
Building Design, Prime Time
We are building designers from Prime Design. We created the Building Design, Prime Time podcast, to provide valuable information for anyone looking to undertake a new build or extension project. We share our tips, tricks and stories from a building designer's perspective.
Building Design, Prime Time
E52. Why you need to check covenants and easements
In this episode of the Building Design, Prime Time podcast Frank and Amelia discuss covenants and easements and how these can impact how you can develop the site, and what you can develop. Frank talks about covenants that can be hidden behind a title that can affect the development of the site.
In addition, Frank and Amelia talk about why these factors and how people have been caught out because they haven't received or understood all the information about their convenants or easements.
Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode, we have a new topic each week.
About us
Prime Design is a building design company locally owned and operated in Tasmania since 2004. Our goal is to share as much valuable information as possible about the process of building design, extensions, and more. We will talk about a different topic each week. To suggest a topic you would like us to talk about contact us at info@primedesigntas.com.au
Disclaimer
The information provided on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, individual circumstances, or remedy. We strongly suggest you consult a qualified professional before taking any action based on the information provided in this podcast. The views, opinions, and information provided in this podcast are those of the hosts do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer, or company. All content provided on this podcast is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this podcast and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, or damages arising from its use. We reserve the right to change content or delete any information provided on this podcast at any time without prior notice.
E52. Why you need to check covenants and easements
[INTRO] (0:08 - 0:24)
Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast, focused on providing valuable information for anyone looking to undertake a new build or extension project. We'll share our tips, tricks and stories from a building designers perspective.
[Amelia] (0:26 - 0:44)
Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast. I'm your host, Amelia, and once again, we're joined by the regular Frank Geskus.
[Frank] (0:44 - 0:45)
Regular?
[Amelia] (0:45 - 0:46)
Yeah, you're a regular.
[Frank] (0:47 - 0:47)
Okay.
[Amelia] (0:48 - 0:48)
A bad smell.
[Frank] (0:49 - 0:56)
Oh, gee. It's only in summer. Thanks, Amelia.
Thanks for that intro.
[Amelia] (0:56 - 0:59)
No problems. I thought I'd switch it up a little bit.
[Frank] (1:00 - 1:02)
Oh, awesome. Rethink the switch up.
[Amelia] (1:04 - 1:09)
Now you've got me wondering, do you eat too many baked beans in summer?
[Frank] (1:09 - 1:14)
No, just move on. All right. What topic have you chosen for today?
[Amelia] (1:14 - 1:18)
Look, I thought it would be interesting to talk about covenants and easements.
[Frank] (1:18 - 2:03)
On your titles? Yes. Okay.
So you're legally binding land title. Okay. Very interesting, because obviously, in what we do as building designers, we have to look at these, because that's what you're building on, or extending on, or doing whatever on, on a legal piece of land, a title.
And then we've got to use the folio, use the drawings, and then we've got to look at the survey notes and understand it and document it accurately. But they have, in the title itself, they may have covenants. So I'll just explain what a covenant is.
I'm going to read this out, because I'll never remember this. Covenants are a legally binding promise written into property deeds or contracts that restricts the use of the land in some way. So that could be a ton of things.
[Amelia] (2:03 - 2:05)
Yeah, there's loads of different types of covenants.
[Frank] (2:05 - 2:10)
So if you see a covenant on a piece of land that you want to buy, you'd want to research it, wouldn't you?
[Amelia] (2:11 - 2:15)
And I mean, it makes it pretty important to check these things before purchasing.
[Frank] (2:15 - 3:11)
And your conveyancer or your solicitor should be all over this, no problem at all. So I might just talk about a few other, what some of those covenants might be. But it also goes onto schedule of easements, which is a section of the land title that lists all the easements and covenants that may apply to the property as well.
But we'll talk about easements a little bit more. So covenants could be a whole bunch of stuff on here. They could be a restriction, they could be restricting your height of the building, the size of the building, position of the building, because someone subdivided off another larger lot and they don't want to lose their view from their house.
So they restrict where you can build and how high. The design and the appearance, we've seen this before where they tell us, well, you can't do anything but brick on the front of your property. We will not. And this is no Colorbond allowed, no cement sheeting allowed.
