Hi All,
4-5 months ago I engaged a company called PnP – Property Subdivision Group based in Melbourne. They do everything from back yards to multi unit/apartment developments.
They offer 100% money back guarantee if the subdivision plans are not accepted by council. The company have been been quite easy to deal with and prompt with questions and replies. They have in house architects, possibly surveyors and a range of other professions. They have charged me around $21k for the subdivison plans and permits and everything up to 'ready to build stage' providing council approves. They also have a panel of 50 or so builders to choose from when it comes time to construction..
Is this a fair price for services? Should I have done it solo?
It is my first property and now property development (touch wood), naturally I didnt have a clue.
Thanks for any advice
Sash
Want it. Own it. Enjoy it. Achieve it.
Not sure if the price is reasonable, but given your lack of experience it sounds like getting professional assistance was the right move for you
Probably the key things to make sure of through their services are:
1. That it will make a significant profit after all expenses (including theirs) are taken into account
2. That you will be able to ask lots of questions along the way to learn how to do it yourself in the future.
I am subdividing a corner block in a regional city and the costs for my Town planner should come in under $10,000 total( Plans,council corrispondence etc) but i imagine the price would be heavily effected by location.I should see a 40% to 50% profit so the cost of a planner was well in the budget. I would not like to do this myself. Not yet anyway.
I should also add that a company like that should be advising you on the best way to maximise your profit taking into account the following:
1. Build cost
2. End sales value
3. Demand for different construction types in the area
4. Maximising the number of units allowed on the site
5. Profiling who the target purchaser would be. (i.e. retiree, young family, yuppie etc.) This will affect what you would build on the site based on the demographics of the area.Ok thanks. Yeah the profit if i can get approval is great potentially $100k + value after construction and would make both properties +cf.
Was just curious to see if i had been ripped a new one or not…
mattnz: Yes we have discused your 5 points pretty well. It's all up to council and the antichrist/bank.
Cheers
Hi Sasha.
I am in SA and that is only slightly more than we have paid to subdivide in the Onkaparinga Council area, so I think it was reasonable, especially if they were able to give expert advice that was useful as others have indicated.
G
Sasha,
Thanks for the post. Could you please post more details of PnP as Google couldn’t find them
ThanksDoes anyone know of any town planners in queensland that offer a similar deal, get council approved and I pay or if I don't get approved then I don't pay???
Chiz – Type 'property subdivision group' in google. What did you want to know about them??
Sasha,
Still can’t find them (dang – I’m having a bad day).
What is their web site please?
(I just thought they sounded useful and might use them one day)
Thanks,
I think this might be the company:
http://www.propertysubdivision.com.au/index.html
Quote from their website:
“we also offer a 110% Money Back Guarantee that if we decide to take your project on”I’m in Mornington VIC and our costs going solo were around 15K. You’d expect to pay a premium when there is no risk i suppose. But it’s all about risk and return, sound like a good deal to me, get it approved or no payment. A nice safe way to learn.
The project is far from complete but so far I'd advise that if you dont have knowledge in this field; the people were easy to deal with and were helpful with questions along the way. I will keep people updated especially when it comes to the the verdict and money back guarantee (hopefully not touch wood).
Sash.
Want it. Own it. Enjoy it. Achieve it.
Sash,
How have you found Property Subdivision Group now that a few months has passed? I’m also talking with them (Robert Lancaster) about a 2 block subdivision project in Melbourne (leave existing house on front of block, and getting Town Planning, Building approval and Subdivision permit for new house at rear).
I have found them to be extremely knowledgeable and have full confidence that would do a good job.
However, my big concern is that their basic fee of $20,000 excludes all external costs like Land surveyor, Landscape architect, Engineers, energy rater, council fees, etc. A comparable quote from a local company in my suburb is about $9,000. That is a massive premium to pay for a guarantee that it will be approved.
Adam,
Your $15K costs of going solo – was this just for drafting/architect fees or did this include all external/additional fees too?
I’m budgeting about $13K for extras like those I listed about – does this seem right?
Scott.
Hi Sasha and others
I have been interested in utilising the services of PNP to subdivide a small block to learn from them.
I am already a Project Manager but in a different discipline to building/planning. I am very interested to hear how anyone has fared with them.
It seems they are based in the Melbourne peninsula so am interested mostly in whether their experitse is regional, I want to subdivide in the northern suburbs.
Thank you
Hi Sasha,
Can you please provide an update on this post? We are in the initial phases of talking with PNP about our subdivision plans. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Evelyn.
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the comments. As I said all dealings with them so far have been great. I can't complain.
I was happy to pay the premium back then as my knowledge was next to nothing. I may not use them again as I could do it cheaper myself. It is however very pleasant knowing that someone else is taking care of it. Any questions are replied to promptly and more than regular updates are given.
I am very close now. It is in the final stage, everything has been completed with no objections so far and is awaiting council decision. It could be any day now.
I think the next stage will be interesting as they told me they 'make there money in the build'. I have spoken to a few people about construction costs so I'll see what they have to offer.
Did they mention anything else about doing further deals with them and any other benifits?
Concluding, I did rush into it because I wanted to develop as soon as possible. It has been an easy experience so far. If you lack knowledge and time, go ahead.
P.S did you mention you were referred?
Im new to this and hav a question about subdivision… My parent own a large block that can be subdivided and would i like to know if it has to be subdivided to be able to build another house on the land.
I believe there are 2 answers to your question.
1) If it the second dwelling was going to still remain part of the inital property, eg. family to live in then probably not.
2) If you wanted to seperate the two properties onto seperate titles to increase value in gaining another property for resale or rental.
Hopefully that kind of answers your question.
Hi Everyone, this is my first post on this site, and need some help regarding subdivision. I am looking at a property in Oak Flats NSW. The property is on 700m2 of land, and is suitable for subdivision (Dual Occupancy). I want to keep the front house and then create a new lot at the rear. I would rather spend money on the DA for subdivision, create the new lot and sell the rear land maybe with architect drawings for the new villa but have been advised by a surveyor that I may need to have to submit a DA for the build of the house as well ? Does this sound right ? Can i just involve a Surveyor to chart the subdivision, and get a draftsperson to draw up house design ? Any advice ?
Thanks
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