Buyers blast land title delay
Year-long wait to get builders in
BUYERS are becoming impatient as more delays push back by months the handover of title to their new blocks.
Melbourne homebuyer Gideon Taljaard, who bought a block of land in Armstrong Creek’s Warralily Central estate last November, said recent correspondence with the estate manager highlighted the development pressures in regional areas.
Mr Taljaard said his block, in stage 94, was meant to be titled in July, but in correspondence from Warralily estate manager Ben Stewart seen by the Geelong Advertiser he was told: “All works are complete for 94. Still waiting for stage 93 to be inspected by Powercor.”
Mr Stewart had also emailed a photo showing the street sign in place.
A Powercor spokeswoman said compliance approval was given for stages 91 and 92 last week, while the final audit process for stage 93 would begin shortly. Powercor said the developer had not applied for the final audit for stage 94.
“Once the developer submits their application for and passes the final audit, we will progress the connections process,” she said.
The Warralily website showed titles were expected for stages 91 and 92 in May, stage 93 in June and 94 in July.
Mr Taljaard said the $20,000 regional first home- owners grant had attracted his family from Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs, but the delays would cost them continued rent and hamper the children’s 2019 school enrolments.
“It is not just my case, it is hundreds of people being held up,” he said.
He raised the delays after former prime minister John Howard told a real estate conference that encouraging migrants to settle in regional centres could help ease pressure on house prices.
Mr Stewart said Geelong was experiencing unprecedented growth that was placing industry-wide pressure on the delivery of land, including on the many authorities involved.
“If delays are being experi- enced we work hard to keep our purchasers up to date,” he said.
But another developer said Powercor approvals was a circuit breaker in the process.
Villawood Properties executive director Rory Costelloe said the time to get a Geelong block to title had blown out from nine months to more than a year, with a lack of available skilled workers to deal with a statewide development glut.
“We’re having enough trouble getting contractors and approvals through council and then you get held up at the end for weeks or a month for Powercor to go through their system,” Mr Costelloe said.
“It has nothing to do with safety — they have independent auditors come out and they are eager to fail and then come back when they’re ready. It is very annoying.”
A Powercor spokeswoman said connecting electricity to land developments was complex and required significant safety and quality checks.
“We need to ensure any assets are safe for our crews, the property owners and broader community,” she said.
“The time frames around the connections process can differ significantly depending on the size and type of connection.”