Assessing Potential Development Sites
- Thread starter JIT
- Start date
In NSW I visit the local Council. Ask to see the plan, find out where the existing sewer is located, find out the zoning, and if there would be any potential problems if I wanted to subdivide, and see if any applications for DA were made prior.
As a hint, take a gift with you, a small box of chocolates perhaps - amazing how much info you can get when you have presents
sunshine
As a hint, take a gift with you, a small box of chocolates perhaps - amazing how much info you can get when you have presents
sunshine
The most important thing is to find out the highest and best use of the land. I mean if you can put a 15 storey apartment on it, why would you put couple of townhouses. You can check that out with the council to see what the zoning is and what you are able to build.
Make sure you dont buy the land overpriced. Because if you do that then you would need to sell the properties overpriced too to make some profit. By doing that they could be on the market for a long time. So dont get sucked into the "HUGE Development Potential" ads you migh see on re.com.au or wherever.
If you see a nice block of land or a house on a good land with development potential while your maybe passing by and you are interested then go talk to the owner directly because you will find cheaper deals that way.
Dont forget to get your full valuation done on it to make sure your getting the perfect price.
That's all I can think for now. Im still pretty peeved about the swannies 1 point loss to the bombers
Make sure you dont buy the land overpriced. Because if you do that then you would need to sell the properties overpriced too to make some profit. By doing that they could be on the market for a long time. So dont get sucked into the "HUGE Development Potential" ads you migh see on re.com.au or wherever.
If you see a nice block of land or a house on a good land with development potential while your maybe passing by and you are interested then go talk to the owner directly because you will find cheaper deals that way.
Dont forget to get your full valuation done on it to make sure your getting the perfect price.
That's all I can think for now. Im still pretty peeved about the swannies 1 point loss to the bombers
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One more thing. Make sure the soil is good for building and also check that it's not contaminated ie. if it's near nuclear plant etc.
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the replies.
So just a brief list so far:
- Talk to the local council, architects, quantity surveyors
- Find out zoning and highest use eg. can you build apartments, offices etc...
- Note the location of easements
- Check the soil conditions in the property/suburb
- Check for possible soil contamination
- Check previous development applications on the property/in the suburb: see what sort of developments others have done and been successful with the council, see what sort of land sizes are required to subdivide and for townhouse developments, any height restrictions and other local planning restrictions.
Other points:
- Wider frontages and maybe corner blocks ?better
- Flat land as opposed to sloping land ?better
- Local council development approval/permit times?
Any other thoughts?
Thanks,
GSJ
Thanks for the replies.
So just a brief list so far:
- Talk to the local council, architects, quantity surveyors
- Find out zoning and highest use eg. can you build apartments, offices etc...
- Note the location of easements
- Check the soil conditions in the property/suburb
- Check for possible soil contamination
- Check previous development applications on the property/in the suburb: see what sort of developments others have done and been successful with the council, see what sort of land sizes are required to subdivide and for townhouse developments, any height restrictions and other local planning restrictions.
Other points:
- Wider frontages and maybe corner blocks ?better
- Flat land as opposed to sloping land ?better
- Local council development approval/permit times?
Any other thoughts?
Thanks,
GSJ
Flat land is usualy better in terms of cost of developement because its going to cost you more to excavate and refill the land to make it level if it's on a slope and the types of slab and footings you would have to use which could add more to costs. Also check for the shape of the land. ie. Trianglular shaped lands are no good because you will be limited to certain types of developments.
A friend recently bought an old property on huge land in Killara in Sydney for $800k. He wants to spend around $1mill to build a luxury home and he estimated the resale value to be around $2.8mill. He's a builder and architect so I guess he knows what hes doing.
What I'm trying to say it that you dont always have to think in terms of rezoning or subdivision. Simple things like that can make you alot of money.
A friend recently bought an old property on huge land in Killara in Sydney for $800k. He wants to spend around $1mill to build a luxury home and he estimated the resale value to be around $2.8mill. He's a builder and architect so I guess he knows what hes doing.
