Help im young, minor dwelling advice please!

[Jamesm]

Hey Guys

Names James, im 21 yo,

I have recently been thinking about building a 60m2 2 bedroom minor dwelling behind my parents house in Howick.

I am waiting for a call from the council in regards to the size of the land and existing property, although i have been given a rough figure of 800m2 for the land.

I have also found out the following through the Manukau city district plan map:

It is situated in the main residential zone, in an area where drainage infrastructure is very limited. It is also situated in the special (front yard) policy area 3 which means yard table rule 13.11.1.5.1 applies, although i do not think this effects me as the dwelling will be built behind the existing house.

I have read through some previous threads about Minor dwellings, and gathered that the total cost to build the minor dwelling including council costs etc would surface at around $150k, these were old threads though, would this still be an accurate figure?

I am planning on living in the 2 bedroom house paying rental rate until the build cost is paid off, then hoping to make a small profit when my parents sell the property.

Couple of questions,

Is this a good idea?
How much will the addition of a 2 bedroom minor dwelling add to the value of the property?

Look forward to hearing from you guys.

Cheers
James

[Damap]

I have done exactly this James in Howick. You need over 600 sqm and under 800. If over 800 you could possibly subdivide instead.
Unless your property has some significant issues it is a license to print money. We gained 200Kin equity by doing it not to mention $390 a week rent!

[PTILoveYou]

If you can subdivide, subdivide, better value in the land that way I think?

Also, if you have $150k cash, why not get a loan buy a separate property instead?? You can do a quick trade that way. Something different to think about.

[Jamesm]

Hey Damap,

Thanks for the help, sounds good, i will wait for accurate info on the size of the property to see if a subdivision is possible.

Gary Lin,

Unfortunately i do not have $150k cash, i wish! There will be loans involved, but i am happy to pay off a loan through rent as apposed to renting someone else's house, if it is possible for me to make some money in the long run!

Cheers

[PTILoveYou]

Hey Damap,

Thanks for the help, sounds good, i will wait for accurate info on the size of the property to see if a subdivision is possible.

Gary Lin,

Unfortunately i do not have $150k cash, i wish! There will be loans involved, but i am happy to pay off a loan through rent as apposed to renting someone else's house, if it is possible for me to make some money in the long run!

Cheers

Hi James

Good on you being ambitious at a such young age!

All I can suggest is do more homework with the council, get to know the planning rules well, that's first stage.

Second, talk to your parents about the planning rules, ie what you can build, and what you can't do, and any requirements, council & legal costs etc, and see if they are on board (after all it's their property).

Third, talk to builders or minor dwelling specialists and see how much you can build it for (some of these guys can handle the consent for you as well, there were quite a few suppliers from the HomeShow).

Fourth, once all the homework is done, and you and your parents want to build it, go build it!

Good luck =)

Gary

[Jamesm]

Cheers Gary,

I will carry on with my research and post any new info i find for you and others opinions.

Thanks again

James

[Jamesm]

I have heard back from the council, the land is 822m2, and that it may be possible to build another dwelling.

This means the section is large enough for a subdivision right? When a section is subdivided does the area of the second dwelling still need to be 60m2? Or does this change everything.

[PTILoveYou]

I have heard back from the council, the land is 822m2, and that it may be possible to build another dwelling.

This means the section is large enough for a subdivision right? When a section is subdivided does the area of the second dwelling still need to be 60m2? Or does this change everything.

822m2, that's very big indeed, probably can be subdivided.

Once subdivided, ie 400m2 section, you can build a normal house on it. Normally developers will build a two storey 4-5 bedroom home on that kind of section.

[Damap]

I PM"d you who to talk to. He will give you all the info and best options. Assuming driveway is doable subdivision definitely an option.

[Jamesm]

Hey guys,

Ive had a look at the underground services on the Auckland council GIS Viewer.

The main stormwater line is on the road infront of the property, the second dwelling will be down the back of the existing property, the land is sloped.

Will this cause a major problem trying to get the stormwater from the second dwelling up a slope to the main stormwater line?

Thanks

[PTILoveYou]

Hey guys,

Ive had a look at the underground services on the Auckland council GIS Viewer.

The main stormwater line is on the road infront of the property, the second dwelling will be down the back of the existing property, the land is sloped.

Will this cause a major problem trying to get the stormwater from the second dwelling up a slope to the main stormwater line?

Thanks

You probably need a detention tank and a pump to pump the water back to the main pipe.

Also you should check for the red line, which is the sewer pipe.

If the sewer pipe is not crossing the property, then it's a bigger problem if you subdivide. If you are going for minor dwelling, I'm not sure if you can just link the new sewer to the existing for the main house.

Best talk to council planner.

[Damap]

Talk to the people I gave you via PM. This is their job they do it all the time and can answer all those questions properly.

[John the builder]

as a rule you can build a minor dwelling as of right as long as you can satisfy parking and living courts.

building consent looks for sound and fire separation but a separate dwelling already has this (which is why 'separate garage' conversions are easy.)

Consider that you might subdivide in the future and maybe allow separate drainage but otherwise use the house drains and separate later if you decide to subdivide Subdividion may need driveway access and the position of the existing house can frustrate this?

[Davo36]

Well hold on, surely in a few years you can not only subdivide but build a small block of units on the back? i.e. when the unitary plan comes in?

The "highest and best use" (a term I remember from real estate studies) for the property could well be to build a 3 level 6 apartment complex on the back.

Or even just get resource consent for that and sell it on. This would reduce risk a lot, and of course mean you wouldn't have to fund the development which would be quite dear.

[donthatetheplayer]

Well hold on, surely in a few years you can not only subdivide but build a small block of units on the back? i.e. when the unitary plan comes in?

I hear the "proposed" unitary plan rules have already been priced in to land values in Auckland. Not sure if it's true on small properties but certainly any large sites. I'm not sure if waiting would change much in terms of profit.