[Amelia] (3:11 - 3:16)
So that's because the developer wants a certain aesthetic for the development?
[Frank] (3:17 - 3:20)
I've actually seen it where a minimum size of dwelling.
[Amelia] (3:20 - 3:21)
Really?
[Frank] (3:22 - 3:26)
Yep. So it cannot be less than, I think it was 130, 140 square metres.
[Amelia] (3:26 - 3:28)
So no tiny homes in that one then?
[Frank] (3:29 - 3:31)
That's not a real tiny home. It's small.
[Amelia] (3:31 - 3:31)
Yeah.
[Frank] (3:31 - 4:06)
But you get it if you're doing acreage lots and you're expecting people to do 200, 300 square metre houses, then all of a sudden someone's built 130 square metre house, it looks really odd. It's not consistent. Or as some clown did in one subdivision, he built this huge shed and he put a unit off the back of it.
And it's just ruined this whole area. Like the shed is huge. You'd think he's building boats in there. It's massive. And I don't blame everyone in the street going, oh, this is really dumb. It's really ridiculous.
It looks awful.
[Amelia] (4:06 - 4:09)
Are you sure that wasn't you, Frank, with all your cars?
[Frank] (4:09 - 4:56)
No, no, no. I don't have that many cars. Like me, you could fit a lot of cars in this shed.
It was huge. That's why I said building boats. Yeah. That's my dream anyway. Density, setbacks. They may put other restrictions on it, which is interesting.
We were discussing before we started about how there could be covenant, there could be minimum setbacks, but we talk about planning schemes. We spoke in a podcast just recently. We didn't get into the level of detail, but also planning schemes have setbacks.
How close can you go to the side? How close do you be the front, the rear? All these other requirements.
Now, what happens if the planning scheme is changed and the setbacks don't actually match or they're contrary to the ones in the title?
[Amelia] (4:56 - 4:57)
Yeah. How does that work?
[Frank] (4:58 - 4:58)
Get legal advice.
[Amelia] (4:59 - 5:00)
Who wins in that situation?
[Frank] (5:00 - 5:45)
I don't know. I don't know. I've had a few odd ones like that and the really old subdivision and the original subdivision is dead and you can't do a lot about it, so then who's going to come back and cause ruckus?
That's a decision you've got to work through with council planning departments and also with lawyers, so be aware, especially on really old ones. There's some really weird stuff. We talk about easements and right of ways.
We'll get onto that too, but allowing the night cart to go through.
[Amelia]
Yeah, that's an odd one.
[Frank]
Yeah, the night cart where you used to have the outdoor dunny or the thunderbox and you used to empty the pan, take it out the back and someone would collect all your bodily waste at the middle of the night.
[Amelia]
That's a bit gross.
[Frank]
But it was a fact. That's what they used to do and some of the old titles will have that.
[Amelia] (5:45 - 5:46)
Wow.
[Frank] (5:46 - 6:02)
That's in the older cities like Sydney, Hobart, Launceston and maybe a few of the other ones, but very interesting. Look, your covenants may restrict only for residential use and for most people that we're talking to, we're talking about residential, but it may not let you do any commercial. It may not let you have a home business.
[Amelia] (6:02 - 6:03)
A home business?
[Frank] (6:04 - 6:05)
It may restrict you.
[Amelia] (6:05 - 6:05)
Yeah, right.
[Frank] (6:05 - 6:18)
Commercial use or limiting. You could have it on commercial sites and it limits the type of things on a commercial site. You know, you might not want to have bars and nightclubs or a bikey clubhouse.
I don't know.
[Amelia] (6:18 - 6:25)
It makes sense for some things. I guess there would be some things that would be maybe discretionary.
[Frank] (6:25 - 6:26)
Under the scheme.
[Amelia] (6:26 - 6:27)
Under the scheme.
[Frank] (6:27 - 6:34)
But not on the restriction. Agricultural, limited to the land to agricultural purposes only. It can never be used for anything else.
[Amelia] (6:35 - 6:35)
Yeah.
