{"id":6814,"date":"2018-09-23T09:55:10","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T23:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/?p=6814"},"modified":"2018-09-23T11:13:55","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T01:13:55","slug":"villa-units-what-are-they","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/villa-units-what-are-they\/","title":{"rendered":"Villa Units&#8230;.  what are they?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">In property, the term &#8216;villa&#8217; is not completely unique, but it is confused. British, American and Europeans are often perplexed by our Melburnian reference to something that is broadly understood by them as a&nbsp;<em>flat<\/em> or a&nbsp;<em>unit.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And their association with the word villa often conjures up a picture of a mediterranean oasis with grand architecture and wealthy visitors.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6818\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/argyle.jpg\" alt=\"#argyle\" width=\"329\" height=\"152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/argyle.jpg 733w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/argyle-300x139.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6819\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/getti-villa.jpg\" alt=\"#getti Villa\" width=\"204\" height=\"152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/getti-villa.jpg 864w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/getti-villa-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/getti-villa-768x572.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><i>A typical&nbsp;Melbourne block of villa units &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; European inspired &#8216;Getty Villa&#8217;&nbsp;<\/i><\/p>\n<p>In our local real estate circles, a&nbsp;<i>villa&nbsp;unit&nbsp;<\/i>is part of a small, (mostly single level), brick veneer complex dated between 1960-2000, generally has some shared land (eg. driveway at a minimum, and possibly some of the courtyard(s), and each unit sits on a subdivided allotment that belongs solely to the owner of the unit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>In other words, a&nbsp;<em>villa unit<\/em> will have an Owner&#8217;s Corporation just like an apartment does, but the owner&#8217;s will own their own land.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Villa units are very popular in Melbourne for a few reasons;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>they are usually particularly well located, with close proximity to public transport, shops and amenity<\/li>\n<li>they usually have a small fenced outdoor area for inhabitants to enjoy some sunshine and garden<\/li>\n<li>they enable a buyer to live in a smaller version of a house in a great area at a lesser price tag than a house<\/li>\n<li>they rent particularly well for investors<\/li>\n<li>they are usually constructed well and offer exciting opportunity to upgrade without serious structural works, and<\/li>\n<li>they appeal to a very broad market. From down-sizers to elderly, singles, couples and first home buyers, and investors-alike, villa units generally have a consistently strong demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>So what makes a&nbsp;villa unit a <em>great<\/em> unit?&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Like any dwelling type, villa units aren&#8217;t all the same. We have elements we vehemently rule out and avoid, and we have high-scoring elements we will favour some villa options over others.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the things we look out for and avoid include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>poor locations (main roads, properties adjacent to commercial sites)<\/li>\n<li>subsidence cracks and structural issues<\/li>\n<li>poorly maintained blocks with serious expense issues coming up<\/li>\n<li>disharmonious blocks (ie. any residents causing drama and impacting the serenity for others)<\/li>\n<li>bedrooms and lounges on full view to passer&#8217;s by and other residents walking down drives or walkways<\/li>\n<li>villas with no outdoor area<\/li>\n<li>tiny bedrooms that are unsuitable for a double bed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While we have a long wish-list of elements we look for, not many villas offer them all in combination. Sometimes a clever work-around with double blinds on a drive-facing bedroom is required. It is rare to find a villa with complete privacy on offer from every single living\/bedroom window.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday Amy and I bid at the same time in two different suburbs. The thing that our assignments had in common was interesting.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Both clients were bidding on what we&#8217;d consider to be a near-perfect villa unit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This superbly presented and recently rendered unit in a block of just 5 in arguably one of Newport&#8217;s best streets stole my heart on first inspection. Offering a generous living area that spilled from the kitchen, featuring a private courtyard at the rear and looking out into leafy garden outlook from each bedroom window, it scored very highly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6820\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/peel2.jpg\" alt=\"#peel2\" width=\"241\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/peel2.jpg 962w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/peel2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/peel2-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/>&nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6823\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Peel1.jpg\" alt=\"Peel1\" width=\"241\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Peel1.jpg 964w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Peel1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Peel1-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Amy&#8217;s tactical auction bidding and negotiation secured this beautifully proportioned, later-era villa in a block of just four in Coburg, south of Bell St.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6824\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose2.jpg\" alt=\"Rose2\" width=\"244\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose2.jpg 857w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose2-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose2-768x571.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 244px) 100vw, 244px\" \/>&nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6821\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose1.jpg\" alt=\"#rose1\" width=\"242\" height=\"181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose1.jpg 852w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose1-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rose1-768x573.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px\" \/>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6822 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rosefloorplan.jpg\" alt=\"#rosefloorplan\" width=\"277\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rosefloorplan.jpg 616w, https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/rosefloorplan-300x244.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" \/>Not a single room overlooked common area walkways or driveway. The bedrooms and living looked into the private wrap-around courtyard.<\/p>\n<p>The importance of gauging the varying elements that appeal to owners and tenants can&#8217;t be overlooked. <strong>A well maintained villa unit with great orientation, a suitable layout and private outlook is an ever-green product in Melbourne property.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In property, the term &#8216;villa&#8217; is not completely unique, but it is confused. British, American and Europeans are often perplexed by our Melburnian reference to something that is broadly understood by them as a&nbsp;flat or a&nbsp;unit.&nbsp; And their association with the word villa often conjures up a picture of a mediterranean oasis with grand architecture&#8230;  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/villa-units-what-are-they\/\" class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read Villa Units&#8230;.  what are they?\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sundayblog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6814"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6830,"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6814\/revisions\/6830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catebakos.com.au\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}