Building and co-ownership

Building a property can work incredibly well for a co-ownership accommodation, as it enables you to develop a home which meets the needs of all owners. Depending on whether the property is an investment asset or a co-living opportunity the design of the home can change to meet the needs of each person and situation. Things to consider when building a co-ownership property, especially when it also incorporates co-living requirements are, are you primarily building a property that increases revenue generation or creating a harmonious environment to live in?

Mortgage Mates can match you with Mates based on housing needs including location, cost, property use, property type, and houseMate preferences such as whether you are a dog or a cat person!

Once you have matched with your Mate, you can start discussing the opportunity of a property build. The questions you may want to ask your potential Mortgage Mate will change depending on whether you both intend to live in, both want to invest, or it is a mixture of the two.

There are lots of builders based in Australia, with lots of providers offering specific options for the way they help you build a home.

As matched Mates, you can use any builder you want to, however, we have added providers to our What’s Next Page, who specifically know and understand the difference of co-owners. Whether you are buying with someone you know, or someone you found on our website there will be particular things you want to consider with the creation of the property.

For example, if the property is to be a co-living property, each of the bedrooms may preference having an ensuite, and the shared living space may be configured to enable more people to entertain or work in the space, with places to work from home, cook and relax being designed in a specific way.

Outdoor space may be more important depending on whether you are doing a traditional build for the investment space, or, for a co-living environment. These are all things to consider when planning our your property.

Our providers have models and lay outs that speak to the specific needs of our owners and how they can make the property lay outs work best for you.

Types of co-ownership builds.

Dual Key properties

A dual key property is one that’s divided into two dwellings, with the additional dwelling inside the first and both sharing a front door. Rather than a duplex or divided townhouse, it has one space containing two separate self-contained areas with their own bedroom, bathroom and living. (Realestate.com)

This option works equally for co-invest and co-live. If you are looking to double the return on investment, having two properties which can be rented independently will assist with increasing your return. Equally, if you buy with a Mate to live in, you can share the cost WITHOUT sharing the property space!

House of Multiple Occupation

HMO is a term that is used to define accommodation that is shared among a number of people. The acronym stands for a House in Multiple Occupation. There are a range of different types of accommodation that could fall under this definition, depending on how many people are living there and what the living arrangements are. As a general rule, where there are three or more individuals in a property who make up more than one household (Tenants Voice.co.uk)

This is a relatively new property type for the Australian market, and has been in development to provide new and innovative ways of providing shared living across the property market. For those looking at a return on investment, a HMO property will enable you to rent a number of rooms in the one property meaning you are likely to receive a higher weekly rental amount, than if you rent out a traditional unit. Equally, if you develop a HMO to live in with your Mortgage Mate(s) you can create the space in a way, that allows you to have privacy and space, as well as connection and connectivity.

Another consideration with a HMO is that if you begin your Mortgage Mates journey as a live in ownership, you could retain the property together even after moving out, and use it as a way to create passive income as a private rental!

Cohousing

‘Cohousing is a sustainable and aﬀordable approach to living in community. Cohousing communities are intentional communities, with people seeking out a community feel to their home lives.

They are created and run by their residents cooperating to create better lives.

Each household has a self-contained, private home as well as shared community space. Residents come together to manage their community, share activities, and regularly eat together.’ (Cohousing Australia)

This type of ownership is not one which Mortgage Mates focuses on and we would recommend speaking to an expert if you want to consider moving into or becoming part of a cohousing opportunity.

What to do Next?

Once you have matched with your Mates and decided to build a property- the fun part can start!

The next steps for building the perfect property is to decide on what you are building the property for (live in, or invest) and then find the builder that works for you. On our What to do Next page you will find information on a number of builders based across Australia who can help you build the perfect property for your circumstances.

Some of our builders are investment specific, and some cater for the co-living cohort. By reaching out early on you can get specialist advice and information on what to do when and how to process the build options correctly.

Congrats on co-building the perfect home!

“Through the use of innovative technological solutions, Mortgage Mates will disrupt the house market, providing all Australians the opportunity to build their own home”.