Hi W4L: that doesn't surprise me. Those two have "apparently" been in cahoots for a long time. I suppose when the natives start getting restless and speaking the truth, the wagons are circled and there's a perceived safety in numbers.. in an ideal world that'd also make hitting 2 targets in 1 location a viable option! No pun intended….
I meant to say earlier W4L I know you're in the game, I"d love to chat with you about it some time. I'm still active although in a slightly different area now.. should you wish, please get in touch any time.

Lilith – I'm glad to help although note I make no direct accusations of impropriety, simply relay my experiences. I leave people to make their own judgements using their own intelligence.. usually doesn't take long though!

Pieta – Same offer as W4L – happy to chat with you as well. I think you can never know enough people and if there are some 'good' ones out there then more the merrier.

Peace.

I'd be interested to know that too. In four years I've not come across anyone that's done a deal or been paid out by them. I have come across a number of very angry people though who've dealt with them. that's putting it politely. I've also contacted a number of people who Mark and Massland say they've done deals with, been great 'friends' with, had finance through.. again… interesting conversations indeed.

If you think privacy is an issue about deals, make this comparison: Massland say they're worth $500 Mill and have deals everywhere, but tell no one anything about them at any time. Then you have companies like Mirvac, AV Jennings, Devine etc, that are worth about $100 Mill or more in some cases and less in others, who can't stop sending you emails about their deals and who to talk to and how wonderful people say they are. Ask yourself in your own opinions why that may be, and what reasons there may be behind that approach. Could I be wrong? Of course. Do I personally believe I am wrong? Work it out for yourself.

Hmmm. Transparency works for those who have nothing to hide. For those that do, it's like cancer itself.

So many variables involved…. are you doin flat land subdivisions, or subdividing an existing house block, doing it to buy and hold, buy and onsell, buy and build… costs will depend on the approach you're taking.
Doing flat land subdivisions can take longer, and cost more, eg: if you're doing a 10Ha block and subdividing into 3000m/2 lots, and then are you actually doing all the civil works like roads, gutters, sewer etc in which case you're up for infrastructure conbributions which in Qld anyway are about 5 times more expensive than any other state (and the biggest barrier to affordable housing in the state).
Doing a 'splitter' is a bit easier, and generally would cost between 10-20K depending on a multitude of things.. lot size, intended use, position of existing property and so on.. could take 4 months, could take 8 depending on Council and the plan they're working to.
You can do it under option or development agreement for larger lots of land, or a simple buy and hold with a splitter, or any way that you and the vendor can agree on really..as long as everyone is realistic about what they can take out of it.. as someone above said, contingency planning is key, if it can possibly go wrong then it probably will so plan for delays and costs..
Start by talking to council before you even buy the thing.. see whether they'll even look at it.. see what they want, work WITH them rather than drop something on them witih little or no consultation..
How do you find blocks? Hard work. Splitters you'd need nothing less than about 1000m/2 preferably more, small lot housing maybe less depending on the plan. Agents, research, RPData, newspapers, driving around, hard work.
Learn to read the town plan. They're all public documents on the various council websites that will tell you what you can and can not do on a block.
If it was easy everyone would be doing it

Find a good town planner, find out the RP details of your property if you can, and ask them to give you a quote. There is no real cookie cutter solution as it will depend on council zoning, requirements, infrastructure contributions, consultants fees, time taken etc etc.. WAY too many variables to be able to give any certainty. Locate a good town planner, tell them what you want and get some quotes.

Agree with Terry. Your solicitor should enter any clauses to the standard REIQ contract. Typically you would be seeking to settle subject to DA – ask yourself if you want to settle if council won't let you do what you want to do. A good property solicitor should be able to give you set clauses for staged settlements etc.

DD can be any length really, but anything less than 90 days tends to put you behind the 8 ball. The one to determine is how long it'll take you to get your DA/BA which is a question for Council.

There are some good roperty and projects lawyers around in Brisbane who know their stuff..

Hope that helps.