What I'm trying to say it that you dont always have to think in terms of rezoning or subdivision. Simple things like that can make you alot of money.
Also to speed up your application make sure you comply with coucil's DCP (Development Control Plan). Whatever they ask you for in the DA...submit it.
Thanks Ahmad, good point about the shape of the site.
A few other points:
- Flood risk in the area
- Accessiblity, eg. from the main street, side street or laneway
- Proposed roadworks in the area
GSJ
Ask the neighbours their opinion. Our first subdivision took 6 months to get the DA approved. 3 of the neighbours had a list of objections
This was only a 2 block subdivision mind you. A couple of the objections stuck, but easy to deal with. One neighbour was extremely p'dd off because we didn't ask them first, so they got some others onside!!
So now, we, or the surveyor, knock on the neighbours door and have a chat. Much easier to know what or who you are dealing with.
Just had a thought, maybe I should take presents to the neighbours when asking
sunshine
This was only a 2 block subdivision mind you. A couple of the objections stuck, but easy to deal with. One neighbour was extremely p'dd off because we didn't ask them first, so they got some others onside!!
So now, we, or the surveyor, knock on the neighbours door and have a chat. Much easier to know what or who you are dealing with.
Just had a thought, maybe I should take presents to the neighbours when asking
sunshine
Hi everyone,
Here's a nice checklist:
http://www.metropoleprojects.com.au/pdf/Site_Assessment_Checklist.pdf
Some extra points from this:
- Heritage overlay/listing
- Conservation issues, eg. significant trees
- Views
- Streetscape considerations, eg. nature strip, power poles, bus shelters
- Orientation/aspect
- Location of overhead or underground services
GSJ
Here's a nice checklist:
http://www.metropoleprojects.com.au/pdf/Site_Assessment_Checklist.pdf
Some extra points from this:
- Heritage overlay/listing
- Conservation issues, eg. significant trees
- Views
- Streetscape considerations, eg. nature strip, power poles, bus shelters
- Orientation/aspect
- Location of overhead or underground services
GSJ
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Great list GSJ.
Power poles. That is a very good one. A while ago whilst doing DD on a 3 block subdivision, all my numbers were Ok'ish till I got to having to move a power pole and/or a v large tree for 2nd access. Quoted $5k to move the power pole, and huge objections from neighbours if tree was cut down. I let that one go...
Sunshine
Power poles. That is a very good one. A while ago whilst doing DD on a 3 block subdivision, all my numbers were Ok'ish till I got to having to move a power pole and/or a v large tree for 2nd access. Quoted $5k to move the power pole, and huge objections from neighbours if tree was cut down. I let that one go...
Sunshine
Thanks Sunshine.
Here's a link to find out about zones/overlays (for Melbourne):
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/planningschemes/
This site is also usefu (for Melbourne)l:
http://services.land.vic.gov.au/landchannel/content/help?name=aboutreports#Detailed
You can get individual property reports here for $4.40, that have land dimensions and area.
GSJ
Here's a link to find out about zones/overlays (for Melbourne):
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/planningschemes/
This site is also usefu (for Melbourne)l:
http://services.land.vic.gov.au/landchannel/content/help?name=aboutreports#Detailed
You can get individual property reports here for $4.40, that have land dimensions and area.
GSJ
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most has been covered - but absolute minimum frontage needs to be 12m (preferably 15m) as, in a development, vehicles must exit the property forwards - and hence you need turning circles out of the garages.
find out zoning (what you can put on the property and density),
flood zoning,
slope (ever so slightly) to the road for stormwater drainage, location of sewer mains (can be expensive to move)
minimum courtyard sizes (as defined by council)
number of visitor parks required (as defined by council)
the reason i put the last two in, is because they can chew up a lot of your "ground" space and hence make the project unviable. for example - in our council area you need 1 visitor park per first three townhouses and then 1 park for every 5 (or part thereof) thereafter. so if you doing a 4 townhouse development, you need two visitor parks, which equal around 45m2 - plus turn circles (if required) etc.
