Hi Everyone,
this is my first post but everything I’ve read so far has been great, it’s amazing to find so many people willing to help out one another.
My wife and I settled on our first IP a couple of months ago, it would have been cashflow+ but then the water heater crapped itself so we’ve had some expense to fix that. Our main reason for choosing this property was the potential to subdivide any way so we’re not too concerned at this point.
So, I’m after any info/advice/tips people can give in regard to subdividing and ways to reduce the costs involved (if any) and any experience with Community vs Torrens titles.
Any comments would be appreciated, we’re hoping the sale of the subdivided land will fund the deposit, etc of our next purchase.
Cheers
Hi,
To subdivide your generally need a planning permit first. You first point of call should be to find an architect/draftsperson who is experienced in this area. This is not an area where you should skimp, a good designer may be relatively expensive, but not compared to the value they can add.
Regards
Alistair PerryMake an appointment to meet with the local town planner. Do not expect to just walk into the Council offices and get all the info you need.
When making the appointment, advise the address and what sort of subdivision is being considered, say two lots or three etc. Also what is on the existing property ie single house, garage,carport. Go and take some rough measurements of the property, pacing out fully stretched will be about one metre (depending on height). An approximate size in square metres or hectares (depending on size) is very valuable.The town planner will be able to prepare for the meeting and they should:
a) provide you with advice on whether you can subdivide in regards to the zone.
b) provide an aerial photo copy of the property with the property boundarys at scale
c) advise on potential constraints such as bushfire/flooding/special vegetation/driveway access/easements etc.Attend the meeting with an open mind, the planning rules are there for everyone and the planner is just attempting to interpret them in common day language to you. (ie Don’t shoot the messenger) The advice is very relevant to any formal proposal submitted because it will give an indication of the potential of approval or failure for a subdivision proposal.
If the rules seem unreasonable or unneccesary then there can be a possiblity to seek a variation, but seek the learned advice of the planner first rather than coming to your own conclusion. The planning rule were put there for a reason that is not always self-evident, even to the planner! They on interpret the rules and usually don’t make them.
If there is a way around the rules, the planner will generally know, although you need to seek a more experienced planner (ie 3+ years in development control/assessment) for this advice.Bruce,
I have to disagree with you. Speaking to the a council town planner before you have a design is an utter waist of time, it all sounds very sensible but in reality you will either get nothing from them or what they tell you will mean nothing anyway.
The first point of call should be an architect or draftsperson. Once you have a concept drawing, it is worth speaking to the council. Before this, there is nothing to discuss.
Regards
Alistair Perry
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