[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 30, 2012 - 8:54 am

Hi Tony,

Welcome to propertyinvesting.com. Hope you find it as enlightening as we do here.

I can very highly recommend speaking to Breece http://www.hubplan.com.au/ or Christian http://brutalart.com.au/ who are very frequent users on the forum. A private town planner can give you a thorough feasibility assessment of your project to see what all your options are.

There are numerous professionals on this forum and a wealth of knowledge to be shared.

Good luck with the project!

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 27, 2012 - 2:47 am

Maybe send a pm to Aaron_C on the forums – he seems to like the inner-city projects so I’m sure can shed some good knowledge on Carlton.

Cheers

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 26, 2012 - 3:35 pm

Also have caught the travel bug Jaimie- but no-where near 60!

I love motorsports, both competing and spectating, and working on the track car. Also as I’m a but of a geek I enjoy reading articles on development of land to grow my knowledge out of surveying and into planning, building etc. I probably spend way too much time in front of the computer too!

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 16, 2012 - 10:52 am

I knew it was for real!

Oh well next time I’ll provide the credit card details haha.

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 16, 2012 - 9:22 am

As in for development / subdivision feasibility?

If so I’d very much recommend speaking with a planner / surveyor rather than using software to work it out.

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 16, 2012 - 5:57 am

Hi Figuringitout,

Subdivision is a relatively straight forward process, it’s a matter of following the steps involved. I’ve uploaded a subdivision flowchart to my web page (link in signature) which I think would be a good starting point for yourself as it is based on Maroondah and Yarra Ranges Councils.

First you’ll need an assessment of the site which many professionals can help you with (eg. Town Planners, Surveyors etc.). This is where the feasibility of the subdivision is assessed before you start spending the dollars.

From here there are several options of which stage in the subdivision you can go to. For example you can just get the planning permit and sell without subdividing (as the permit has value), you can split the block into the two titles and sell the new lot at the rear or alternatively go the whole way and build. Maroondah council heavily encourages at least a building envelope is designed to lodge with DA. Strictly it isn’t 100% necessary but will save you much hassle.

Firstly in all subdivisions a Feature and Level Survey with Site Analysis (or Neighborhood Description) needs to be undertaken to show existing conditions and is what is used in permit applications. Whoever is designing anything in the backyard, such as the subdivision extents, building envelope or complete dwelling will use this survey to work off.

Once you have DA the subdivision is designed and a Title Re-Establishment Survey is undertaken. A surveyor will lodge all necessary forms and liase with council until the point where you’ve got the two titles in your hands and ready to sell or develop.

If you like feel free to send an email and I can give you some more information.

Regards,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 11, 2012 - 4:52 am

Hi,

Welcome to the forum, we hope you find it useful here!

For financial queries there’s plenty of people on here who can help out, I can recommend Aaron_C off the top of my head.

The first questions I’d be asking though with subdivisions is the feasibility of the project. Eg. Where is it located? How much area have you got to work with? Are there any overlays? What is the zoning etc.?

There’s a couple of town planners on here who can provide detailed feasibility studies on developments at a nominal cost. As a surveyor I can give a simple idea of the feasibility and council fees involved, although am pretty useless when it comes to building costs!

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 11, 2012 - 4:45 am

Hi,

Probably doesn’t answer your question exactly, but on our plans of subdivision we must define the land slope by the following:

For the purposes of subregulation (1)(a)-

(a) level land means land where slopes do not exceed 3 degrees; and

(b) undulating land means land where slopes vary between 3-10 degrees; and

(c) steep land means land where slopes vary between 10-15 degrees; and

(d) mountainous land means land where slopes exceed 15 degrees.

This defines 0 degrees as being flat and then work either side of that.

Doing a bit of trigonometry on your block with ~ 1m drop over 28m. Angle = tan^(-1) x (1/28) = 2.045 degrees.
So actually by definition you’re on “level land”.

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 6, 2012 - 7:19 am

I’m in-between work cars at the moment, just sold my Hilux (’95 Model).

Still have the weekender though – 95 Nissan Skyline R33 GTR. It’s a hobby of mine to work on it and take it to track days on weekends to let off some steam. Have come close to selling it a few times the past few years but couldn’t bare to see it go (also no, I’m not one of those ACA hoons – leave the shenanigans to the track!)

Currently in the market for a newer crew-cab ute, preferably 4×4 and dual fuel. If anyone has something with good towing capacity (can tow the skyline on a tandem trailer) feel free to shoot me a pm

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 6, 2012 - 7:07 am

Hi Kris,

For building strategies I would suggest speaking to a private town planner in your local area. Surveyors more-so deal with the subdivision side of things as opposed to the building side. Obviously we can help you out with the various steps in the process and point you in the right direction if it is something out of our expertise, but are unable to quote you on costs of a unit for example.

I’m sure there will be some interesting articles in the blog section of this forum – see lots of articles popping up about the Gold Coast / QLD. I’m in Victoria so can’t help you too much with the market there!

_____________________________________

Keiko, in response to your last post I find many surveyors will just throw a number at you without explaining what’s behind it. My quotes are generally 2 pages long and list everything that is shown on the survey. From feedback I’ve gotten on them apparently this doesn’t happen very often in the industry. By cutting back on the details in the quote it would definitely leave the door open to shortcuts in the survey. Try to find someone that has the time of day for you and can guarantee a complete and thorough end product.

