger obviously costs would go up.

    No universities or anything around, its considered more of a family estate however there are a fair few elderly residents.

    Thanks for the advice, I appreciate your help.

• 

  Sacco07 on 28/08/2019 - 14:47

  +2

  Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it!
  I'm gonna go speak with the builder tonight and discuss options about building a double instead of a single.
  Cheers!