Thanks Shape. A couple of clarification questions, if I may;

a) Who did you pay the professional fee to? Surveyor and Solicitor. Anyone else? e.g. Did you pay someone to setup a body corporate?
b) Do you even have a body corporate setup for those units?

In relation to the expenses you mention, in this case;
1-3 don't apply, these are already in place.
4. Could be some minor changes. I will wait to see what the surveyor comes up with.
5. DA approval seems to be <$1,000 based on my discussions with council.

Thanks,
EV

Folks,
 does anyone know if it is mandatory for me to set up a Body Corporate and Strata Plan with by-laws? Even when I own all three units on the block?

 I spoke to a strata management company that advised me this was necessary and also required careful thought. Right down to the rules I want to set for "No solar hot water systems can be installed", "Change Colour of building must be approved by the body corporate", "1 Toy dog or up to 2 cats is ok. anything more is not"….that kind of stuff.

This is all rather complex for something I think should be simple. The villas share a parking spot, part of a driveway, sewer easement, water access (3 separate meters) and a fence or two. That's it. I don't understand exactly what I need to do to cover this part of it. The rest seems easy (surveyor plans, DA, bank title change etc).

Any advice appreciated,
EV

Thanks Marjac. Your experience helps.

I am doing this exercise to make equity available in the property. If the valuation shows that the 3 villas I own (single title) are worth more on the market as 3 separate, strata titled units, I can make an assessment about if the exercise is worth doing.

However, one thing remains unclear to me. Will the bank recognise the additional value after I have strata titled? And thus allow me to use the equity to borrow again on a new investment.

I have no intention of selling them, I just want the equity available to me.

Have you got any thoughts that might help me decide if this exercise is worth pursuing?

FYI – I spoke to two valuers, both are on the St. George panel.

Thanks guys. I found a similar piece of advice by Terry on another thread. Basically ask for the "what if" valuation and ask the valuer which lenders they can value for.

My broker is a Flame Dragon broker. Puts them at the top of the broker list AFAIK.

Region is Shoalhaven. Not huge. Probably 4-5 main valuation firms. 3 of which I am pretty sure would be on the bank panels.

I will make those calls today.

Thanks folks, your info has helped me greatly.

I spoke to the planning and development folks at the council yesterday. They couldn't be more helpful. They checked the past DA's on my property and found that almost everything needed for the strata (or torrens, if I had 50m2 more land). The cost for the remaining council approvals is $500-1000 in total. So fairly minimal. They even called me back to correct some advice they had given incorrectly the first time, without me prompting. Impressive customer service, for a local council IMO.

They confirmed that it is best I get some quotes from a few local surveyors to draw up the plans and assist with the submission. They live and breathe this stuff, so it should be easy.

A friend suggested that I may incur some additional stamp duty costs from the NSW OSR / LPMA during the process of strata titling. The council folks weren't sure about this and suggested the surveyors should be able to give an idea. My other avenue is to talk to the NSW OSR / LPMA and ask them directly. I would like to know if I might be up for a big chunk of state duties cash in this scenario. If anyone has thoughts about this, please do share.

I will keep you posted on my progress. Thanks again for the advice.

Thanks for the advice guys.

No need for the math. If you read carefully, I did mention that I understand this part That said, no harm putting it in for other readers.

The simple process you described is essentially the one my broker is proposing. I will wait a couple of months before proceeding as I have a reasonably large tax bill to address first. Also finishing some renovations on my PPOR that will assist in this department as well.

As for uncrossing, I will make a separate post about this because I do want to hear a methodical explanation of *exactly* why, rather than the vague, half-cooked boogieman stories I usually read such as;
– You don't want to get restricted by a single lender. (How exactly? Is this the same if I have a high income, buy only CF+ property and never intend to sell? )
– That one lender will stop lending to you. (Under what circumstances exactly?)
– It is just a bad idea. (Uh huh, why is that exactly?)
– Releasing equity will be more difficult, like the scenario I posted above. (Is it really that much harder? Doesn't seem so)
– Asset protection (It would be nice to hear the actual, precise scenarios I am being protected from. Then I can decide if they apply to me)
– All the successful investors do it. (Yes, but many do not. So that isn't a reason)
– I have helped a bunch of clients that were hopelessly crossed and restricted. (Who are these people exactly? Can I talk to them and were their circumstances the same as mine?)

I am not completely against it, I am just wary of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) that isn't validated by specific supporting information that can be independently verified. I also I have never seen a complete logical treatment of the topic which was followed through until all arguments had been presented and tested in a critical and logical fashion. If you know of a great thread  that does this, please point me to it. I like to read.

Thanks again for the kind advice.