Hi All,
The topic of buying duplex potential blocks, subdividing and developing back / front blocks has been done before and have read quite a few threads. What I am yet to come across is what actually needs to be done to a subdivided block to on-sell.
My intention is to buy a subdividable block, sell off the back block, do up the existing and either rent out or sell then do again. Nothing new in this and yes, I know, these opportunities are hard to come by.
What I need to know is what are the requirements for selling blocks? Obviously you have to have the block surveyed, apply to council for subdivision approval, pay all the council fees, however what else?
Do you actually need to connect services or this the new owners cost? Do you need to provide a cross over and / or driveway? Dividing fence? Cleared land? Will more than likely be in Perth Metro.
These are novice questions, however in this field, I am a novice! Any help or direction to other threads would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Jan
Jhopper
This will depend on a lot of things , council ,size of the block, how many subs on the block ,has the block got access on another street.
Lets say it is a normal block with one driveway and no other access . Yes in most situations if you meet the council requirements you can just sub divide and sell. Providing all the services are accessable from the street or easements.How ever the best way to find out about it before buying the property is to go to the council with the contract and ask them about that particular property 9 times out of ten they will be able to tell you on the spot if what you want to do is achiveable .Cheers Rick [drummer]
Jan,
I’ve found alot of people get tripped up on the frontage before. The REA advertise as duplex or triplex ‘potential’….WOW – watch that word very carefully….but then when you front up to the Council all of the sobering facts come out and more often than not the ‘potential’ turns into a flat NO…or at best it turns into a maybe, with enough headwork fees to sink the project.
Don’t want to put a damper on things, but many of the ‘potentials’ out there are just that and never come to fruition.
As a specific example, the Council I deal with alot have a blanket rule that unless the property has more than 25m frontage, it can only ever be a duplex – no more. Even if you buy 3 acres, they’ll only allow 2 dwellings max if the frontage is 24.99m or less. Most people reading the ‘potential’ ads aren’t aware of this number.
Cheers,
Dazzling
“Go hard or go home”
Thanks for the replies Rick and Dazzling,
I actually spent a bit of time with a few RE agents and driving the suburbs I am interested in yesterday to get a better feel. Inow have a copy of the R code requirements for different zoning which goes into minimum land size, frontage and useable land. Next stop council to have a chat!
I think Rick answered my question in that what do you have to provide when you sell the land? Are services in the street enough or do you need to bring a connection point to the land for water, sewer, electricity etc?
Thanks again for the replies.
Jan
Glad we could help[drummer]
We are currently sub-divided a block in Perth which is conditional upon services being provided. This means underground power $1500 and water sewerage connection $5000 plus plumbers fee. This is a Planning Commission requirement and nothing to do with the relevant Council. Release documents are to be lodged with Planning once the work has been carried out and the title will issue in 6-8 weeks
If I knew then what I know now……….you know how it goes
Thanks ActToday, thats what I needed! Have you done a few of these or was that the first?
So I take it the procedure would be (assuming you already owned the block and the numbers stack up):
Approach council to determine if land is suitable for subdivision.
Submit necessary docs for subdividion approval.
Carry out site survey for strata or green title.
Carry out necessary services installation to new block (water/sewer/electricity).
Lodge release docs with Planning Commission.
6-8 weeks later, Bobs your uncle!What have I missed?
LOL. Not quite so easy. You are right in that you first need to ascertain the zoning of the property but from then on use a Surveyor. We use Guidice Surveys 93356222 and have found them very helpful in walking us through the process.
If I knew then what I know now……….you know how it goes
I don’t like making things anymore difficult than they need to be
I know there are a few more things in between!!What does the surveyor actually do in the process? Sorry for asking stupid questions, but being an Engineer, I like to know exactly how things work! It sounds from what you are saying they almost Project Manage the process. Is this assumption correct?
Hi, I subdivided a duplex block in Rockingham approx 18 months ago.
I went to the Local Council/Shire office and purchased a copy of the plan for $22.00. The land size of 1012m2 made it perfect for subdivision. I provided this to the surveyor.The surveyor cost me $1575 to come out and measure and provide a plan that they submitted to the local council for approval. The existing house is on the back of the block. I also built on the front block. Surveyor gave options on subdividing. Bulding Strata Title or Survey Strata Subdivison.• Building Strata Title: Plans submitted at State Planning Commission for subdivision of Land, no house plan required. Process can take around 4-5 months. No building allowed to commence until subdivision complete.
