Hi Everyone! This is definitely the same house, I've attached some of the progress pictures to help out with the visualisation. My Architect, the house has multiple kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms as it incorporates a Granny flat & it is designed for multiple generations to live in as Wuff mentioned. There is 4 generations 5 adults & 2 kids living at the home!

Turning something that is run-down into an inviting space again is very rewarding. This is one of our favourite ever transformations in the Perth suburb of Mount Lawley: After - top storey addition, open plan living extension at the rear, indoor/outdoor living complete with an outdoor kitchen. Just stunning.

an old house in an area that you want to live in while you do all the work of a very carefully planned renovation staged to minimise big loans will add value only if everyone who lives with you can either contribute financially or physically and has the time and energy to at least make dinner while you paint. Building new is much cheaper than renovating but old places are often in better locations. Provided the old place is liveable you can save rent while you save for the next stage of the reno but there'll always be unexpected costs of both time and money eg for our latest reno: about $4000 to remove asbestos from an old laundry and bathroom, $8000 to remove trees, weeks of back breaking labour to remove old plasterboards and carpet, ripping thousands of nails from timber floors to discover the boards were beyond restoration, collecting rubbish and rubble from demolished brick walls and loading at least 20 loads into the ute and driving to the tip and paying to unload it ....but the old stove, doors and windows sold on Gumtree and Ebay and redundant electrical wiring and metal taken to the scrap dealer paid for quite a few take away dinners and didn't we have fun together?

Hi Rachelred, I would also go to your local council planning department to check the zoning (you can also do this online by internet searching 'planning maps online' or 'planning schemes online' in Victoria or 'planning portal' in NSW etc). If you were in Victoria (which you may not be) the Victorian government for example now has a minimum requirement of 25% garden for Neighbourhood or General Residential zones for lots 400m2-500m2, and your 3m clearance at the back might be tight to meet this requirement. Each council may be different. Other things to consider are budget; single level is less expensive as you don't need to construct the stair, stair void and additional circulation and is better for younger families or assisted living. Consider also flexibility for changing family needs and zoning; 2 levels work really well when you have teenagers or young adults and can give them some privacy/responsibility with their own living/study/bedroom zone (and still want them to live with you!!). 2 stories may also work better depending on the orientation of your block. I would strongly advise hiring an architect or designer for such a small site - they can certainly help you make all these decisions and provide preliminary options with corresponding cost estimates. Good Luck.