[Frank] (6:35 - 7:17)
Some people, I've seen where people have bought forests, swathes of forests and then they put a covenant. It cannot be used for agricultural purposes. It cannot be cleared.
And good on them. You know, that's what they want to do with their piece of land. It's their choice. It's their land. Maintenance. You must maintain your property. The upkeep of the buildings, the structure, aesthetically pleasing. Environmental covenants. So there could be restrictions on preserving natural features, wetlands, forest, wildlife and that's similar to what I was talking about, the forest. Tree preservation. I mean, these are all really good too. People wish to do that with their land.
Fencing, signage, noise and nuisance. Gee, this could be handy sometimes. Odours.
[Amelia] (7:17 - 7:18)
Oh.
[Frank] (7:18 - 7:24)
Yeah. Remember the old day, people used to have incinerators in the backyard? You ever remember?
[Amelia]
No, I don't remember.
[Frank] (7:24 - 7:25)
You were too young for that.
[Frank] (7:25 - 7:29)
I remember some of the neighbours growing up and they'd just go burn all their rubbish in their yard.
[Amelia] (7:30 - 7:30)
And it smelled really bad.
[Frank] (7:30 - 8:15)
And I remember Mum going crook, got the laundry hanging out there and they've got the smoker and they've just burnt all their stuff and it's plastic and all sorts of rubbish. And I remember Mum going crook a few times. Yeah, they banned all that.
[Amelia]
You got to go to the tip now probably.
[Frank]
Yeah, I've got a neighbour who still burns some stuff but it's not too bad. We're on bigger blocks so we don't really care. They actually put ash all over my car on Sunday.
[Amelia]
Oh no.
[Frank]
It wasn't too bad. The car needed to clean anyway. Anyway, pet restrictions. You know, the type, number, size of pets that can be kept on your property.
Subdivision rules, common maintenance. There's all sorts of stuff you can find on there. Now, imagine if you bought a block of land and you didn't know about this.
[Amelia]
That's crazy.
[Frank]
But I'll talk about some other ones in a minute where clients aren't aware of some of these restrictions.
[Amelia] (8:15 - 8:18)
So what happens if you break those restrictions?
[Frank] (8:19 - 8:30)
Well, there could be legal ramifications. Sometimes the council enforces, sometimes they're not. But other people within that subdivision or have right on title can actually enforce it.
[Amelia] (8:30 - 8:41)
Because I have seen some that say you can't have particular dog breeds on your property, which is a bit odd. But what if you break that?
[Frank] (8:41 - 10:02)
I've got no idea. I'm not an expert. Just by the way with all this, I'm not an expert on this stuff and we'll have to get a registered land surveyor in to assist us and maybe say a conveyancer from a legal point of view.
So I'm just advising that, hey, you've got to look at this stuff in your time. So if you're buying a block of land, and we've discussed this on previous podcasts, you need to see what's on your title. To be fair, it's all legal gobbledygook.
We need to look at it from what we do as designers. And we've pointed out sometimes, are you aware of this section 71?
[Amelia]
I wouldn't have a clue what that is.
[Frank]
Okay. So I'll go through a few more. So an easement is a legal right for use of another person to use your land for a specific purpose. It does not grant ownership of the land, but allows a certain use. So it could be a sewer, stormwater line. So it comes under, in Tasmania, it comes under the Pipeline Act. It could be power lines. It could be water lines. It could be NBN going through your property.
And they have a right to do that, but it's still your land. But you've got restrictions on that easement. Like you can't build over an easement.
Very rare anyway. These are generally always in your title. Okay.
If there's a pipe there, it's usually an easement. But I'm afraid to say sometimes you may have an easement and there's no pipe in there. They never put it in.
But you still can't build over it.
[Amelia] (10:03 - 10:06)
What if the pipes have changed since the original title?
[Frank] (10:07 - 10:10)
No, in a lot of these cases they were never installed.
[Amelia] (10:10 - 10:10)
Oh.
[Frank] (10:11 - 10:20)
So basically it made a bit of a boo-boo. They've done ASCONs and the civil engineers changed it, made it better, found another way of doing it. But the pipe's just not in there.