Good luck to both of you!

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 3, 2012 - 5:09 am

A really good list there Christian of the concepts of subdivision. It is interesting to read about the same topic from different professionals as a planners view on it will be different to a surveyor, a builder, developer, financial advisor etc.

I also find subdivision interesting in that the number of options the client has and also who is the first point of call in the process. I keep discussing this with other professionals in the industry and there isn’t a clear cut answer- you can see a planner, a surveyor, an architect, building designer and so on. Each with their different approaches on subdividing.

In response to the topic there is a flow chart on subdivision I posted up here for metropolitan Melbourne. This applies to the typical residential development. Obviously there are some tweaks here and there for your individual council or state. https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/value-adding/4343745

I think there needs to be a main sticky topic on the process as threads like this keep popping up here an there.

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

April 1, 2012 - 4:59 am

Thanks David – sounds like a good idea! Look forward to seeing it fully rolled out.

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 31, 2012 - 12:21 am

True, pc is definitely the way to go when it comes to computers. My mrs has a macbook pro (photographer)- but I struggle using it.

I must admit that the apple products I have are much less work-orientated than they should be. Can’t get enough of some apps!
I keep iTunes only for syncing, media player is the best hands down for playback. Thinking a changeover to Android in a year or so.

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 30, 2012 - 11:53 pm

iPhone app would be fantastic. I’m a member of an automotive forum and the iPhone compatible version makes it much easier.

Also maybe simplify it down to the iPad too. I find that I have to zoom in to press the buttons when using it on the iPad (maybe I need glasses!)

Cheers!

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 29, 2012 - 6:29 am

Sounds like everyone shares the same opinion on council planners!

But yes talk to a private town planner. Everyone recommends it for good reason- because they know what they’re doing!

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 29, 2012 - 6:25 am

Hi Martin,

There’s a few good planners on this website such as Breece, his website is here: http://www.hubplan.com.au/

I guess the first question that would help out the forumers on here is what state are you in?

For the financial advice there’s quite a few brokers and finance experts on this website- have a look in that section and maybe shoot some pm’s around.

Also if you jump on your council’s website they should have all the information you need for planning and subdivision. Most councils in Metropolitan Melbourne do anyway from my experience.

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 26, 2012 - 12:15 pm

Hi Anand,

You’ve probably already spoken to Breece a couple of times with your other project. For everyone else I would agree with Maurice (above) that he is very knowledgeable in planning and very helpful.

I’ve been doing a bit of work recently with an architect, Roshan – his website is here:
http://www.caxdesigns.com.au/house-building-design-melbourne.html

He has some great design ideas and I would recommend highly.

Check land.vic.gov for the zoning of the property (a free service). Council town planners are neither here nor there and will often give varying opinions as you most likely already know.

Regards,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 20, 2012 - 7:21 am

As long as you’re polite and completely honest about it there won’t be any issues at all.

I’ve had a few customers try to deceive me with promises of future work, saying how another surveyor gave a friend the same service for this much so many years ago etc. I’ve even had extremely rude demands to give people a lower price. In all these cases if the customer was polite and up front about it they would have got a good response from me.

In this day and age everyone wants the best price they can get, and businesses know that- there’s just correct avenues to go about it! Naming the company that gave you the better price is a good idea so it doesn’t sound dodgy. I like how wisepearl worded it- sounds good.

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 20, 2012 - 5:58 am

Gold Coast sounds good!

On a serious note what I’ve found from experience in the industry is that the cheapest survey may not necessarily be the best. Corners get cut with the dodgy cheap surveyors and you’ll no doubt have council requesting more information which then blows the budget out of the water. Look for a surveyor with good experience in the area and ask for some examples of their work. The more thorough their work the better!

The larger development companies do take advantage of the market and often hike up their prices above the recommended fees sent out by the governing body (in the cast of Vic it is the ACSV). Try to grab an updated copy of this to give you an idea of what to expect.

In a nutshell, good research will pay off and also get a detailed quote of what is included in the price.

All the best with your project!

Cheers,

[Stacey SurveyingParticipant@stacey-surveyingJoin Date: 2011Post Count: 138]

March 20, 2012 - 4:39 am

Hi Viral,

That would depend on council if they require detailed plans to be submitted with the permit application. I would expect that for a duplex development this would be fairly Australian-wide (as It’s the case with councils around my area). To confirm this I would give the council’s planner a call and see what they think about it.

I would also check their flexibility with design. As long as you’re not changing the setbacks from the road and the side boundary there wouldn’t be any issues with small design changes. For example if the original design was 2m off the side boundary and then you decided to put it on the title boundary this would cause issues.

Submitting an application for planning really isn’t all that difficult, it’s just a couple of forms. Many of the projects I undertake the clients rather submit this themselves. If your planner is charging you significantly for this I wouldn’t worry about him doing it. Call around a few draftspeople and see what prices they can give you on a design for the new dwelling and also ask for some examples of their work. I’m sure you’ll get significantly better than 13k.

Also to note $900 for your site survey is very cheap (which I assume was a basic Feature and Level). Some councils require a Site Analysis on top of this (sometimes called Neighborhood Description Plan). So there is the probability that additional works are needed before submission. Check this with your council also.

Cheers,