Property Development - project management

a. When you start-up and initiating a large development project (large land division or multi-dwellings) what fears do you have and how do you overcome them?
b. Does it feel as if your project gets out of control at times and how do you get it back into control?
c. Have you consider using a project manager for your building project – why?
d. Are there any special project controls that work for you and that you can recommend using?

Thanks to all!!
 
a) Failure, bankruptcy, delays, cost over runs, financing problems, council problems, builder/tradie problems, neibour problems, etc etc etc. You can fear anything or everything. If that is you, development isnt for you!

b) Planning, planning, planning, then do a bit more planning. You need to have a large contingency plan. That way you always have options. As soon as someone says "its our only option" start to worry!

c) Yes - always! Why? because profits on a development is all about time. The profit/loss is almost always determined by the interest cost. Most of the time doing even a small development is a full time job, how will you manage that if you are working full time also?

d) Always have cash available - you will need it.
 
Can someone advise approximate costs for a project manager?

Something like:
9 units 3 storey
1 mil land cost
1.8 mil build cost
DA approved and ready to build

Any idea how much a project manager will cost to basically organise and overlook the project from start to finish?

Does a project manager do basically everything require to complete the project, including sourcing the most competitive construction quotes, etc?

Thanks
Spider
 
Can someone advise approximate costs for a project manager?Any idea how much a project manager will cost to basically organise and overlook the project from start to finish?
Usually about 10% of the build cost.


Does a project manager do basically everything require to complete the project, including sourcing the most competitive construction quotes, etc?
No. That is normally the job of the estimator / QS doing the measure.
 
In some larger DIY building projects that run over a long time, stakeholders may find that when they contract a project manager, there develop a communication and control gap between them and the project – sometimes with nasty surprises. The key is clear directives when starting-up the project based on sound project management principles.
 
Ottg, You are correct, it has to be a clear directives ie "scope" has to be clearly defined. Control your scope is important for budget & cost delivery. Any variation to the scope needs to be analysed with all cross impacts.

As balky listed in Post # 2.a, all those identified should be in your Risk log with Risk mitigation against each of them.
Resources must be locked (all tasks must have an owner) and in a plan with cross dependencies to avoid a domino effect. Contingency plan must be in place and ready for execution if issues arised. To recover the project slippage, gather options from your team (be it carpenter, tiler, bricklayers...) including their availability extended hrs and $ then evaluate the best option with buying from all.

But prevention is better...hence every assigned actions must be regularly tracked to ensure your end dates will be met. The earlier you identified the slippage the easier for you to recover/bring your developments back on track.

Cheers.
 
Hi Aaron, Agree with all the point on risk management etc. Recently spoke to a group where the feedback between the PM and stakeholders (JV of 30 members) were not well controlled and lots of blame. So I thought this is something you need to set upfront - perhaps even as input to the Scope (as you said) Any thoughts!
•Clear roles and responsibilities within your team
•Clear communication plan showing what reports to expect, when and by whom
•Provides a directive for the team when they engage
•Promotes professionalism and clarity which reduce risk
 
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