Hi Sansue,

I’m not a developer myself, so I can’t give you a great amount of advice. There are a number of comapanies around that offer a turn key type product, where they arange all the plans and permits etc, manage the building ant then hand it over to you at the end. They should give you a set price at the start and a good idea of timing. This…[Read more]

Rip,

Which municipality are you in and what is the zoning.

Regards
Alistair

Sansue,

From what I understand most developers look at a profit margin of 25% plus. You can get a quantity surveyor to estimate building costs.

I would also like to add that if you have to ask these questions you should seriously reconsider if developing is a good option for you at this stage. A lot of novice developers lose money.

Regards
Alistair

Rip,

I can help you on this if it is in Victoria, but I am not completely sure what you are asking. If it is, can you build townhouses without your neighbours permission, the answer is yes, as long as the proposed development complies with the local planning laws.

Regards
Alistair

Property Trader,

If you have done what you say it is certainly impressive, but your post is not really in the spirit of this forum (as far as I understand it)if you are not willing to share at least some details.

You and your friend (you actually sound a bit like Peter Spann) are not the only people who do no money down deals. Just Steve…[Read more]

Property Trader, where did you get your time machine from?

Nick,

You should contact Consumer Affairs in your State and get some advice from them.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Nico,

My brother has had some experience with writing loans for overseas clients. He is in Melbourne also. If you would like to speak to him PM me your contact details and I’ll get him to call you.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Kate,

I haven’t actually ever done a wrap deal, but I did go to a seminar last year held by a lawyer called Lewis O’Brien, about the legal issues regarding wraps. Steve McKnight actually recommended the seminar on here. He is probably worth contacting regarding contracts etc. His contact details are:

Lewis O’Brien
Commercial Lawyer
4/310…[Read more]

Hi Bonnie,

I’m happy to help you where I can, so feel free to email me. The <5K figure was an estimate on concept drawings only by the way. The whole lot will cost a fair bit more.

Regards
Alistair

Anion,

You may be able to purchase plans for this price (although I have no idea where), but they would most definately not be suitable if a town planning permit is required. They would also make it far less likely for you to get a permit, not to mention the end product would probably be less saleable.

Thanks for the reply Felicity. I will ask my accountant. I just thought seemings as you were discussing this type of transaction you would know.

Offering to fund the deposit seems like an interesting alternative to a wrap, but you wouldn’t want to have to pay full CGT until you had received the whole amount.

Regards
Alistair

Felicity,

I am interested to know, if you sell a property and leave 20% in as vendor finance, do you have to pay CGT immediately, or is it deferred as with a wrap.

Regards
Alistair

Hi Bonnie,

I’m not sure what state you’re in, but I’ll tell you what your steps woulkd be if you are in Victoria. First you need to find a good architect or draftperson. This is incredibly important, more important than the price they charge(within reason) as you will not get a permit for a poorly designed development.

The designer will come up…[Read more]

I’m almost embarrassed to add a post here. I am 32 and have only my PPOR (Val 460K, owe 300K) and 100K in shares.

I should add though that I have also been investing quite heavily in my business for a few years now, by way of forgoing wages and dividends. This has placed me in a position where I have a strong and growing income (though not…[Read more]

Hi Bonnie,

Many of them charge a % of the cost of the development, particularly the really good ones. Before anybody can give you a reasonable estimate you need to state what the purpose of the plans are, does there first need to be a development application, you need specific plans for this, are you after everything including the building…[Read more]

I preferred just having Westfield Holdings, but I have no plans to sell any of my shares. So I agree with you that it is a very good company and investment.

What I was wanting to point out is that it is now one entity, where as it used to be 3 (it was referred to above as “trusts”). It is also not a simple property trust, as it is heavily…[Read more]

I’m glad you all like Westfield, as I have a pretty large proportion of my net wealth in the company (Due to its continual appreciation). But I should point out that there are no longer seperate Westfield Trusts. Westfield Trust, Westfield America Trust and Westfield Holdings have all been stapled together and now trade as Westfield Group.

Not a…[Read more]

Hi Luke,

To be able to make an informed judgement on the potential for rezoning of land you really need to read and understand information from a number of sources. Generally local and state Government authorities will have written policies with regard to future urban growth. An example in Victoria is Melbourne 20/30. If you read and understand…[Read more]

Hi Patrick,

I don’t know what its like in otherb states, but in Victoria there is a huge and growing amount of work for town planning solicitors.

Regards
Alistair