Before you buy: what to consider
Buying your first home is a huge milestone. You don't need to have a renovation plan on settlement day, or even in the first few years. But if you're the kind of person who buys with the future in mind, there are a few things worth understanding while you are still weighing your options because the property you choose will either give you room to change things up when the time comes, or make it really tough to change things down the track.
Some examples of things people have wanted to but can’t:
Removing a chimney:
Sounds simple right? Well, in a heritage overlay, you have to keep visible chimneys so while you could remove it inside, you still have to structurally support the part above the roof that is visible so this can be expensive and time consuming to do.
Site Coverage: Adding onto your home (or building a separate dwelling in the back).
What does this mean? Well it’s the maximum square metreage allowable to build on site. So you can’t just build a granny flat or a studio on the back of your property just because you think it will fit. You can’t just tack on an addition to the back without knowing how much space you need to set aside for a garden. Different councils have different site coverage requirements.
Heights and setbacks: adding a second storey
A lot of times you may have amendments to the overlays that dictate your massing that are different to the standard setbacks so the second storey may be smaller than you initially envisioned.
Changing the colour scheme of your home.
If you are in a heritage overlay, you may be limited to a set range of colours.
What the property itself tells you
Some things are expensive to change and some things just look bad. It's worth knowing the difference ahead of time.
Layout and ceiling height are hard to alter without significant cost. A home that already has a logical flow, good proportions, and decent ceiling height has something to build on. One that doesn't can still work, but it will cost more to get there.
Orientation matters more than most people realise at inspection. Which way the living spaces face determines how light moves through the home across the day and across the year. It shapes how a space feels to be in, and it's something no renovation can fix.
The things that look less desirable e.g. dated kitchens, tired bathrooms, original carpet are often the cheapest problems to solve. Don't let cosmetics put you off a property with good bones.
What the block and council tell you
This is where a lot of buyers get caught out, and it's largely invisible at an open for inspection.
Planning overlays, heritage controls, setbacks and site coverage limits all affect what you'll be able to do with the property down the track. A heritage overlay doesn't necessarily mean you can't renovate, but it shapes how and what's possible. Some overlays add complexity and time to the approvals process. Some sites have limited room to extend given how much of the land the existing structure already occupies.
None of this needs to be a dealbreaker. But knowing what you're buying into before you sign means you can make an informed choice rather than discover constraints after the fact.
Honestly, this post felt important to write after a few recent conversations with hopeful renovators were met with unfortunate realities and it felt like something we could help with.
We can also recommend having a look at your council’s website, start with Know Your Council and navigate to your council’s website from there.
You can also obtain a property report for your property to find out what overlays govern what you can do.
Once you’re seeing your property page, take advantage of the available downloads to learn more.
Property PDF - size of lot, site dimensions
Planning PDF - overlays and zoning
And if you think another pair of eyes might be useful, we offer early conversations for exactly this reason. Not a formal engagement, just a straightforward chat about what a property could and couldn't become. If you're weighing up a purchase and want to understand the possibilities, we're happy to talk it through.