Before you purchase a property it's imporant to do your due diligence
. Overlays on a property can often impact on future development / redevelopment of a parcel of land. The following information will help you to identify if overlays are applicable to the property you're considering.
Each week I receive numerous requests for additional property information. For example - I currently have listed a beautiful Victorian home scheduled for auction at 41 Moore Street, Moonee Ponds. The most common question asked in relation to this property (other than price!) is that of "heritage overlays".
Much to my surprise, my understanding is that this grand old home (complete with stable) has no "heritage overlay" and therefore may be able to be altered (or even demolished) STCA. There is however several statutory resources available that can provide quick confirmation of these important planning questions before you decide to buy.
The two statutory bodies that I CALL prior to making any decision to purchase a property is the Moonee Valley City Council (Planning Department) and City West Water. The Council can be contacted on 9243 8888, City West Water on 131 691. I have also appended below links to their web sites.
All of this information SHOULD be contained within the Section 32 for each and every property and it is very important that you have this document checked thoroughly by your solicitor BEFORE YOU PLAN TO BUY. A small amount of research could save you a large amount of money!