Widow Blocks
I have been attending an investment group for the past few months and have learnt so many things from it! One topic I found quite valuable was the talk of widow blocks. These are not discussed too often anymore despite being so beneficial to property investors as they allow owners to subdivide the lot into smaller blocks. This strategy entitles the owner to manufacture equity and provides a number of options – land banking, sell the land or build to sell and/or hold.
How to Spot a Widow Block?
A widow block is a rectangular shape and can be split diagonally and have two triangular portions. These widow blocks are predominately found in Brisbane, this is due to them being the main housing of soldiers and their spouse when they went to war. The Wife would occupy the back block dwelling and then the front property could be leased out. In Brisbane the blocks are around 1000 square meters, being equally divided into two 500 square meters which are a fair size block for Brisbane or any other area.
How can a widow block make you money?
As stated earlier widow blocks are mainly in Brisbane, although this concept can be used to any large block and is referred to a straight out subdivided lot. When subdividing land it is important to consider the location, particularly the slope of the block, and the gradient of the block. These will affect the drainage if the slope is sloping away from the road, also inspecting electricity, road guttering, the maximum lot zone size (council can assist you in this). Once you have a good understanding of subdividing and the location of which you wish to purchase land you can jump on the available sites when they come up and enter into the contract. From here you can begin the planning and building We recommend using a project manager and information from the council can be very helpful, You can give them the address or the lot and the DP, the deposited plan number, the lot number and the plan number, and they’ll be able to look it up on their system. They can tell you straight away what the zoning is and potential issue that could arise with the location of your block. In the end, you could potentially be investing in double the income, by selling two lots of land with or without dwellings, double rental income or land banking two lots.
These widow blocks or large blocks can be amazing investments! and I would be happy to discuss the details in full, or if you have any questions.
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