10 Things You Should Look For When Buying A Block Of Land And Building Later

Over the years I have come across many cases where clients have purchased a bock of land, only to discover that it is not able to accommodate their anticipated property growth. So let show you what to look for when buying a block of land and building later for your property development project. This article can save you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars down the track.

1. Site Orientation

Although the investment return of the project is normally correlated with the land size, a larger site may not necessarily result in a more profitable project if the orientation of the site is facing the wrong way.

An ideally orientated site can affect the potential buildable area of the site due to the requirements of minimum over shadowing; and maximise the quality of habitable rooms which sets your property apart from other designs.

Sites with yards and living spaces facing the North and driveways down the South may give larger buildable areas, as the way sun travels the overshadowing from the building is casted over the non-buildable areas such as the driveway and leave the quality spaces for more valuable rooms.

Sites with an Eastern or Northern frontage or East-West Street orientation are more ideal as it presents a naturally solar facing house front during the day and with the correct architecturally designed shading devices the afternoon suns can also be enhanced and present a cooling and golden atmosphere.

There is also a feng shui myth that the most auspicious house direction is solar facing for luck and chi absorption and family harmony.

2. Topography And Its Significance

Having a slopy site with a great view can be an attractive feature as it will increase the value of new buildings. But a sloping site may require specific treatment like retaining walls hence it will increase the cost of the project. The site should ideally be flat with a slight fall to provide more natural drainage of stormwater. Sites with a slope towards the street are better than those that fall away it allows for convenient entry and exit of vehicles.

Steep terrain can be difficult to build on, as it may cause lots of problems. It is an important part of the environment to consider when deciding where to build a building. It is important to consider all the issues and challenges involved when building on steeper terrain.

Having said that, I have come across many sloppy sites in the Melbourne South-East suburbs and with some smart architectural design we were able to take advantage of the slop to maximise the building height by incorporating undercroft carparks, or additional basement levels which is like adding gem on the crown.

3. Importance Of Soil Type

One of the costly mistakes can be avoided by developers is they know the importance of soil type at the site before a site is purchased.

If you are planning to build large multi-storey buildings, subsoil-bearing power is particularly important. Are you aware of the soil type of the land is granular or cohesive? Knowing the soil type of the site is vital as the new building cost can vary.

For instance, cohesive soils such as clay soils can be challenging soil to build on as it is subject to alternate soaking and drying by changes in the underground water level. This can lead to problems in structural integrity and cause cracks in the building over time. 

To reduce the risks, clay soils are removed before the construction process begins which can add substantial costs to the project. Therefore, it is important to know about soil characteristics that make a site suitable for property development. The type of soil in a construction site adds stability to the building’s foundation and the building’s structure. Soil type, therefore, is a vital factor to consider when choosing a site.

4. Vegetation On And Near The Site

Aesthetically, vegetation can become a piece of living sculpture. It can add character to a development when the building is designed around the more mature trees. However, trees can pose a problem if they are in the best position for the new building. In some cases, matured trees and native trees may be protected and there can be restrictions on tree removals due to tree and landscaping policy of council authorities. The restrictions can lower the number of new buildings and limit the potential return of your investment.

Street trees and trees on abutting neighbouring site could also impact your development as they might need to be protected during construction and in most cases, you cannot encroach more than 10% of the SRZ (Structural Root Zone) to prevent compromising the health and stability of the neighbouring trees. If you have a site that adjacent to large neighbouring trees, it would be best to engage an arborist to perform an impact assessment according to Australian Standards prior to planning any imperious surface near or over the SRZ.

5. Stormwater Impacts

Stormwater or drainage patterns of a site can be subtle and easily ignored when evaluating the site. Controlled stormwater or drainage patterns have cumulative impacts. Poorly managed stormwater can cause problems on and off-site through erosion and the transportation of pollutants to downstream waterways. The patterns should be inspected to make sure that water flows off the property easily. Poor drainage may cost extra to correct future problems. 

