Context
Before you pay the balance of your deposit, builders usually have their certifier check your land for anything that could affect construction costs. This is called pre-lodgement, and it happens before your plans go in for building approval, often before you get your first cost estimate.
But wouldn’t it be great to know what to look for before you’re contractually tied to a builder?
The certifier's preliminary checks identify council overlays, requirements or encumbrances (like easements) that could affect your property or become conditions of your building approval.
In this post, we’ll explain how you can perform pre-lodgement checks at any time and where to find the necessary information.
C1 - Before Buying Land Checklist
Free
Checklist Type: Minor
Form Factor: Fillable, print-ready PDF (A4, 10 pages)
When to use: Pre-purchase (before you sign)
A 42-point checklist to compare blocks before you buy. Check zoning, services, soil, overlays and noise so you know what to plan and budget for before you sign.
Real Life Example
Our C1 checklist helps you do your own pre-lodgement investigation, before or after you buy the land.
Don't let the title “Before Buying Land” throw you. The key is to assess the land before design starts, so anything that affects the site is built into the plans and the contract price.
The checklist has five main sections:
- Location
- Zoning and Services
- Site, Soil & Substrata
- Overlays to Search
- Noise
A Cautionary Tale
In my time building houses, I've seen critical details, like a site's proximity to an airport or flight path, missed during contract preparation.
On one job, we had to bring in an acoustic engineer mid-construction. Following their recommendations, we changed the window glazing and door seals and looked at adding extra ceiling insulation for noise control.
At one point we nearly had to pull down the plasterboard because we feared the trusses needed strengthening to carry a double layer for noise insulation. It was nerve-wracking, and one you'd want to avoid.
All of it could have been prevented with a proper check of the overlays before construction. It's far cheaper to find this early, which is exactly what a pre-lodgement check and the C1 checklist are for.
Read our C1 post below, then get the C1 Before Buying Land Checklist free.
Anthony Painter
Read our post on this here, sign up as a free
Practical Tools
Some checklist items need a site visit, others can be researched on your council's website, and some (like soil conditions) need a soil test.
If you've bought in a new estate, ask the developer for these documents ("as cons" are as-constructed plans showing where services were actually built):
- Disclosure Plan or Survey Plan
- Sewer As-Constructed Plans (As Cons)
- Stormwater As Cons
- Cold Water As Cons
- Plan of Development (POD)
Your Local Council is a Goldmine of Information
When I built houses on the Gold Coast, I relied heavily on the City of Gold Coast website. Most councils have similar tools.
For example, the Gold Coast's Mapping Search tool shows:
- SIS Location Diagram (services)
- Infrastructure details
- Flood information
- Landslide hazard mapping
- Bushfire hazard mapping
You can also check the city plan and overlays with the Gold Coast City Plan, which covers:
- Acid sulphate soils
- Airport/air noise
- Erosion areas and environmental overlays
Find Out More
Our Plans page has examples of developer-supplied documents (items 1 to 7):
Anthony Painter
We've also written a short post on whether to choose your builder or land first:
Anthony Painter
What's Next?
We've created a set of stage checklists covering everything from buying land to the end of your builder's warranty period (in Queensland, structural defects are covered for six years and six months).
They're not a substitute for professional inspections, but they'll help you know what to check and when. See all our checklists.
What do you think?
If you have feedback, please let us know. We're always improving, and your feedback makes a difference.
Thank you for reading, and happy building!
Anthony
