House & Land

One home instead of two. To let, or to live in.

The specialty is two dwellings on one block, and the discipline travels. Reading the land, vetting the builder, and reading the building contract the way liability accrues is exactly what a house-and-land purchase needs too. The land, the builder and the contract carry the same risks whether the first person through the door is a tenant or you.

If it is your own home, the brief changes and so does my job. The point of building rather than buying is that it gets designed around how you actually want to live, so that is where we start: the rooms you use, the way the block sits to the sun, the things you have put up with in every house you have rented. Those are the brief, not a compromise on the numbers.

What I add is the second read. Every choice gets priced two ways — what it costs to build, and what it does to the valuation. Some of what you want will add value. Some is neutral. Some will cost you at resale, and a few things quietly narrow the pool of people who would ever buy it from you. You will know which is which before you commit, and then you choose. It is your home. I am not here to talk you out of the bath you want, only to make sure you know what it is worth to you and what it is worth to the next person.

Why a new build needs a different kind of due diligence

Buying an established home is real work. The negotiation, the inspection and the contract all matter. A house-and-land purchase is a different exercise, because you’re buying land and commissioning a build, and the expensive mistakes are made months before anyone picks a benchtop.

• The land itself. Assessment pathwayAssessment pathwayHow hard council approval will be: accepted development needs no application, code assessable is judged against written rules, and impact assessable is advertised publicly so neighbours can object., zoning, overlaysOverlaysLayers on the council map flagging hazards or controls (flood, bushfire, heritage, vegetation) that add cost, delay or restrictions., flood and cyclone exposure, easements, and whether the title is registered. Unregistered land can strand your finance and your fixed-price build quote while the clock runs.
• The site costs nobody quotes for. Soil classification, wind rating, contour and fall, service connections. These live inside a provisional sum (the builder’s estimate for work that can’t be priced yet, which moves when the real cost lands) and correct upward after you’ve signed.
• The builder. A clean QBCCQBCCThe Queensland Building and Construction Commission, the state regulator that licenses builders and runs the home warranty scheme. licence tells you they’re allowed to build. It tells you nothing about whether they’ll still be solvent when your house is half-finished, which is the question that actually decides whether you get a house.
• The contract. Provisional sums, prime cost allowances, exclusions and rise-and-fall clauses (which let the price rise if materials or labour cost more after you sign) are how a “fixed price” stops being fixed.

Where I’m different in this market

House-and-land is a corner of the market where vendor-paid referral arrangements are common. Ask any operator directly whether a builder or developer pays them, and ask for the answer in writing. Those arrangements are legal and widespread, and where one exists, the recommendation isn’t neutral.

I take no commissions from any builder, developer, broker or agent. I don’t sell developer stock. You are my only source of revenue, so the recommendation is made on the merits.

What it costs

Fixed, agreed in writing before anything begins. It doesn’t move with the price of the property, or with how long the search takes. Priced below the dual-occupancy service because there is less complexity in a single dwelling.

Take a bundle, or engage one stage at a time with no obligation to continue. Lot Vetting ($1,000) is also available if you want one block assessed properly, including a block you already own. Fees shown are the full amount payable to me.

The promises are the same

• Fixed fee, no surprises. Agreed up front, in writing. No scope added without your say-so.
• No lock-in. Engaged one stage at a time. You continue only when you’re satisfied.
• Paid by one party only: you. Never a builder, developer, broker or agent.

MC Acquisitions provides property acquisition strategy, feasibility information and acquisition coordination only. It is not financial product advice, taxation advice, credit assistance, legal advice or town-planning advice. Any building-contract review is a practical, commercial assessment and not a legal opinion. A Queensland-admitted solicitor should review your contract before you sign. No growth, yield, depreciation, taxation, finance or approval outcome is guaranteed. Obtain your own independent financial, taxation and legal advice before making any investment decision. Information on this page is current as at September 2026. Planning schemes, tax law and cost figures change; where a figure matters to a decision, I re-check it against the source at the time rather than relying on what is written here.