If your property is over a flood zone or over an inundation overlay, you should consult the local water authority to confirm the flood level, their minimum finished floor level and if any other design requirement prior to starts any planning or design. In some cases, the council may request for a written pre-application advice from the local water authority prior to planning application and written approval prior to commencement of the construction. Please keep in mind you will require to pay a small fee for their services, and this can be a time-consuming exercise as they never guarantee on response times.

6. Site Context

After carefully review all aspect of your own site, it is also a good idea to check out the neighbourhood and see what’s around you. It will be an easier sail if there are plenty of precedence of the similar developments in the areas, as you don’t want to go through a lengthy town planning process, just because you are the new kid, and all the neighbors are objecting to your new idea.

As mentioned above, neighbouring trees can be a pain in the butt, but neighboring windows and decks are also no fun to deal with. As a first come first principal, any new developments are not allowed to overlook any neighbouring secluded private open spaces and habitable windows; that means if the neighbor has a large open deck at the back or living room windows facing you, all your upper floor windows, or balconies within 9m radius of such view need to be screened or obscured glazed to prevent overlooking into their private life.

It might seem like a lot of constrains within a residential context, but how about we find a site next to a park or green field site. This type of site you might not come across domestic issue such as neighbour not happy with your new 3 storey town house overshadowing his Sunday BBQ, but you might need to deal with commercial, environmental, or even cultural issue with the local council or neighbouring with municipal authorities over you.

I’ve came across a few such as easement need to be created on your site to service future amenities to the park, no in-ground services can be proposed within 9 metres of a water way or approval must be obtained for new developments near an aboriginal heritage site.

7. Environmental Controls

The local, state and federal environmental laws must be reviewed to determine if the development property requires any changes to conform to the current laws. Developments with higher environmental impact will require relevant environmental approval processes. In general, the environmental application is also submitted as part of the development application. Additionally, environmentally affected areas should be evaluated to find out if this problem could affect the value of the development property.

8. Local Council Attitudes

The attitude of the local government and zoning officials should be carefully reviewed as the assessment of a development application can be delayed or rejected if the development application is not supported by the local council.  Pro-development attitude receives few problems with the application while a conservative attitude may result in delays with the application.

 9. The Title To The Property

While the title deed should be reviewed by a solicitor, certain items should be reviewed by an architect. The architect will coordinate a design that has greater potential for faster council assessment. Items include easements and encroachments, restrictive covenants, zoning classification, boundary line agreements, or party wall agreements. Any one of the aforementioned items pose restrictions on the development and lower the investment return.

10. Impact Of The Pandemic

During pandemic, suburban’s house market continued to generate more sales than the CBD’s apartments, we need to seriously reconsider where the trend leads. Just in case another lockdown hits us, people are moving into location with the capacity to live, work and play are within 20 minutes’ reach.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is certainly flourished the sale of home office furniture and brought back the suburban lifestyle. Will home office be counted as a habitable room and require additional parking spots? Will the landscape ratio increase due to increased demand for outdoor spaces? Will balconies or roof top gardens become a staple to apartments?

One Thing Successful Developers Do: Pre-purchase Feasibility Study

Before making the final decision to purchase a potential development site, conducting a pre-purchase feasibility study is highly recommended. This study is to give you an overall idea if the site is worth the money being asked for it. Factors such as the fall of the site, minimum garden area requirement, orientation, impact on neighbours, streetscape, stormwater drainage, vehicular access, overshadowing, and privacy may restrict the development to fewer units than anticipated.

Wrapping Up

At SQM Architects, we can produce a schematic layout (sketch design) to assess the legal number of housing units that can be built on the site after including the considerations of council regulations and site characteristics. We can highlight, in the early stages, points of objection that may be raised by neighbours, such as loss of views, overshadowing, and lack of privacy, and come up with a design that has the potential to be quickly assessed by the council. In addition to the sketch design, the potential profit of the project can be estimated with all the associated costs considered. This small upfront investment is widely used by successful developers and have saved them enormous money in their projects. Why don’t you use it to your advantage?  

Request a free consultation with us today to discuss your project!