By Carly Crutchfield
Carly Crutchfield is the CEO of Australian property and investment firm CCORP and its subsidiaries companies. She is a property developer, investor, public speaker and self-made millionaire. Carly provides you with personalised answers to all your property and finance questions.
Q. What are the basic requirements to determine if a property (flats/multi-units) can be strata titled? Does this vary between States and local governments? Brad Davis
A. Primarily, the building will have to meet all current building codes and individual council requirements. The building codes are relevant Australia wide as per the Building Code of Australia (BCA), while council requirements will vary from council to council and State to State. The best thing to do in this circumstance is to have the block assessed by a local architect. He will need to review the property and see how much work has got to be done to it to make it comply with current rules and regulations to meet the specific standards. Once you know this you can then assess how feasible it is to undertake strata titling.
Q. Can you go through the process of getting a site rezoned to be residential.
A. Yes it is possible to get a site rezoned to be residential, but it is a costly process and very time consuming. It may also take years and it is not always approved: there is no guarantee. This generally is only done when the development is a large one and the cost can be justified. When applying for a site to be rezoned you will need to provide a lot of studies, plans and backup information as to why the rezoning is justified. If you can have the rezoning approved it will greatly increase the value of the affected properties. Before applying for a rezoning it is a good idea to meet with the town planner of the concerned council and see how likely it is to be granted. This will save time and money on something that may not have a chance of success.
Q. What are vendor terms and can you sell a property on vendor terms if you have a mortgage against it. Ilse Aschbrenner
A. The vendor is the person who owns the property, and vendor terms refer to a method of purchasing a property generally by installment by using finance from the vendor, rather than a bank. It is used where the buyer is unable to obtain finance through normal means. When buying a property on vendor terms you will pay more for the property and possibly a higher interest rate as well. If you have a mortgage against a property and want to sell it using vendor terms this is still possible. You can sell your property on vendor terms using the equity you have in the property ( (against the amount of the mortgage you have paid off).
To get your property and finance questions answers, email Carly on carlyc@ccorp.com.au and look out in our next issue to see if your question is featured!
Carly Crutchfield is a self made millionaire, the CEO of several national companies she's been involved in developments throughout Australia, New Zealand and America with a value of more than $200 million dollars. www.carlycrutchfield.com.au