Anyone know what demand is like in Townsville and surrounding areas for new residential product? Curious to know what the market is like up that way given all the work going on up there…

What many of these spruikers fail to recognises is that people are there to be able to make money like $75K and $30K etc, if they had that kind of money to throw at a 'mentoring' program (which personally I think is a misconception and misuse of the term) why would they be there? It's too expensive in my personal opinion, especially when many of these seminar spruikers and 'educators' cant' back up, (or won't) any of the claims they make? Why would any intelligent person throw that kind of money at someone who simply 'says' they are something with no evidence what so ever that they can do, or have done, what they say they can? Mind you it doesn't stop the high pressure NLP laden selling that goes on and many people get parted from their money without really knowing what they're getting into. I've yet to see one of these spruikers offer a cooling off period. I also see many people trying to get their money back….one wonders why. 

In my mind that kind of relationship is a business one, with a fee for service and the results expected contingent upon many things, not least of which is the individuals input, but including the 'mentors' track record of having done the very thing they're trying to teach, successfully, and over a protracted period, in a public arena. If they really have done half a billion dollars worth of projects, etc etc, then there must be a paper trail, evidence, advertising, so on and so forth. For example, look at Mirvac, AV Jennings etc etc .. all successful development companies (relatively speaking) with public information readily accessible. Something I note is lacking with the majority of 'educators' out there saying they're on the same level playing field. I would be asking why that is before paying these people a single cent for any mentoring. If they can back it up in some form of legally binding, documentary evidence, great, hand over your money if you feel its going to get you value for money. Hell, if you want to give someone $30grand to recycle information available publicly to you, get in touch I'll gladly take your money!

Mind you, if they just got up and said "I'm just here presenting the information, I'm an educator not a developr or whatever"… at least there'd be some level of transparency and honesty involved…… ooops! did I say honesty? Silly me..

Good luck to you if you want to pay these guys $75 grand… personally I'd rather spend it on a good lawyer and a DA.

Peace.

Quinn. PM me or email me – I may be able to help you.
Cheers

Mattbombers. driving round in a bus doesn't prove anything. i can drive you past any number of building sites that i have nothing to do with and say theyre mine, if you're in the right mindframe to receive what i'm telling you, you'll believe anything I tell you. Only my advice and you've already thrown your money at it so its a bit too late, but i would want nothing less than written documentary evidence that massland was directly involved with those projects. DAs, contracts, financials etc…otherwise its all just words and nothing more. its called due dilligence and anyone paying any money to any potential business partner needs to do it. personallly I would have wanted this prior to handing over a cent to them.

Document everything thats said and claimed and ask for proof. Words mean nothing in the property game. If they really are invovled in these projects they should have no problems and no difficulty in producing and providing clear documents showing their involvement in these projects.

Go back and read through this post and the people who've done his courses before. Look at "in the game" post on page one of this thread. You should have all the information you need then. If  not, start ringing developers acquisition managers that Mark says he knows, ring all the people he says he knows.. see if they know him, see if anyone would deal with him.. look at the projects he says he has going..can he prove any of it? Can he prove anything he says at all? I looked for years to find people who had done deals, been paid, in fact gotten any evidence at all of the half billion dollar company and porsche racing teams and floating on the ASX….still haven't found any proof of any of that.. anywhere.. especially within the property developing marketplace ….. bit strange that don't you think? Hey of course I could be wrong..

Before handing over a single sent to these guys make sure they are who they say they are, have done what they've said they've done, and can do what they say they can do. DO NOT sign any agreements with them until you've read it or your lawyer has. Spruikers love high pressure, they'll put things right next to them to come and sign so they can 'convince you' to sign without really understanding what it is that you've done. Don't fall for it. Get written proof of all claims made. Do not settle simply for "I don't have to prove anything to you" or "you have the wrong mindset to be here"…Bullshi*. If I'm going into a legally binding agreement and paying someone $30K + to get me results I expect and demand proof prior to handing over a single cent.
Get everything in a legally binding written form that holds them to their claims. See if they'll do it. If not, ask yourself why.
Good luck.