[Amelia] (10:20 - 10:21)
Yeah, right.
[Frank] (10:21 - 10:34)
Really clever. So as constructed, so when they finish building, they take measurements with the surveyor and they add it to the drawings. They have an overlaid between.
I think I had another one. We had an easement and the pipes were sitting outside the easement. So that wasn't real helpful.
[Amelia] (10:35 - 10:35)
No.
[Frank] (10:35 - 10:51)
That was really dumb. But our surveyor at the time picked it up and said, hey, the manhole's here, man. He popped all the lids, measured all the pipes. Hey, it's not in the easement. What do we do? Well, we can't build over the pipes and we can't build over the easement.
So it's actually less usable space for the owner.
[Amelia] (10:52 - 10:53)
Oh, that's annoying.
[Frank] (10:53 - 11:34)
Well, it can be. Or the classic example is I'm buying a nice block of land out of, so whatever, and they've just put the draft titles out. Oh, I like this block.
I'll buy that. But you don't have a title. You don't have covenants yet.
You haven't got a clue if there's any easements. Anyway, you buy the block of land. And we had one. I've had a heap of them, actually. They actually get their title. Yeah, you own a block of land. Come to us. Oh, I'd like to do this, this and this. Well, there's an easement down this side and we're restricted.
We can't go within three metres of the boundary if it's that. And they're looking and says, what do you mean? This is the plan we were given, but this is the legal title.
So they've actually added in a pipe or two pipes and an easement on their block and they didn't know.
[Amelia] (11:34 - 11:39)
Oh, that's really frustrating because no one would know that when they purchased the block.
[Frank] (11:39 - 12:21)
Well, the conveyancer should pick it up and make them aware. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't understand.
So it's buyer beware when you buy a block. Look, I've actually asked, I've told customers and I've done it myself too. Any easements or pipelines that go through there that are not on the draft plans, I want to know as soon as possible.
Or you can guarantee me it's not going on there. Because they don't always follow the plan due to restrictions on site. They may find a problem with the civil design and they're going to divert the pipes in other directions.
And it may be in detriment of you. I actually find it quite wrong that they sell off the plan and then all of a sudden there's an easement on there, which may wreck your dream. Oh, I was going to put the garage there or I was going to put the house closer there.
[Amelia] (12:22 - 12:23)
Yeah, that's a bit frustrating.
[Frank] (12:23 - 12:57)
Well, that's to say the least. That's putting it nicely. And to be fair, I don't think half the real estate agents know what they're looking at.
The more experienced ones definitely do. But yeah, it's quite sad at times. Section 71, which is for specific provision in the Lands and Titles Acts, 1980 Tasmania.
And by the way, I'm talking about stuff in Tasmania. Some of this may or may not apply to the big island on the mainland, on the other states. So creation of Section 71s is an agreement between the property owner and planning authority.
[Amelia] (12:58 - 12:59)
So who are the planning authority?
[Frank] (13:00 - 13:03)
Well, that's who we had last week. It's the council planning authority.
[Amelia] (13:03 - 13:04)
So it's the council planners.
[Frank] (13:05 - 13:19)
Yep. So when they applied for a subdivision, they may have come along and said, well, I remember one, all the trees, all these trees have to stay. The ones that are marked.
I had one, they marked every tree on this drawing and you weren't allowed to cut them down.
[Amelia] (13:19 - 13:22)
So does that mean you couldn't build anywhere near those trees?
[Frank] (13:22 - 13:31)
Pretty well. Restricted where you could build. Slight problem, half the conveyances didn't know what this was. The owners never got it and they cleared the block.
[Amelia] (13:32 - 13:35)
Oh no. They had to plant trees?
[Frank] (13:36 - 13:48)
Well, I can't remember the outcome. I think one of them was, yeah, we just agreed to plant more similar species, but in a better location. I remember one, we had to work around the trees with the development and it worked.
Sadly, one of the trees died.
[Amelia] (13:48 - 13:49)
Oh no.
[Frank] (13:50 - 14:38)
A couple of years after, so they had to remove it anyway. Yeah, and that was because it was a green belt. It was right next to all this stuff.
