Great advice Richard. From bitter experience I can concur it's worth the effort to get it right.

If you engage a consultant to make inspection specifically on your behalf, the advice you receive should then be impartial. A matter of hundreds of dollars now, may alert you to a much more expensive problem you may not otherwise have considered.

Jacedc,I would recommend doing the early sums and understanding what you want from the endeavour.Here's a simple feasibility exercise that works well:The 3/3 exercise.1/3 = Land acquisition costs1/3 = Development costs1/3 = Margin (before taxes)This will help you to understand the the budget and land size constraints.For example if you purchase…[Read more]

Solomon,Thanks for the kind words about our site.It's not an easy process to get a covenant removed, but there is sometimes ambiguous wording that can make the process much simpler. If you think it's an awesome opportunity it may be worthwhile to have someone check the covenant for you.

Matt,I like you post above, and the considered approach you are suggesting is instructive.I would however take care with the first point. A greater number of units – in my experience – does not always generate a greater profit. I think there are a few reasons for this; a) there can be increased infrastructure and contributions costs, and car…[Read more]

The answer, unfortunately is yes and no. If you control the design process you can control the costs. That is to say, if your brief is to deliver dwellings for $1,500/m2, that's a reasonable directive. This may come at the expense of parts of your wish list, but it can be done. Volume home builders can deliver dwellings for $1,000/m2 as long as…[Read more]

How about "property development for investors"? I come across a lot of investors who want to get involved a property development but know little about it. With land scarcity issues infill development, in my opinion, will become ever more common and investors will drive the industry.

A budget of $2,000/m2 is fairly generous. Generally, conventional town-houses can be delivered for closer to $1,500/m2. Of course, you may have something a little special and that's a decision you – as the developer – need to make in the context of costs, sales and margins. To answer your question, the figures need to accommodate the prevailing…[Read more]

A town planner or property lawyer can quickly tell you if the title precludes the development of the land.

No worries.

Emma,It's a vexing issue!It's a combination of my own experience – I've built a lot of houses – and industry averages.The industry averages can be found at BMT Associates (quantity surveyors) website. I have no affiliation with BMT, but I have used their services and their industry averages are comprehensive. At the moment, for example, a 3br…[Read more]

It is of course unlikely that this could be (legally) done without municipal approval, so talk to your council first. It will obviously raise issues with car parking. Generally speaking, council will not be too pleased with a proposal that will increase the use (3br to 4br) whilst decreasing the off street parking.

It may be that it's not permissible to put a duplex on the land, so ascertain that first. Often, in new estates, the land developer will protect amenity by implementing controls on title that preclude certain uses.

fredo_4305 wrote:
So you are able to go to a draftsman to do the majority and he consults a town planner when required?

It may work better the other way around.Go to either a town planner or a designer experienced in town planning first, and establish the strategy (and so the brief) for the project and then engage a draughtsman.

tez.mars wrote:
ChristianThanks for the reply, we also visited your web site and will start with a restrictive covenant search.We do have a approved Precinct plan which contains design criteria and precinct text so i guess that may be useful when searching for a builder.Thanks againTerry

No worries Terry. Some early strategic planning advice w…[Read more]

A development and subdivision tip:When considering a development project, submit it to the 3/3 test.1/3 = Acquisition costs1/3 = Development costs1/3 = MarginIt's nice and simple. And it works.

Interesting.In my opinion – and I don't think too many share it – the best thing we can do to make houses more sustainable is the stuff that doesn't cost a lot:Make house a little smaller. It uses less energy to make them and they, in turn, use less energy.Site buildings to take advantage of the sun and of prevailing breezes.Build eaves and other…[Read more]

Emma,I can't give you any specifics on developing in Vincent, but some generic planning advice may (or may not) be useful:You will need to allow for relevant set backs as well as vehicle access.You may also need to allow for vehicle turning circles and other access issues.An early assessment allowance of 20% for "peripheral" land use is usually…[Read more]

In my opinion, property subdivision is no more or less difficult than say rebuilding an engine.I am no good at fixing engines, nor do I have any experience fixing engines.If I had all of the manuals and instructions, along with all of the necessary tools and I could afford the time and money involved in perhaps getting a few bits bolted in wrong…[Read more]

Terry,Yours is not an uncommon situation – got the right property, but not enough cash – and there are a couple of things you might consider to get things moving:Consider making a proposal for the development of the land, then selling part of that land with the relevant approvals.Do the work in getting the development approval then seek finance on…[Read more]