The red “sold” tape plastered across the sign for lot number 8 in the Killara housing estate of Logan Reserve represents a big milestone in the lives of brother and sister duo David and Bree Fortey.
After spending the last three years looking for a foothold in the market, they decided the best plan was to pool their resources and go in it together.
Almost one year on from signing their contract and with six months left in the build, the once elusive goal of building their own place will be reality.
“Thank gosh,” Mr Fortey said.
“My sister and I wanted to get into the market, and we thought it would be too hard for ourselves, so we thought we’d do it together and help each other out.
“I was going to do it by myself, but with the market the way it was, I thought we’d get in before it got out of control.”
He initially had his sights on a place in Brisbane city but chose Logan for the better affordability while still being close to the metro areas.
“Logan Reserve was family friendly and a quiet area, and we’re only 10 minutes away from the motorway,” he said.
The process of securing the block of land was not without its stress or drama.
“Even to get our block of land, we went in on a weekend and there was all this land available, but the next day a lot of them were sold and we only had a couple of blocks to choose from,” he said.
They got lucky. Many others would have missed out on land at the Killara estate, which fully sold out within days of release and a year before the first foundations were laid.
There are no surprises here, according to the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s findings that southeast Queensland has experienced a significant increase in the annual sales of greenfield lots.
“… quote from Mark Clancy”
Mr Fortey was keen to offer some advice for other siblings thinking about buying joining forces to buy a home.
“It was hard because there were all these little costs we didn’t know about,” he said.
The other surprise for him was the fact he and his sister were not entitled to the first home builders’ grant, given they were entering the transaction as siblings.
“We did get the first home buyers’ grant, but because me and my sister are siblings, we’re not entitled to it from the government which is annoying, so we’ve had to dig deeper into our savings and get a little help from mum and dad, which was stressful.”
This was despite his mortgage broker and the developer, AVID Property Group, thinking they would get it.
“We filled out the applications and treasury came back saying that siblings aren’t entitled to it,” he said.
