What You Need To Know Before Building Dual Occupancy Homes

Dual occupancy homes are continuing to dominate the Australian property market, and it’s no wonder why. They allow developers to double their profits on a single block of land, and for homeowners to simultaneously build their family home and an investment property at the same time.

Building a dual occupancy home involves building two houses on one block of land, usually either two side by side properties or one behind the other. While dual occupancy designs can be extremely rewarding and profitable, it’s important to go into the process carefully and meticulously. Simple mistakes and oversights can lead to significant issues down the track, and jeopardize your end results.

To help you avoid this, we’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know before building a dual occupancy home. This way, you can set yourself up for a successful venture that will help you build your wealth and make your stamp on the property market.

Your goals

When it comes to building dual occupancy homes, there are many different avenues you can go down. Whether you want to occupy one home and sell the other, rent out both of them to tenants or sell the two of them to new owners, there are many possibilities.

Whatever decision you make will then impact the design and ideal location of your development. If you want to live in one of the homes yourself, you’ll have to make sure it’s suited to you and your family’s needs. If you’re aiming to sell the other one, you’ll want to make sure it’s in a desirable location with good amenities such as schools, shops and public transportation nearby. This is why it’s so important that you know what you’re looking to get out of your dual occupancy home so that you can plan accordingly.

Approval process

Each council has its own approval process for dual occupancy homes and will have different zoning laws and regulations in place. Many councils will have restrictions on areas such as dimensions, driveway crossovers and property boundaries.

It’s important that you work with building designers who can manage this process for you, as it can be considerably more complicated than single-occupancy homes. All in all, it can take up to six months for dual occupancy homes to get council approval, so make sure you account for this when setting your budget and timeline goals.

Land research

One of the worst things you can do when building dual occupancy homes, or any home for that matter, is to buy a block of land before having it thoroughly inspected. Each block of land is unique and will come with its own sets of challenges, such as slopes, trees and irregular soil.

In many cases, this can result in your dream home either being impossible to build or costing much more than initially planned. For this reason, you should always get a land inspection before signing on the dotted line.

Having a solid team

A lot of work goes into building and designing dual occupancy homes, and everyone involved needs to bring their A-game to ensure that the end result is profitable. Working with a trusted team of building designers, builders, draftsmen and more will ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible.

While it’s unavoidable that most construction projects will have a few roadblocks and unexpected surprises here and there, having the right team on the job will mean that these issues are solved quickly and effectively.

Choosing the right floor plan and architecture style

Due to the popularity of dual occupancy homes, the competition is heavy. It’s important to design not just with your own personal tastes in mind, but with the market and current trends in mind too.

Think about the type of neighbourhood you want to build in, and what your target demographic will be. This will impact how you approach designing your dual occupancy home, and whether you go with a traditional approach or perhaps a more industrial design style.

Keep in mind that these homes are particularly appealing to young first-time buyers, who value energy efficiency and sustainability. Building a home with double-glazed windows, high-energy rated appliances and plenty of natural light will increase your chances of finding the right buyer or tenant.

As you can see, building a dual occupancy home isn’t something you want to rush into. But if you take all the relevant precautions and do your research, you should be in a fantastic position to make a healthy profit and get the most out of your investment.