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

December 19, 2011 - 10:00 pm

Also this topic could be of use-

https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/property-investing/value-adding/4343000

Cheers,
Ashley Stacey

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

December 14, 2011 - 5:32 am

Hi Drysdale,

In my experience people in the development industry work all over Melbourne (including Geelong). For example I’ve done projects from Geelong to Wodonga to over in Bairnsdale. It’s always worth calling around and seeing how much everyone will charge. I’ve seen some places significantly raise the price because of the “hassle” of transportation, but a tank of fuel and a couple of hours really isn’t that much of an inconvenience in my opinion.

Do your research, call around and you’ll get a good result.

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

December 5, 2011 - 11:32 am

Hi Maternic,

To reiterate the above, first step is to look at your zoning and talk to a town planner. Free property zoning reports are available here:

http://services.land.vic.gov.au/landchannel/jsp/map/PlanningMapsIntro.jsp

Once you’ve typed in your address you can hit “get report” in the top left where you can download a simplified structure of the zoning regulations in your area.

For the costings, anyone in the development industry should be able to give you a rough idea of how much to expect. Obviously it varies from one project to the next, but it is worth having a realistic budget with some room for additional costs that may crop up.

After you know that it is possible for your property to develop, then you will have to get an initial site survey done to show existing conditions from which the subdivision draft can then be drawn from. If you (or anyone else reading this) has any queries I’m always available to answer queries or if I can’t refer you to the right person.

Hope this helps!

Ashley

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

November 15, 2011 - 9:00 am

Hi Sash,

Subdivision on your own can be tough, so finding a company that does everything from beginning to end was definitely a good move so you had a fixed price. It seems like they have a very comprehensive service, can you post up the costs broken down?

The surveying / town planning / engineering / drafting part of a 2-lot subdivision should be around the $14k mark beginning to end, but this does depend on the people you engage and the quality of work you’re paying for. Council fees are fairly consistent across the board, so it all comes down to what companies you engage in your project.

Hands-on involvement does save money, but you need to factor in the amount of time you’re willing to invest into the project and consider if it really is worth it. In the overall scheme of things, a few thousand extra to save you the hassle isn’t a big chunk of the potential returns from the subdivision.

Cheers,
Ashley Stacey

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

November 15, 2011 - 8:48 am

Hi Tommy Tran,

What area are you looking to subdivide in?

In developments it is wise to contact a land surveyor first. They will be able to give you a realistic idea of the fees associated in your area along with the steps involved in the subdivision process. Not to advertise, but for example I send out a flowchart via email to clients showing the whole process and what’s involved in it.

If you’re after a town planner specifically I recommend speaking to Breece on here. He is great for advice on planning queries you might have.

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

November 9, 2011 - 11:51 pm

Property scout can you please pm me the company you ended up investing through?

Cheers,
Ashley

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

November 2, 2011 - 6:04 am

Hey Everyone,

My fiance’ and I are looking around for our first IP. Stumbled across this thread today and it does look like a good idea. We’re looking for a positively geared property and you can’t go past some of these places offering ~18-20% ROI.

I’m looking at places around the 50k mark, looks like most agents want 20% deposit but how did you all go getting the other 80%? Would it be wiser to offer a ~30% deposit?

Would these huge returns be accurate with the higher vacancy rates?

Will be thoroughly researching this, and if it turns out to be a wise investment will be looking to buy early next year.

Cheers,
Ash Stacey

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

October 14, 2011 - 8:19 am

Hi Tigermiger,

As above, it is always worth looking at what zoning the property is in, and which restrictions apply. For my first point of call I always check out land.vic.gov.au in the “Planning Maps Online” section. On this website you can also do a title search, where you can look at any covenants. I think this website is pretty pricey for this, but most surveyors (for example) have access to the acsv website where we get comprehensive title packages for a good price.

Also have a chat to a town planner (Breece on here is very helpful), and look at other subdivisions in the immediate area. Draftsmen, town planners and architects can just about work with any size of block to get your project happening.

Hope this helps! I’m always happy to answer any questions on the surveying / subdivision side of things if you have any

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

October 14, 2011 - 8:11 am

Hi Hari,

What exactly are you looking at doing reno-wise? Could help you out with some tradie contacts if you’re looking at extending etc.

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

September 19, 2011 - 1:19 am

Hi Mav,

In terms of obtaining a planning permit, you’re probably best shopping around for a Surveyor / Draftsperson combination rather than doing it separately. Would be saving your time and money whilst also ensuring thorough knowledge of the project between all parties. In my experience for a planning permit it wouldn’t really matter if you went Architect or Draftsperson, but I agree with Wayne above that it would be a significantly lower fee.

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 27, 2011 - 12:48 pm

Hi Hrub,

In response to your queries I would suggest looking at the land.vic.gov site and under the zoning section you can see what regulations may apply to your property. Things can change from one side of the street to another, so always worth looking at this.