• Survey Strata Subdivision: Plans submitted at Local Council Office for approval of house to go on Land and subdivision to take place after home has been built and landscaping/fencing has been completed. Contact with Council when house is at roof height for initial inspection. Process can take around 3 months from roof stage to completion of landscaping, however building can commence immediately.
• I chose Survey Strata Subdivision so that I could commence building straight away. Costs of $1575 included measurement and plans for block, government statutory fees, valuation fee, shire inspections and lodgement fees, did not include application for new titles. The payment was for 75% after completion of on-site surveying and balance of 25% after shire inspection. We couldn’t complete and lodge at shire until building at roof height. Shire had already approved building license so plans drawn up by builders were ok for the block.
Surveyor provided copies of:
• Completed Form 5, strata titles Action 1985 sections 5b(1), 8A, 22(1) giving Strata Plan Number. Description of Parcel and Building, certificate of Licensed Surveyor dated 12/9/03 (lodged at DOLA).
• Completed Form 7 Strata Titles Act 1985 sections 5B(2), 8A(f), 23(1). Quotes Strata Plan Number. Certificate of Local Government approval. Signed by Shire Building Services Manager showing that subdivision had been inspected and approved to local shire standards. Also advised that as division had been approved by Local Shire it was exempt from requirement of approval by State Planning Commission. Shows Unit entitlements of each Lot Nr ie Lot one-52 and Lot two 48. From there the paperwork was sent to my settlement agent who arranged the name changes/title splits etc.
Hope this helps, I am thinking that you are wanting to subdivide and then sell off the vacant block. We were told that if we did this then services needed to be on the new block prior to selling. different councils may have different rulings, best to check.
Regards
LisaThanks Lisa, thats fantastic information!!
Are you planning on doing it all over again or just a one off?
Well done!
I was lucky, I bought my front block (three streets from the beach in Rockingham) from my mother so did the the subdivision etc myself. It was a huge learning experience and looking back there are a few things that I would do differently but overall the finished project was worth it. This gave me the equity to go to Geraldton and buy my first IP.
where area’s are you looking in? I know where I am now the prices have skyrocketed in the last two years.Hi Lisabellan,
I have been looking all over the place in Perth for opportunities and seem to be coming close to my requirements around the Bayswater area. I like Maylands but may have missed that area, however Bayswater still has some options. I started looking at Morely which may still be ok but have chosen to look closer to the city.
You are right about prices though, going up and up and the areas that I have mentioned up there!
Hi Jan, I bought a block of 4 units in Sunset Beach, Geraldton in Oct and I’m very pleased with the way they are going and would consider buying again in Gero. I am also interested in Two Rocks, near the beach, the Japanese have pretty much bought the suburb for expansion so money will be moving in there. would like somewhere closer to home for no other reason than convenience, but having done the reno thing and wanting a rest from it, further afield would be better for claiming travel. Developing was a good experience and would consider doing it again, but with the long building times I would be thinking of subdividing, providing the facilities and then onselling as a vacant block. There’s alot of that going on down here in Rocky and has been for the past 18 months or so. Good luck
LisaReading these comments make one thing clear- every area, ie every council requires different information, different charges and different time frame. We have had an application with council for nearly 12 months, they keep asking for additioanl info- even as much as an areial shot and sound survey. These had not been asked for by the council initially at a prelodgement meeting. I would recommend a pre-lodgement meeting with the council prior to purchasing, however expect additioanl costs and paper work to be asked for at a later date.
I too have completed one and in the process of second. Main lessons are not to underestimate dev. costs and the time taken to complete the process.Both items have big impact on whether the project stacks up in the first place and cash flow during the course.
If you are satisfied there is enough in it, then use a surveyor, my costs were an additional $5k but costings were so accurate, made budgeting easy and no hiccups.
In both cases, services needed to be connected prior to sale. Finally watch plumbing costs! Only thing the surveyor couldnt nail down, and stung me hard!!
We are building on our subdivision which is a survey strata but we are not able to collect plans from Council until sewerage and power have been connected. Power was no problem but sewerage is a nightmare. Think it is finally sorted and hope connection will begin within a couple of weeks. Bank will lend $20,000 up front but second progress payment will not be paid until title issues approximately 2 months after sewerage compliance forms are lodged. The whole process has taken just on a year so far. We have a second much larger development on the go which is progressing much quicker with a more sympathetic Council so it really does depend on location to some extent.
If I knew then what I know now……….you know how it goes
I know there are a few more things in between!!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
