Subdivide

[Cindy Nguyen]

Hi All

I am planning to start my property development by putting couple of units on my current one. Since this is the first time I am doing this, I am looking for some advice on what I should/should not do at the first stage (drafting/town planning/council permit/etc...)

Also, I have called around to get some quotes from different architects/draft people. Some advised me that I can put in 2 units while other said that I can put in 3. Obviously, I prefer 3. However, I am not confident if we submit and council reject 3 units. I also checked with council in person, but the answer from the council is depending on my architect. Any advice?/comments?

Also, quotes from different architects/drafts services are presented in different ways which make me confuses which one i should pick up. Any comments/advise?

Your comments/advices are much appreciated for me to enter into this area.

Cheers
Cindy

 

[A Jeremy]

That the Council said the number of allowable dwellings is dependent on the architect is strange and seemingly inaccurate.

I use project builders instead of the drafty, architect, builder trifecta as the cost savings are immense and you don't have three parties with conflicting ideas about your project - there is just one. These builders have readily available designs with the architectural and drafting costs absorbed over the hundreds or more replications of the design that they pump out. Because they build the identical structure over and over, and after every job check the final cost, they price their builds to be highly competitive.

You can acquire a copy of the applicable planning scheme/code for your block of land which will tell you the allowable density.

The title of your thread is 'Subdivide'. Are you intending to or are you asking about it? If you build multiple dwellings and strata them you will have additional ongoing costs for each one - insurance, rates, water - however if you keep them on one title you can minimise your ongoing costs. While the rental returns aren't affected either way the trade off is that the valuation will be lower because multiple dwellings, and the cost of purchasing them all, will be high and therefore your investment will not be as liquid as individually strata titled properties.

 

[Nash13]

You can acquire a copy of the applicable planning scheme/code for your block of land which will tell you the allowable density

Generally the planning provisions in Victoria are not this prescriptive. The amount of units possible on your site will be dependent upon the design response and how this responds to both ResCode and neighbourhood character.

Just a word of warning, three is not always the most profitable option (percentage wise) compared to two. Always do your due diligence!

 

[A Jeremy]

That's a very handy piece of information and should save some out of towners like myself a hard lesson.

Thanks Nash