There's prior to bushfire restrictions as well, by the way. So there's other sections if you want to do the planning. I remember there was one in Prospect and it was a disused transport yard.
So it was what you call a brownfield site, been contaminated and whatnot. And they put lots and lots and lots of fill in there. And they attached soil report and salinity reports and what else? There was a heap of restrictions in there. It was part of the planning authority adding that to the section 71. Again, half the people, most of the people that bought blocks of land on this subdivision, built over this reclaimed site, repurposed site, didn't know about the restrictions on this section 71.
[Amelia] (14:39 - 14:39)
Really?
[Frank] (14:39 - 14:50)
Which again, we then have to go and explain it and then they're all devastated. In this case, because they're sitting on all this fill, they had to dig down a long, long way to sit on something solid to sit the house on.
[Amelia] (14:50 - 14:54)
So it would have been a lot more expensive probably than what they thought too.
[Frank] (14:54 - 15:11)
Exactly, and also big salinity problems because of that as well. Yeah, and these agreements are often used to address planning and development concerns. And they may have certain conditions and restrictions of the development.
It says it's for residential and yes it is, but then you've got all these conditions. It can be really difficult to navigate sometimes.
[Amelia] (15:12 - 15:13)
Yeah, it's confusing.
[Frank] (15:13 - 16:49)
Could be water table problems as well. The other one is part five agreements. These are another ones. Now these are tucked away. So when someone buys a title, right? They go buy it off what we have in Tasmania.
It's called the list every state would have somewhere where you can go purchase a title. Then each one of these, to buy the covenants, the easements, section 71s, part fives, they're all extras underneath that you've got to buy. So many times I've seen customers not made aware of the section 71 or part five.
So they just don't know. So the part five is an agreement related to the Land Use and Planning Approvals Act 1993 of Tasmania. So they are an agreement between property owner and the local planning authority again.
Similar to section 71s, but are more specific in managing development and use of the land. So the classic example of this is bushfire. If you're in a bushfire prone zone, there's lots of shrubs and stuff around you, your bushfire attack level rating might be really high.
In old days, you used to go to your neighbour, hey, can I clear a piece of your land? So I don't have a bushfire issue. Can't do that anymore.
The part five agreement is an agreement with your neighbour to say that I can go into your land and keep it safe, clear, mowed, maintained. But it's a hassle for the neighbour.
[Amelia]
Yes.
[Frank]
Putting it all on there and their conditions on their title as well. So it becomes a legal instrument, an agreement that regulates how it can be used and developed. So it's also for maintenance, and it's also ensuring compliance with local laws and preserving character and utility of the land and surroundings.
[Amelia] (16:50 - 16:50)
Wow.
[Frank] (16:51 - 16:51)
Yeah.
[Amelia] (16:52 - 16:55)
So how do you even find these part fives?
[Frank] (16:55 - 16:57)
They're actually on the title.
[Amelia] (16:58 - 17:01)
So they are on it, because you said they're kind of hidden behind it.
[Frank] (17:01 - 17:15)
But it's just written a word, part five, section 71. But then you've got to go apply, and it's tucked in behind. It's like a layer underneath.
And then your conveyancer or solicitor should be purchasing these and then making you very aware, reading it out so you know exactly what the restrictions are.
[Amelia] (17:15 - 17:23)
Yeah, right. But unless the client actually knows what that means, they're going to look at it and say, that looks like Japanese to me. It makes no sense.
[Frank] (17:23 - 17:35)
Of course. But that's why you pay a solicitor. We've had to learn all this stuff.
We're not experts. But I'd still like to have a chat to a registered surveyor about how it affects humans, and stuff like that. I know just the guy, too.
[Amelia] (17:35 - 17:36)
I'm sure you do.
[Frank] (17:37 - 17:38)
It'll cost me a few beers.
[Amelia] (17:39 - 17:40)
It's a small price.
[Frank] (17:41 - 18:01)
Oh, it's a small price. What do you do? Pay everything with beer.