In terms of the subdivision process the first step is to apply for your permits (planning and building) and get the necessary surveys undertaken. After this the subdivision part starts and the initial plans will be drawn up by your surveyor and lodged. In this step this is normally where building begins and the subdivision plans can be amended to match in exactly with the new dwellings.

If you would like any more information on the process I have an excel spreadsheet with the whole process, although not sure how to post it up here!

Kindest Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 27, 2011 - 12:42 pm

Hi Minidaz1,

As the others in the thread have suggested it is worth talking to a land surveyor to get the process going. Firstly however I would suggest checking the land.vic.gov site and seeing what zoning your property is in, and if there are any regulations that may affect you.

From here you can get the surveys undertaken to apply for your permits and get the process underway.

If you like I can send you some information in a excel spreadsheet that has step-by-step the entire subdivision process

Cheers,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 25, 2011 - 9:33 am

Hi Reeeen,

It is always worth having a look at what zoning the house is in, and then look at the guidelines that apply to that zone re: subdivision. The zoning can change from one side of the street to another.

Any surveyor or town planner can look this up for you at no cost – if you send me the address I’m happy to get the info for you

From here you can start applying for your planning and building permits. This is where you’ll need to go on the greater dandenong council website ( http://www.greaterdandenong.com/Documents.asp?ID=2323&Title=Forms ) and get all the necessary forms to fill out. I’m not sure if they have a checklist but again any surveyor can help you with what is required.

Then you can get a plan of subdivision drawn up and submitted to the titles office. This will be amended to suit the buildings that are on site, as brickies will never be millimeter perfect.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell from the planning perspective of things. Of course if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Kindest Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 22, 2011 - 8:18 am

Hi Senajav,

Interesting that you say that as recently I have noticed a significant rise in the amount of work out that way. People buying large blocks and building factories and also houses going up. It looks like there is a rise but I haven’t been looking at property prices in the area so not too sure what’s going on there.

Cheers,
Ashley

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

August 20, 2011 - 8:05 am

Hi JR,

To repeat the guys above initially yes you will need your permits. Survey-wise, what is required is called a ‘Feature and Level Survey’ which involves locating all features on the subject site such as buildings, trees, paths, retaining walls, fences, everything! Overlooking properties are shown with window heights, ridge/gutter heights, significant trees, buildings etc. Also the street information and any services are shown.

In most instances with subdivision council will require a ‘Site Analysis’. This is simply where every property within a 50-100m radius is also shown on the plan with setbacks from the street. This varies council to council and your surveyor can specify exact details. I have an example of this type of survey on my website which is a free download: http://www.staceysurveying.com.au/services (scroll down a bit and there’s a link).

After this you can get your surveyor to start the subdivision process, this means undertaking a re-establishment of title survey (showing the relation of fences to title) and submitting that to the titles office. An initial plan of subdivision will also be drawn up and sent in. From here it’s just a matter of building the new house.

I hope this could be of some help to you.

Kindest Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 18, 2011 - 10:31 am

Hi Codes,

My first piece of advice for people who come to me looking to subdivide is always talk to a town planner. This may be a council one or private company. Personally I’d steer towards the private town planners but everyone’s got different opinions!

Secondly call a surveyor and they can talk you through the process, show you all the necessary checklists and things that need to be undertaken on the survey side of things. From here the proposed subdivision can be processed and once you’ve got your necessary permits you can start building.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email.

Cheers,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 15, 2011 - 7:41 am

Hi Marcus,

For that information I charge clients a fee of $50. This includes:

Title History
Title Diagram (shows easements etc.)
Any relevant survey plans to your block
Any other information relating to the site that comes up with the search.

Cheers,
Ashley

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

August 14, 2011 - 12:18 pm

Hi,

Any surveyor can do a search of your property which will bring up any previous changes along with the current plan and any easements. A record of property information in the last 120 days will also come up in the search.

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

August 2, 2011 - 5:16 am

Hi mg,

Yes your description is correct. The process of subdivision can be arduous depending on the council you’re dealing with. I have come across several instances where people just decide to get the simple permits to build a residence in the rear of their block and rent out to family members, friends etc. If you want to sell off the rear block then it needs to be on a seperate title which is when subdivision needs to happen.

Regards,
Ashley Stacey

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

July 14, 2011 - 1:40 pm

Hi Jezfonz,

Firstly I would say look at what zoning your property is in, and go on your council’s website and download their information on planning. There should be pdf’s of the application for a planning permit process along with the forms.

After you are satisfied that you’ve done your research, I would recommend that you speak to a town planner. From here you can get a good idea of what you can do with your property development-wise and even start looking around at options for the new dwelling.

Your next point of call should be to speak to a land surveyor. The first step in all developments is to conduct what is called a ‘Feature and Level Survey’ where the existing conditions of the block are located. Overlooking properties, trees, ResCode information and all other significant features are shown on this plan. This is what you will need to submit to council in order to obtain your permit.

Upon approval, your surveyor can then draw up the plan of subdivision and then help you through the entire process.

I hope this was of some help!

Regards,
Ashley Stacey