Sell up and move, or demolish and build?

Like Fenderbally I like living where I do, but it can be time consuming traveling to the major shopping centres. Our house is a timber structure built in the mid 70's with colourbond roof which has started leaking (again). The floor moves a bit so the house could probably do with a restumping. Although I am pretty much retired and have the time to do repairs, I don't have the incentive/motivation, I'd rather be traveling in the van or off in the high country in the fourby..
SWMBO and I have been tossing around moving Vs. Demolish and rebuild.
I know the decision is ultimately ours, but I was wondering if other members have been through this process.

I'm a little bias as I could do a lot of the work myself, and the BIL is a builder (who I work for full time) but demo/rebuild means you get to stay in the area you're happy with, and get a house that (presumably) you had a hand in designing and fitting your needs.

Just my thoughts

if you sell up and move you've got agents fees and stamp duty - I'd prefer to keep that money myself.

Incentive!!!! I think you have gotten to the stage in life when it all gets too hard. To remodel/rebuild the house will be offering you accommodation in a "bomb site" until you get it finished. That pressure/frustration can be a real trial for you both and may not end peacefully. In my case I have all the good intentions to do a job but in reality I struggle to get things finished. I think I would have a good close look at the house where you are and make a list of what needs to be done and see if its doable with your state of mind, as well as having a look around the area to see what's on offer as far as selling and moving goes. Even a move can be traumatic.

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Originally Posted by chambezio

Incentive!!!! I think you have gotten to the stage in life when it all gets too hard. To remodel/rebuild the house will be offering you accommodation in a "bomb site" until you get it finished. That pressure/frustration can be a real trial for you both and may not end peacefully. In my case I have all the good intentions to do a job but in reality I struggle to get things finished. I think I would have a good close look at the house where you are and make a list of what needs to be done and see if its doable with your state of mind, as well as having a look around the area to see what's on offer as far as selling and moving goes. Even a move can be traumatic.

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I wouldn't be doing any building/remodelling. I'd get in a builder, hook up the van and disappear for 6 months :).

John where you live is convenient for a lot of other things,

Where would you get enough room to do what you want in your shed and dog kennels etc

Detonate and start again as you say go away for 6 months and come home to a brand new house which will see you out for the rest of your days.

To buy again you will always buy some one else's house which you then have to make into a home.

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Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

John where you live is convenient for a lot of other things,

Where would you get enough room to do what you want in your shed and dog kennels etc

Detonate and start again as you say go away for 6 months and come home to a brand new house which will see you out for the rest of your days.

To buy again you will always buy some one else's house which you then have to make into a home.

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I rarely go out in the shed now Jim, and when I do it's only to potter around, but it is handy if I need to do a major project.

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Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

Detonate and start again

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I'll pay for an invite to the detonation :)

We added an additional 600 square feet to the house (56 Square Meters) and remodeled the kitchen. The project was done by one of the few contractors I would ever recommend to others. The original completion was to be 90 days. It took 94 days but the 4 extra days were our fault.

We lived in the house during the remodelling. No, let me correct that, we existed in the house during the remodelling. It was a difficult ordeal. The shed, which is really my garage, became a storage area for the things that had to be moved and stored. We cooked exclusively using a cheap microwave on a folding card table. We also ate off this table which was in the living room with the refrigerator.

SWMBO had four weekly activities which got her out of the house while I minded the construction and the dog. The dog was about 11 years and had difficulties with the general upheaval and confusion. When the dog had difficulties, SWMBO became upset. When SWMBO is upset even the construction workers wanted to hide.

The obvious question, would I ever live in a remodel during the construction again? Being Politically Correct, the answer is Yes but only if it got cold enough. :)

Good luck and God bless both of you. (You will need it.)

Hi John,
We have a similar situation as we live in a mid 70's house that is in need of significant repair or refurbish or remodelling or put up with fairly high ongoing maintenance. With one eye on selling the house in potentially the next decade, we tried to second guess what would be valued by a potential buyer in 10 years (other than my shed of course!) and that led us to the following conclusion. IF The house is to be sold in say the next 10 years then, whoever buys it will probably be faced with the demolish and rebuild dilemma anyway and so all of our work AND CAPITALISING will be wasted anyway?
Our final decision has been to put up with it, repair and maintain what is essential and accept that the next owner will probably demolish and rebuild anyway.
fletty

I totally understand where you're coming from Fletty. We're on 1/2 acre so we are going to check what the council attitude is on sub dividing. There's room on our block for 3 units/townhouses. This would give us a few more options:
Get plans and permits, then sell to a developer.
or develop ourselves (not likely as we don't have the money to finance this)
Check if we can do a dual occ, then sell one half and use the money to build.

