Country Living, only minutes to town. - $400000

Description

LOCATION: Situated some 500 metres off Henry Lawson Way (otherwise known as "The Grenfell Road") on the northern outskirts of Young. This is a 5 minute drive from Young's CBD. DESCRIPTION: 5.25 acres freehold title. Surrounded by small farms, orchards and vineyards, the block provides extensive views of rolling farmland and the deep, red soil throughout is free of rock, unwanted trees or other objects. The above average electricity supply to the house and shed is Single Phase, 25kVA which delivers 100 amps (as opposed to normal rural supply of 16kVA which delivers 60 amps). To avoid unsightly power lines and poles, the electricity supply has been placed underground. LAND USE: In 2003/4, the present owners (both avid gardeners) set about establishing a future showplace. They cleared the entire block of old fruit trees (except for 16 good cherry trees which were suitably located), ploughed and sprayed out weeds then sowed a mixture of fine grasses which return to the appearance of lawn after winter rains. Thereafter, landscaping and planting have been in accord with an overall plan to combine attractiveness with income potential. Many selected trees and shrubs are thriving in the house surrounds and in the "parkland" between the house and the road and 400+ young cherry trees are flourishing on either side of the house (see "EXTRA INCOME") A 12m X 30m "produce" area has been levelled and edged with brick and concrete. One third of this area is a large poultry run with formal shed to match main shed and house. A thirty metre row of trellised table grapes (6 varieties) are in heavy production and the remaining 180 sq. metres are devoted to vegetables. Everything growing in this area is under easy-water drip line irrigation. THE HOUSE: was completed in October 2004. It is 213 square metres including the garage and is constructed with a cypress pine frame, rendered brick walls and a colourbond roof on a concrete slab fitted with termite barrier. The large open plan kitchen/dining/family room is tiled and has long windows that overlook a mainly native garden behind which is delightful rural scenery. The separate lounge room faces east to the road and is shaded by a long verandah. There are 3 bedrooms, two of which have built in robes and the main bedroom is a generous size with a lovely ensuite. Every room is neutrally decorated in antique white except for the burnt orange feature wall in the family room. A large laundry has linen press, broom cupboard, bench and door at each end. The split system air conditioner in the family room provides adequate heating and cooling throughout the living area and, because of the house design and full insulation, it also has a satisfactory effect in the front rooms. A gas fitting in the lounge room has never been used. The house has always been supplied throughout with pressurised tank water but, if desired, this can be instantly switched to town water. From the road a long curved driveway leads to the double garage with auto door and direct access to the house. THE SHED: Built out of steel and colourbond on a concrete slab measuring 10m by 15m, there is a 3m X 10m semi-enclosed carport-come- storage area on the southern side. The remaining 120sq.metres are fully enclosed behind double roller doors with sliding glass "front door" and fitted out as a quite livable area (the vendors lived here for 9 months while the house was being built). The roof is insulated, the kitchen is complete and a partitioned area contains shower, toilet and laundry. There is also a separate lockup workshop with benches. With services connected (including hot water, TV and phone but not air conditioning), the shed represents a significant amount of supplementary temporary accommodation however more is needed to make it into comfortable permanent accommodation. EXTRA INCOME: If desired, surplus fruit, vegetables and eggs could be sold but additional income can be derived from the cherry blocks - not enough to be an owner's sole source of income but, then, the time and effort required is quite small. About cherries:- Cherries can gross between $2 and $8 per kilo to the grower - depending upon their quality and method of selling. The 3 year old trees (185 Rons and 120 Lapins) should produce 1-2kgs each at the end of 2007, 4-5kgs in 2008 and increase to about 25-40kgs 5 years later. Another 120 trees of an earlier variety are at present only 1 year old. By simply turning on a tap several rows of trees can be watered simultaneously and each tree has an adjustable water nozzle at its base. The types of cherries were selected because of their quality and time of ripening. To facilitate ease of harvesting in November/ December, one variety follows another and the harvesting and selling options depend upon your willingness to be involved. EG. (1.) If you don't wish to be involved at all, one of the many large growers will bring in his pickers and equipment and simply take the fruit away. Under this method your net return should be $1.25/$1.50 per kilo (or in the order of $15/$20 per lug). (2.) At the other extreme if you wish to organize your own picking, sorting, packing and selling, your gross return can be expected to average $5/$7 per kilo for 80% of the crop. (3) On this small orchard with a high percentage of good quality fruit, my choice would be to carry out my own picking (avoiding obviously inferior fruit as much as possible) and sell this partially graded fruit in bulk. This "better stuff" (circa 80% of the total crop) should bring you $4/$5 per kilo. The "inferior stuff" picked separately is easily sold at $2/$2.50 per kilo.(all the above information is from the current owners comprehensive local knowledge but indepent inquiries should always be done) WATER: Either town water or tank water is carried via a network of underground pipes to 25 taps spaced over the property in such a way that irrigation is available to all areas. Despite overall drought conditions the 25,000 gallon (100,000 litre) concrete tank overflowed in January 2006 as a result of several heavy downpours on the 363 sq m catchment area of house and shed. When this occurs, it is a simple matter to close off town water and divert tank water into the irrigation network (or at least control it's spill.) The long term average annual rainfall for Young is approx 26 inches Nevertheless, according to the depth gauge, the tank currently holds about 40,000litres - The vendors previous place - the orchard-vineyard next door - has an excellent bore (1250 gallons per hour, quite good water at only 90 feet depth). A bore could possibly be put down on this place but the cost of town water would have to treble for it to even be considered. WHY SELL?: Clearly the vendors are very fond of this place and quite proud of their achievements however, they are approaching 70 years of age and would like to move closer to our families and carry on gardening on a reduced scale. INSPECT: Your inspection highly recommended of this truly fantastic parcel of land with potential income to match.