Subdividing small block in Brisbane

Hi Storm,

Welcome & I hope you enjoy the forum. There’s certainly lots to learn here.
I’m going through the unanswered questions and looking for the ones that I may be able to add some value to.

My experience & knowledge is certainly nowhere near most of the forum members level but I think I can help answer your questions.
Of course you will need to do your own research but I’ll give you some of my thoughts.

1. Approximate costs to get a DA may vary state to state, DA specifics and from using different professions however I believe that it can be done (in Victoria) anywhere from $5k to 10k. There could be different costings in Brisbane but at least you know what it could cost in Vic.

2. CGT exemption: You will need to have this question answered by a professional or by more experienced members.
There’s lots of topics on this forum regarding CGT/Family home so please research to understand it better yourself. My understanding certainly has a lot of gaps in it but this is some of what I have learnt so far…..

If you have no other principle place of residence (PPOR) and you live in your home then yes, that home is CGT exempt.

You mention living in it for at least a few months: I want to inform you that your PPOR is a “state of fact” so the amount of time that you are living there is only one aspect for consideration in determining whether it is your PPOR or not. The real measure would be things like whether you are receiving mail at that address, did you accumulate bills for utilities being used, were they paid for by you during that time, was a land-line phone connected, did you receive & make calls? I am not saying that all these things are a must but certainly they help prove that you are really “living there” and not just using the rules to save some CGT. 6 months living at the property may be considered as the bare minimum by some however the ATO does not really specify an exact amount of time that you should be living in your PPOR and that’s why it is merely a “state of fact” rather than choice.
I would like to add further interesting things..
Living in a property does not necessarily make it your (PPOR). Eg: Let’s say you owned 2 property’s, P1 & P2. You could keep P1 vacant, whilst you live in P2. Only one of these property’s, at any one time, can be nominated as your PPOR to claim the CGT exemption. An owner of these 2 property’s may choose to claim (P1) as their PPOR whilst they are temporarily living in (P2).
As stated above, just living in a property does not always mean that it is automatically exempted because it depends on which property is nominated as PPOR and only one property can be nominated at any one time.

I don’t mean to confuse you, I’m just highlighting that there are rules that need to be followed. Strangely there are the occasional times when the CGT exemptions may overlap a little between 2 separate property’s ie: if you decide to sell your PPOR and settlement of your old PPOR is done after the date that you have purchased your new PPOR home). In this case your new home is still CGT exempted even though there was a small overlap at the beginning. There is also some information on a 6 year rule for you to research on, you’ll find that there’s tons of info on many other relating matters.

3. I cannot recommend any town planners in Brisbane because I live in Vic however I think that a great idea is to ask your council which town planners that they mainly deal with and they will give you a list to choose from. They will not inform you who is best or worst, they will only give you a list. Go to a few and interview them and you’ll soon learn how much work they have done with your council and whether they had a hard time or easy. They will also be able to back up their comments with proof. Go to the one that convinces you by using their knowledge & experience.

Cheers & good luck, more happiness and wealth to you.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by  Pimobpi. Reason: Changed a few words that were repeated