Hey OzB fam, anyone ever built a dual occupancy pair of homes before?
Something like 2 homes ×3 bedroom/2 baths?
Trying to find rough construction costs but thought some may have done it before and had good idea.
How much was whole thing?
Did you rent them out out or sell?
How did it work out?
Thankyou!
Dual occupancy build, anyone ever built a one?
Maxofdad on 29/07/2020 - 06:30
Comments
Many volume builders have dual occupancy options on their websites, to give you an idea of pricing (if that is the sort of thing you are after).
My neighbour demolished their old house and built 2 - sold one and now live in the other. They pretty much broken even on the whole thing, ie got a new semi detached house for "free" but lost half their land (300m2 on a 600m2 block in inner city Melb). They now say in retrospect they wish they had just sold and bought something else
It is not a guaranteed money maker, I have heard of people losing money by doing this
You will also need planning permission for this, which can be problematic, depending on where you are
They pretty much broken even on the whole thing
They can thank the builders for that. Building units used to be money making but now everyone wants to make a cut it is not worth the hassle.
Notice how there is some properties for sales with planning permission to build units on the block. It is because the people who own it know it isn't worth it putting in the capital and risk the builder doing something stupid and cost blowing out.
I've only done a duel occupancy build. It was messy so recommend concrete floors.
Did you make a garage big enough to park the tanker?
Duplex?
Building out of that toddler LEGO?
I've done it. Built 2 identical freestanding 4/2/2 homes on a 799sqm block in a new estate. Bricks were done in different colours though.
My memory is sketchy but I think the only areas I saved on was the DA, only had to put one in for the entire development. Builder pretty much charged double the price of a single build. Council slugs you for their "contribution fees" on a per bedroom basis so that cost a small fortune.
It is all still on one title as I rent them both out, so I only get one council rates, but that includes 2x water/sewerage charges.
can I ask how much it was for the complete build for both?
I'm in Adelaide and was thinking if I can build for 600K, rent both out, then I could pay most of mortgage on another place with that rental income/depreciation etc..
Are you glad you did it?
Thanks heaps.About $520k for the two houses (single story) built and ready for the tenants to move in (including fences, dishwashers, turf/landscaping, building & landlord insurance, gas & elec initial connections etc). Plus the land cost on top of that.
This was 3 years ago. The houses were very basic with only a few extras - stone benchtops, ceiling fans, 2.55m ceilings.
4/2/2
I presume that means 4 bedroom, 2 garage, 2 bathrooms?
Yes
I know someone who it did it a few years ago. Spent $2200 per m2. Live in one, rent one out.
I've done it twice. First set was 2012 for $700k, second set was 2018 for $750k. Both prices do NOT include demolition ($12-14k) and other prep work. First price included landscaping. Second had an additional $10k for landscaping.
Overall, a positive rental income BUT what I didn't and couldn't account for back then when was Land Tax changes. In Vic-Tor-eeea (Victoria) land tax is an absolute killer such that it just about diminishes any positive gains I make for the year. I'll make income through the year but then I'll be slugged with several tens of thousand dollar tax invoice at the end.
I've held onto all of the above as I don't need to sell, but if I had to, selling one should cover the majority of the debt (if I had the total $1.4mil outstanding).
Side point - rental return is all about location demand. I have another site now which is vacant and won't be tenanted for a while me thinks due to covid, and just general reduction in rent demand for the area. There are lots of 'lease' boards around now.
I am undertaking a dual occ development now. Still in the Town Planning stage. My block is 580 sqm and I am building a 5 bedroom/3 bathroom/ 1 garage. I have got 2 rough quotes at the moment and they are around the 900K mark. But that is excluding other costs such as landscaping and subdivision costs, so all up I think I will be around the 1 million mark. But I think with your question it depends what you are going for. I am going with a private builder. Firstly some of the mass builders do not build in my area and then secondly other mass builders such as Metricon, I have heard both good and bad stories about them. So I decided to go for a private builder which will give a better quality build but hence will cost extra. Also, I have put in some higher quality features which are adding to the costs. I am planning to rent out both my dual occ's initially to these higher quality features wont really give me extra rent money, but when it comes time to sell it will then add to the sell price I think.
As someone who lives in an estate where there are dual occupancy townhouses, all I have to say is please please please don't build more than 2 on one block.
On every corner of my street there are 3 townhouses, usually 2Bed 2Bath 1 garage but whole families move into them because it's what they can afford and the street just gets filled with cars. Say goodbye to your nature strip and to the quality of your home overrall, much less to the overrall feel of the neighbourhood.
I never thought I'd become a whole 'appropriate development' whinger because I understand the need for more housing but I think it's fair to ask for there to be a balance between providing affordable housing and providing quality and appropriate housing for the neighbourhood, the tenants and for the landlords.
Put the garages or whatever between the two areas to block sound. And make them appear to be fully detached from the front.