So, look, these are things you need to be aware of when you're buying land before you do it go talk to an expert about this stuff. Talk to a land surveyor.
And even your conveyor to question, what does all this mean? Can it stop me from building my house, my shed? That's a good one. You can't build your shed.
[Amelia] (18:01 - 18:02)
Yeah.
[Frank] (18:01 - 18:15)
I've had it where you're not allowed to build a Colorbond shed. So, for those, it's just your normal shed with nice steel cladding on it. Someone will not let you build a steel shed in the subdivision. It's just, they don't like the look. They don't want to see it.
[Amelia] (18:15 - 18:16)
Wow.
[Frank] (18:16 - 19:27)
So, you've got to re-clad your shed in something that's appropriate. So, you can see where it can become disappointing for people when they get into their development.
[Amelia]
Definitely.
[Frank]
So, some would say some of these are dumb laws. I personally believe there should be more information made available to open disclosure. A better open disclosure of this information.
I know there were some lots that were sold outside of Launceston up near the top part of King's Meadows. And there was a major highway, thoroughfare, that the land was backing onto. And they actually had lines on the title.
You can't build past this point due to noise. You could see it on the title. It was very obvious.
Down the road, 500 metres, brand new subdivision, put in 20 years later. They never put the line on the land, on the title.
[Amelia]
Really?
[Frank]
Yep. Similar restrictions. But you think you're buying, oh, I can put, like, it's 1,200 square metres. I can, big house, I can put my shed there. I can put a few units on there, multi-residential. It's hidden behind in one of these.
It's not clearly noted on the title. It's in a Section 71 or a Part 5.
[Amelia] (19:27 - 19:39)
So here's my question. Why is there not access to these documents when you go to look at a block or go buy a house? Why are they not accessible or easily accessible?
[Frank] (19:40 - 19:40)
I don't know.
[Amelia] (19:41 - 19:45)
Like a real estate agent, why can't a real estate agent supply these things?
[Frank] (19:45 - 19:48)
To be fair, people are buying blocks before this stuff's even put together.
[Amelia] (19:49 - 19:56)
But should that even happen?
[Frank]
That's a good question.
[Amelia]
Should they be allowed to sell something when it's not even, it doesn't even have a title yet?
[Frank] (19:57 - 20:04)
That's a very good question. Well, the sale, to be fair, the sale doesn't go through. The contract is not fulfilled until the title is issued.
[Amelia] (20:05 - 20:07)
Sometimes that's two, three years down the track.
[Frank] (20:08 - 20:08)
Yes.
[Amelia] (20:09 - 20:13)
Which I know is really frustrating for a lot of people.
[Frank] (20:13 - 20:28)
But then how much more frustrating if you think you can build something and you're restricted on what you can build? Or the expense goes through the roof because of something put on to the title? And you've waited three years and realising you can't build what you want to build on there.
[Amelia] (20:29 - 20:31)
Yes, that doesn't seem right to me.
[Frank] (20:31 - 20:32)
It's pretty wrong, isn't it?
[Amelia] (20:32 - 20:37)
I think it's wrong. I think there needs to be more upfront information at the beginning.
[Frank] (20:37 - 20:57)
I couldn't agree more. And I believe it has to be on the preliminary title as well, this restriction. Like there's one I mentioned to you about restricting how far you can build because of the noise of the highway.
So many people say, oh, I want to look at this block of land. Mate, there's a restriction on it. Oh, I didn't say it's got a title.
No, it's in this document here, here and here. I find it deceptive when they don't put it clearly on the title.
[Amelia] (20:57 - 20:59)
Yes, it doesn't seem very clear at all.
[Frank] (20:59 - 21:24)
The other thing is looking at building envelopes or restrictions of where you can build. So you can only build between these points and they're usually clearly marked on the title. Okay, so it goes A, B, C, D and it marks a shape on the title.
You can build in here. I've also seen acreage lots where they restrict, you can't put a septic in. You have to put in a waste water treatment plant.
[Amelia] (21:25 - 21:27)
I thought that was all of them these days mostly.
[Frank] (21:27 - 21:27)
Not necessarily.
