Our clump of dirt

Turns out that our dream plot is anything but a dream plot...

The 'Death Edge'

Firstly, from front to back, it's on a devilish decline (Real Estate agents may have referred to is as "slightly undulating").  So the front section is relatively flat and then it suddenly drops from under your feet. Luckily for us, when we subdivided it, we chose the side that is less steep, leaving my in-laws with the death-edge.  But still, it provides some challenges with making our backyard into usable space.  More on the backyard later.

Secondly, its on a unsealed winding single lane road. How quaint, how charming you might think...WRONG.  Unfortunately, this means that getting trucks and machinery in and out of the block can really tear up the road. Also, there are no curbs, drains or footpaths, which can make for a fairly muddy trek and limited parking opportunities.

Thirdly, just for fun, there is a fire hydrant smack bang in the middle of our "nature strip", which doesn't even exist because of the lack of sealed road.  So, for example, if anyone was to hit said fire hydrant, the water would have two choices. A) It could flood down the beautiful dirt road and create a lovely muddy creek, or B) it could pour down our property and create a swimming pool in some persons poor patio.  No, Adam never ever hit this fire hydrant...

Council were provided this in the Neighbour Objections

Fourthly, due to its proximity to the Mullum Mullum Creek, the council regard the area as 'very special'.  This meant that we needed to get an archaeologist, arboricultural consultant, ecologist and finally a geological technician to consult, as well as all the usual professionals in order to get town planning permits (might be more on this later).  We struggled with tree protection zones in the planning phase as well as neighbours claiming that our build would effect local animals such as foxes, possums, owls and koalas.

Apparently 'Slightly Undulating'...

The total size of the original block was 1800m2 and with the subdivision going through successfully, our block is now 900m2 with Adam's parents building on the other side.