same with courtyards. in our area minimum courtyards in density zones are 35m2 with at least one area of 4x4m. doesn't sound like much but can really stuff up the project if not calculated in correctly.
find out zoning (what you can put on the property and density),
flood zoning,
slope (ever so slightly) to the road for stormwater drainage, location of sewer mains (can be expensive to move)
minimum courtyard sizes (as defined by council)
number of visitor parks required (as defined by council)
the reason i put the last two in, is because they can chew up a lot of your "ground" space and hence make the project unviable. for example - in our council area you need 1 visitor park per first three townhouses and then 1 park for every 5 (or part thereof) thereafter. so if you doing a 4 townhouse development, you need two visitor parks, which equal around 45m2 - plus turn circles (if required) etc.
same with courtyards. in our area minimum courtyards in density zones are 35m2 with at least one area of 4x4m. doesn't sound like much but can really stuff up the project if not calculated in correctly.
Further to lizzie's post re frontage, don't ignore corner blocks. These are often discounted by purchasors for various reasons, but my best (most profitable) small subdivisions have been on corners.
Corner blocks are often larger to allow for bigger setbacks. Now IF the council will allow another drive way to the secondary street, these are worth a second look. It means that after subdivision/development, you often end up with one corner block and one or two small std (not on the corner) blocks. Again the corner block is discounted, but the other one or two is not and the setbacks can be varied accordingly (council permitting etc).
MC
Corner blocks are often larger to allow for bigger setbacks. Now IF the council will allow another drive way to the secondary street, these are worth a second look. It means that after subdivision/development, you often end up with one corner block and one or two small std (not on the corner) blocks. Again the corner block is discounted, but the other one or two is not and the setbacks can be varied accordingly (council permitting etc).
MC
Michael, I have been looking for corner blocks and have found they sell at a premium of 15-20%. I agree with Ahmad about approaching owners of properties when they are not on the market although I haven't had any luck doing this yet Which is especially frustrating when you see them on the market 6 months later as a deceased estate.
When looking to sub-divide corner blocks check that water and sewage services run along both street frontages as it can cost big $$ to rip up the street to get them installed.
Alternatively you could sud-divide into community titles and save a bit of money by running the services through the properties but this may effect you're sale price/ valuation at the end of the project.
Also
-Look for councils that are encouraging developments.
-Allow an extra 6 months of interest payments when doing your calculations.
-Watch out for significant trees on neighbours properties.
-Don't forget to include demolition costs in your figures which could increase if the house has asbestos.
Which is especially frustrating when you see them on the market 6 months later as a deceased estate.When looking to sub-divide corner blocks check that water and sewage services run along both street frontages as it can cost big $$ to rip up the street to get them installed.
Alternatively you could sud-divide into community titles and save a bit of money by running the services through the properties but this may effect you're sale price/ valuation at the end of the project.
Also
-Look for councils that are encouraging developments.
-Allow an extra 6 months of interest payments when doing your calculations.
-Watch out for significant trees on neighbours properties.
-Don't forget to include demolition costs in your figures which could increase if the house has asbestos.
michael's right - i love corner blocks, or blocks with wide rear lane access. you can pay a premium for these blocks, but they are worth it in regardless to your options, and not loosing wasted driveway space. also, with corner blocks usually the density allowance can be increased be 30%. this means that if a standard residential site usually has to be a minimum of 450m, a corner block only needs to be 630m, instead of 900m, to be allowed to subdivide into two.
Hi,
I have just found Martin Ayles development checklist on PI.com which he sells (?) for $315.
There are also a few slide shows from the Adelaide bus tour he conducted.
Enjoy!!
http://www.propertyinvesting.com/bustrip/resources?highlight=ayles
I have just found Martin Ayles development checklist on PI.com which he sells (?) for $315.
There are also a few slide shows from the Adelaide bus tour he conducted.
Enjoy!!
http://www.propertyinvesting.com/bustrip/resources?highlight=ayles