[Amelia] (21:28 - 21:30)
I didn't think you're allowed to use septic anymore.
[Frank] (21:30 - 21:50)
No, you can certainly use a septic. The ground conditions have to be right and there's certain circumstances, but it all comes down to the environmental health office designing it and doing the soil tests to see if it's even possible. Everyone talks about they want to, we're going to go with a tangent here, but it may not necessarily be economically viable to put a septic in as well.
[Amelia] (21:50 - 21:51)
Okay.
[Frank] (21:51 - 22:10)
Because you may spend a lot of money on, you're like, I'll put a septic in, but people got to be aware when you put trenches in, they're going to be replaced every 10 to 15 years. Waste water treatment plants generally not, but you've got to pay an annual maintenance cost. So anyway, we digress, but that can be a restriction on the covenant.
No septics.
[Amelia] (22:10 - 22:11)
Yeah, okay.
[Frank] (22:12 - 22:14)
Yeah, I saw that out near Windermere.
[Amelia] (22:15 - 22:16)
Oh, okay.
[Frank] (22:16 - 22:38)
Oh no, but you know, this is really important for you to be educated on your titles and ask lots of questions with your conveyance. Even take it to a registered surveyor, pay an hour of their time to explain it to you. And with a designer there as well.
Can I do this? Can't I do that? What can I do?
[Amelia] (22:38 - 22:41)
Make it a condition on your contract of sale, perhaps.
[Frank] (22:41 - 22:42)
Good idea.
[Amelia] (22:42 - 22:44)
You know, get advice and pop it in your contract.
[Frank] (22:44 - 22:46)
But I think we're going to have to get a registered surveyor in, aren't we?
[Amelia] (22:46 - 22:52)
I agree. Yeah, we need more help, more information.
[Frank]
We all need help.
[Amelia]
Yeah, some more than others.
[Frank] (22:52 - 22:58)
Thanks. But yeah, there again, what do we keep saying, Amelia?
[Amelia] (22:58 - 22:59)
Do your research.
[Frank] (22:59 - 23:19)
Because you can get caught out so easy. And if you've been listening to a few of our podcasts, you would understand that we keep talking about research, research, research, because it's so many areas, pitfalls where you can get caught out, cost you lots of money, you can't do what you think you can do. That's devastating. It's horrible for us to point that out to people.
[Amelia] (23:19 - 23:26)
Yeah, it's soul destroying and it's such an expensive exercise to go through just to be told you can't do something.
[Frank] (23:26 - 23:28)
Well, imagine you've got to sell the block and go buy another one.
[Amelia] (23:28 - 23:29)
Yeah.
[Frank] (23:29 - 23:38)
So you go through that whole process again, stamp duty and all the rest of it and paying lots and lots of money. So you're going to drop, what, $10,000 to $15,000 every transaction?
[Amelia] (23:38 - 23:39)
Oh, easy.
[Frank] (23:39 - 23:44)
Yep. Depending on which state you're in and different stamp duties and all that.
[Amelia] (23:44 - 23:45)
It's all different.
[Frank] (23:45 - 24:02)
Yeah, every state's different. The un-United States of Australia.
[Amelia]
Yeah, very true.
[Frank]
They've got all different rules. But, look, it'd be really interesting to hear how other states do this too. There might be similarities, I don't know.
But be very clear if you can do what you want.
[Amelia] (24:02 - 24:05)
100%. So the take-homes?
[Frank] (24:07 - 24:22)
Talk to someone. If you're going to buy a block of land, talk to a registered surveyor. Ask for all the potential covenants, easements.
And even if they're proposed, Section 71's Part 5s that are on the piece of land that you are purchasing. Try that.
[Amelia] (24:23 - 24:25)
Okay. And do your research, as always.
[Frank] (24:25 - 24:32)
Yeah, but rely heavily on the experts in their field. And we're going to get one on here, and we're going to talk about this a bit more.
[Amelia] (24:32 - 24:37)
Sounds good. We might wrap it up there, folks. Thanks for listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.
[Frank] (24:37 - 24:38)
Catch ya’s later.
[OUTRO] (24:47 - 24:50)
You're listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.