Was there a planning issue of some sort with your property a couple of years ago that you discussed on the forum, I seem to recall adding my 2c then. If so, selling as is or for development may not bring a reasonable amount to fund a relocation, and may limit your options re rebuilding on site. I would check with the council about zoning etc and with a couple of agents for guestimates before you get too involved in making decisions.

John

We faced the same problem 8 years ago. The cost of a new kitchen and bathroom was almost the price of a new house. We went for the new house option and positioned it on the block so we can sub divide/build or sell at a later date.

We got away from the problems and maintanance for the old house and our life styles have improved and we are still living in the place we have been in for 32 years.

Ross

Fantastic outcome for you Ross.
I know all councils are different, but did things go pretty smoothly for you?

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Originally Posted by malb

Was there a planning issue of some sort with your property a couple of years ago that you discussed on the forum, I seem to recall adding my 2c then. If so, selling as is or for development may not bring a reasonable amount to fund a relocation, and may limit your options re rebuilding on site. I would check with the council about zoning etc and with a couple of agents for guestimates before you get too involved in making decisions.

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You've got a good memory malb. Yes, there was some confusion about a compulsory acquisition on a section of our property. It seems that an aggressive law firm was trolling for business and even if we do lose some of our property it will only be 2 metres at the most. I will keep this in mind for future plans.

Hi John

If you're on 1/2 an acre, and you decide to go down the demolish and rebuild path, I suggest you investigate dual occupancy -- live in the existing house while the 2nd dwelling is constructed "next door" then move in once it's finished.

What ever you decide, don't "disappear in the van" while the builders are working. If you do, you will most likely come back to a new house full of problems that will cost a bomb to fix.

Grumpy

I'm just so envious of you blokes with modern 70s houses :rolleyes: .

I think to undertake a rebuild yourself at this time would require a real urge to be an ownerbuilder so I think it is good you have dismissed that option.

While disappearing in the van and losing yourselves for six months sounds very attractive, I agree with Ian that it might not be the wisest move if you are not to be disappointed with the result.

That limits your options quite a bit. One solution is to disappear in the van, but only go around the metaphorical corner. Perhaps a week to ten days away at a time so you can return to check on progress.

Regards
Paul

35 years ago when we had our first home large yard I visited Mastertons Homes Village at Warwick Farm and asked about knock down rebuild :no: nope mate we don't do that sort of thing not worth it. Now their adds encourage it :doh::roll:

Ah well soon to move.

What are the development prospects for your place John, any chance of unit permits etc. We sold our 1/2 acre in North Croydon with permit for 6 units last year for $1m, bought ourselves a fixer upper in Alexandra as temp accomm and a future rental, and a 2.5acre vacant site to build on 3mins out of town. If there is demand for unit sites and council will play ball, you could make way more for your retirement by getting the permit, selling holus bolus, and relocating to a place adequate for your needs. All up our permit took 13months and cost around $15k for planning consultants and council charges. A dual occ permit often comes out to around $10k, we were told.
Don't know what happens in your area, or what your planning/zoning etc is, but worth considering if viable.

Any capital you put into a property means that the only way to release the money is to sell, obvious but I think it needs stating. Buying a different and more liveable property means you finance it by selling what you have, demolish and rebuild means the money comes out of your pocket and when sold will not in all likelihood gain you that money back. If you were twenty and just starting out demolish and build will not have the impact that it willl at fifty or sixty for that reason.

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Originally Posted by malb

What are the development prospects for your place John, any chance of unit permits etc. We sold our 1/2 acre in North Croydon with permit for 6 units last year for $1m, bought ourselves a fixer upper in Alexandra as temp accomm and a future rental, and a 2.5acre vacant site to build on 3mins out of town. If there is demand for unit sites and council will play ball, you could make way more for your retirement by getting the permit, selling holus bolus, and relocating to a place adequate for your needs. All up our permit took 13months and cost around $15k for planning consultants and council charges. A dual occ permit often comes out to around $10k, we were told.
Don't know what happens in your area, or what your planning/zoning etc is, but worth considering if viable.

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It was SWMBO's initial idea to get permits and plans for a dual occ, or units and then sell. From what you stated this is the way to go, make some decent money then buy something that suits us. At 65 and 60 this most likely would see us out, not after anything fancy, just comfortable and (reasonably) maintenance free.
We are going on a 6 week caravan trip later this month and when we get back we'll do some serious investigation as to what our options are. We're not looking to do anything immediately, in fact it wouldn't bother us if it took 3 to 5 years to get done.

A very wise decision in my book. I think that houses owned by older people are a drain on finances that outstrips capital growth and in the end forces a lot of people to sell their home to release the capital they need. If someone would buy my home and give me an end of life or occupation lease I would be very interested and Centrelink go and take a walk.