For Buyers

Selecting Your Home

When selecting a home for your land, carefully consider how it will blend with the nature of the area, other houses in the neighbourhood and any covenants or local council regulations. The local council that governs the area where you wish to relocate your home will take into consideration the aesthetics of the house and may not approve inappropriate houses due to the fact that theses could negatively affect the value of nearby properties. Having said all this, provided the home can be restored to a similar condition to other houses in the area, it is unlikely that local council will not approve the house for your block of land.
What Will I Need to do to Gain Approvals?

Before a house can be relocated, it must have approval from the council in which it resides to be taken away or demolished. This is your removal and/or demolition approval. If you are purchasing a house privately, it is wise to ensure that it is a condition of your contract that the house has been approved for removal before you pay. When you purchase a home from Busby House Removals, this approval is not necessary, as local council zoning has already approved the land for storage of houses. This means half your work is already done! It is also necessary for the house you are relocating to be issued an approval from the relevant local council to allow it to be relocated to the desired site. This is known as your building approval. Council requirements and conditions do vary but the following is a list of things the council will probably require before they can issue an approval for you to relocate the house onto the desired block:

Colour photographs of the house
Plans showing the present location of the house
Preliminary site plans indicating the approximate position of the house on the new site
An inspection of the house
The filling out of an application form and payment of application fee
Structural engineer’s reports
The fitting of new roof and guttering if required
Cyclone rated roofing
Household pest spraying
Soil testing of the new site

Highly reactive soils such as alluvial/clay and black soil could mean significant extra costs in foundation work. If you haven’t yet purchased your block of land, you should consider soil types and the positioning of your home before you buy. If you are buying a house from Busby House Removals, it is part of our service to assist you in obtaining your building approval by helping you organise for your local council requirements to be carried out. Some of the fees associated with this procedure are also included in the cost of your home. It is difficult to incorporate all fees as prices vary from council to council and not all conditions apply in every case.

We always have a large number of homes to select from. These range from two bedroom cottages to large four plus bedroom Queenslanders, with new homes constantly becoming available.

Finance

Until recently, the removal home was generally available only to the home buyer who did not have to borrow to finance their dream. Today it is possible for even first home buyers to purchase a removal home and enjoy the great savings and other benefits of this housing option.

Unfortunately, however, financial institutions do not tend to release funds until the completion date, meaning when the home is erected on the new site and has passed a final council inspection deeming it fit for habitation. Therefore, you may need to look at a few different options such as:

Using the equity in your block or another property to obtain finance
Speaking to your bank manager regarding whether they will agree to release funds in stages as per your contract
Source the funds using a guarantor then convert to a low interest home loan upon final inspection.

Before you spend too much time investigating a removal home, we strongly suggest you investigate your financial options. This way you can avoid any possible disappointment or delay.

Costs of House Removal

When you move a house with Busby House Removals the contract price includes:

The payment of police escorts, pilot vehicle escorts and shire council road bonds associated with Extra Ordinary Traffic Permits
Full insurance cover from the signing of the contract to the time the house is lowered onto it’s new foundations and tied down
Costs of restumping with steel stumps

Optional Extras

In addition to providing you with a price to deliver and stump your house, Busby House Removals are also able to arrange for your plans to be drawn up and assist you in obtaining your approval. Although we will be as accurate as possible when providing clients with estimates, some prices cannot be finalized until the plans have been drawn up. Firm quotations can be arranged on purchase of house and discussions with relevant contractors.
Other Possible Costs

When your draftsperson has completed drawing plans for the house, some of the drawings will relate directly to the re-stumping of the house. Depending on stump height, depth, materials used and the suburb the house is being delivered to, the re-stumping may amount to more than the value included in the contract
Buildings with above standard traveling heights will need a local power authority or optus escort at an extra cost
If during the course of a removal there is a need to lower traffic lights or trim trees, this is organized through the relevant council and is also an extra cost to the owner
Machinery hire fees such as bobcats, escavators or jackhammers
Cost of providing accessibility to new site for truck and trailer
Local council completion bond. Owners are required to pay a bond to ensure that submitted and approved plans are adhered to and all nominated work is completed. The amount of bond varies with each council. Bonds can be secured with cash, but more often a bank guarantee is used. These, however, can take some time to set up so it is a good idea to discuss the payment of this bond with your financial institution
Costs associated with other conditions stipulated by council, which will vary with each individual home

House Removals - A Buyers Guide - pdf 85kb