Oh gosh, what horrible time you have had!
I am in Bundy myself. Last year's storm was nasty. Part of the trouble is the value of houses in Bundy have gone down. Is your house in the flood zone? Is it a brick or block house built on a concrete slab?
I am not expert, there will be people with more knowledge than me come along.

poor you, at least there's some insurance being offered and you didn't accept the first offer, does the loss allow for the current value of the land you still own? is the house safe to live in for the time being? after seeking suitable legal advice and salvaging (sell or recycle?) as much as possible i'd prefer to knock down and rebuild...anything to avoid a future repeat of this disaster and have a home that will be better able to withstand future Cyclones..a modest new house, located on your block to allow for potential future expansion should be better than struggling to improve a house that has caused so much trouble...and definitely no flat roof ... there are several knock down rebuild companies in your area...hopefully the bank can use the insurance payout and the equity in the land as a deposit for a new home and you can start fresh

Awful situation. I would be looking at the land value (without a house), and the value of the property with a new $200K house. Banks may be more willing to lend on a modest new house, where the cost and outcome is more of a certainty than throwing money at an old house where the ultimate cost and outcome is less known.

Can your new windows and solar be salvaged for use in a new house?

You need to do more research on costs (and the type of new home you can afford), the end value of the direction you chose, consider how long you are going to live there, and how many cyclones/hurricanes will you be exposed to in the future.

At least with a new house, it is designed and engineered to remain structural with our worsening climate and may be easier to repair if you are victims to storm damage in the future.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

What an absolutely horrible situation and a complete mess and really sorry to hear that this is what's happened.......I'd recommend though it's better to cut losses and cease going about this "hoping" that it will only cost you $X more than it already has............big big tough lesson here............ but highlights how this building game is high risk business people and exactly why I consistently bang on about properly understanding construction costs and managing projects professionally in terms of an investment, and overall value one way or the other when making design decisions for your homes....in renovation or extension or new builds....all this stuff ultimately comes down to money and this goes for everyone...unless you are in the industry or seek/engage Pro advice/assistance in regards to stacking up numbers properly to determine project direction one way or another, you are literally flying blind or taking a foolish leap of faith with DIY approach.......

sincere best of luck with resolving this..PD :)

Thanks for the advice team.

So the house is block work on a cement slab, but when we did our renovating in the bathroom and had to cut through and re-lay the floor in the very small bathroom we noticed that the slab was incredibly thin and had no reinforcing. The walls have some cracks however we did have the building inspected when we bought it and thought we had a solid shell to start with. (Its brick and cement we said - what can go wrong?!)

Our house is not in the flood zone.

There is an asbestos ceiling which has also complicated matters a little - everyone who has quoted on the job has vowed not to disturb it - but I am not sure when you are walking around up there and pulling the original roof off if this is actually possible. The roof is a flat cliplock roof with no crawl space at all, so the ceiling is on battens that are attached to the rafters.

The block of land is 822 sqm and will be worth about $130 000 if the house was demolished. (Demolition is set to cost around $30 000- due to asbestos etc)

We have spoken to an architect who has told us that it may be possible to reuse our kitchen, the solar set up and some windows, but if we try to force the project to reuse all of our windows and doors it could end up being counter productive. So if it happens to fit we might reuse.

I just spoke to a real estate who are telling me that in our area a small new house (3 bedroom) will not reach the $300 000 value point - so it may be impossible to reach the right formula to allow the bank to lend for a rebuild-

the value should also take into account how long you would want to live in the house

Hi Aaron & Nancy... there’s nothing more I can add that hasn’t already been discussed ... but I really feel for you guys. I’m down the road from you in Hervey Bay.... but have family in Bundy. Seems like a terrible situation that either way :( I can’t imagine how you’re feeling but wonder if a third option might be better? Trying to sell the whole thing as a ‘reno’ & get whatever you can for it so you can start over? Another block lower in price somewhere else? Have you had any joy with quotes from other builders? Not sure how you’d fair outside of the Bundy area but hopefully worth the question to ask other builders? (Sorry if you’ve already done that)

This post is 4 years old. I hope that this challenge for the owners was resolved many years ago.

Such a tough situation you have gone through. I am sorry for all your losses. Experiencing so many troubles and costs just to have your house repaired and looking good is totally devastating. I hope that your house is safe to live in after all of that, and you will no longer have troubles like that. I remember how much pain I had after a storm and paying for a new roof. Luckily, after that situation, I contacted the team from stephenswmg.com, who helped me avoid cases in which I paid more than was needed. If you want, you can also contact them, and maybe they could help you save some money in the future.