Hi Viral,

It’s completely up to you where you go from here. Yes you are correct in indentifying planners as a first point of call along with listing building companies as an option. In my experience the big builders are generally a lot of trouble and hassle (plus they don’t pay their tradies much so there is some compromise in quality).

Essentially at the beginning you’re best off approaching a surveyor or a planner. They work in conjunction with each other so doesn’t really matter which one you contact first. Also consider using the Surveyor / Draftsman combo as that is probably cheaper than what your planner quoted you to get DA approved + designs. Architects are another option but they’re generally pretty expensive. You’ll need all the existing conditions on site measured, buildings, trees, services, contours etc before you have anything designed, which is why surveyors are the first people on the site. Planners can only get so much information from aerial photos, land.vic.gov, aerial contours and such.

Good luck with the project!

Cheers,

Hi Rob,

There’s another thread here about townhouse development in Melbourne, which I’m sure will be of use to you!

https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/help-needed/4343719

I can give you some help with your subdivision questions though. In my experience the difference between doing the subdivision yourself and paying someone for the entire package is the lodgement of plans to obtain the permits. First is you going down to council yourself, the other is them sending it off for you – you’re essentially paying someone a lot of money to save a small amount of time!

There is a significant difference in costs between the two so I would recommend to you (and everyone else on the forum) is to do as much as you can yourself. Surveyors will manage the subdivision process for you and undertake everything in the correct order etc anyway so you won’t have to worry about that.

Subdivisions are essentially a two-step process, first you’ll have to have the initial site survey done which is used for subdivision design as well as application for a planning/development permit. Following this the subdivision is drawn, a Title Re-Establishment survey is undertaken and lodgement is made to the necessary offices. If you see my website there is a flowchart available for download on the front page which applies to 2 and 3 lot subdivisions in Melbourne. http://www.staceysurveying.com.au/

Depending on the size of the prospective blocks, you might need to have plans for the new dwellings lodged with the permit application. For a straight subdivision for two separate titles (without dwellings designed), as a rule of thumb you will need 250-300sq.m in a “rectangle” shape in the backyard. Here’s the recommended fees from the Surveyors Board for subdivision- which is what those large ‘package deal’ companies charge. http://www.mediafire.com/i/?msti7q5x3asp6nd (click “download image” at the bottom).

We stick to around 60% of these to give you an idea of how much savings are on offer if you do a couple of things yourself (Not to advertise! Just giving an idea of the differences).

Cheers,

Hi fellow forum-ers,

My name’s Ashley (prefer Ash), and as you’ve no doubt already gathered in a Land Surveyor. I’m located in Montrose, Victoria – about 45mins east of Melbourne CBD. I specialize in 2 and 3 lot subdivisions, although we have done quite a few large apartment blocks, inner-city developments and rural subdivisions- for those on other property forums you’ve no doubt seen some of our work.

Rapt I joined the forum last year not just to share my expertise but learn so much about the other aspects of property that you don’t see in my profession. I’m always happy to answer queries and help anyone out with questions on development and subdivision. If you’re not in Vic I’ll do my best to help! (or point you in the right direction).

Look forward to another year on this fantastic forum!

Cheers

Hi,

I would recommend finding a local surveyor and having a chat with them. Rural subdivision is relatively straight forward in my experience.

I also suggest talking to your council’s town planner and seeing their view on the development before you start spending. Even though they’ve changed the zoning they might want to keep certain characteristics about the area.

Good luck with the project!

Hi Kris,

Strata subdivisions in Vic are completed and finalized upon completion of the project – or at least when there’s some brickwork up. The surveyor uses the structures for the subdivision.

On the plan of subdivision we show the building extents/footprint rather than the typical bearing-distance boundaries for torrens subdivisions. The reason we do it this way is that we can’t be 100% certain that the builder will put the structure within a few mm of the plans so it’s much safer to do it afterwards. There will be drafts of subdivision before building, but as I said it’s completed when there’s some buildings up.

Hope this answers your queries. I’ve put a flowchart up for Vic subdivisions both on my website and in the value adding section for free download which would be useful for your project.

Cheers

As Emma said call up council and speak to the town planner there. They’ll be able to give you a good idea of it it’s possible or not.

Where is the block located anyway?

Good to see you’ve done your research! I assume by R30 you’re located in WA.

I always tell clients to do more than enough research thoroughly to eliminate any future issues. The more the better.

Just a word of advice, look up the processes for development in your state, the steps will be the same from one council to the next, with maybe some little things changed here and there. From some rough research on the rest of Aus, the development processes are roughly the same. You might have noticed I posted up a Subdivision Flowchart on development. I’ve noted all the different professionals that should be involved in the process, call a few places around and get some quotes together and you may be surprised.

I’ve had a few people come to me with unbelievably high prices for turn-key development where huge profits must be made from the developer. I’m not by any means saying this accounts for all developers or professionals in the development industry (I know of some particular companies that prey on peoples lack of research), but there definitely are some dishonest people out there.

Ask your surveyor for a breakdown of the subdivision process and all the council costs involved anyway. A good surveyor will be more than happy to explain every step to you.

Cheers,
Ashley