All Topics / Help Needed! / Subdivision town planner cost

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Profile photo of NoobugawaNoobugawa
    Participant
    @noobugawa
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 16

    Hi all

    Just a question on subdivision costs. We’ve received quote of about $20k from an architect to do the following:

    1. Design of two townhouses.
    2. Documentation to secure a planning permit.
    3. Documentation to secure a building permit.

    Does that sound reasonable?

    • This topic was modified 9 years ago by Profile photo of Noobugawa Noobugawa.
    Profile photo of PimobpiPimobpi
    Participant
    @pimobpi
    Join Date: 2013
    Post Count: 60

    Hi Noobugawa,

    I have some experience with this. I have posted some forum questions too but no one has answered either of our questions yet. It’s a great site with fantastic members so I am sure that someone, in the know, will answer us within a week or so.
    I am answering your post, with my limited experience, but it may be sufficient.

    Short answer is “Yes”, that cost sounds reasonable.
    However, I have more details below that include some extra costs on top of your 1), 2), 3).

    My past quotes,
    1). Design of three townhouses &
    2). Documentation & submission of a planning permit application.
    $ 9,000. I write (APPLICATION) as I had no guarantees of approval. The Architect/Drafts-person should have a very good understanding of the council requirements/regulations to make the best application possible & to work with council with amendments if required. I suggest that you call the council and ask for a list of Architects/Draft-persons that they “mainly” deal with. The council cannot & will not give you information regarding which architects they “prefer” to approve & they will not order the list in any way for you. It’s just a list of “mainly” dealt with architects but that’s a good start to get a 2nd quote. Interview a few from that list (that are close to your development property) and pick the one that you feel more comfortable with.
    (I believe that steps 1 & 2 can be done for as little as $ 5,000 but I’d rather pay $9,000 to an Architect/Drafts-person that understands the customer’s needs & the needs of the council).

    3) $ 11,000 for engineering sounds reasonable so your total of $20,000 appears be at least average. :)
    I am thinking that getting a Building permit requires more work than just getting engineering plans drawn up & approved but I cannot give you details about this because I do not know. I would like to make it clear that there are even more costs to gaining Subdivision – see below.

    There may be a “Public Open Space Contribution fee”. (My council requires the fee paid for 3 or more dwellings but some councils may have the fee for a 2 lot subdivision). It may not be applicable to you but you should ask them for confirmation. There are some exceptions to paying this fee however exceptions are rare. I think it can be a fee from 2% to 5% of the cost of your land. It can be a considerable amount. Note: Individual councils use a different percentages.

    Then there are subdivision costs paid to the land surveyor for the creation & lodging to authorities all of the requirements. I have not reached the subdivision stage yet but I believe the costs could be from $5,000 to $10,000 for that part alone.

    There may be more costs than the ones that I have mentioned above – I am only answering from my limited experience so that you can still move forward until you get more accurate feedback.

    I hope that this information assists you. More happiness & wealth to you. Good luck.

    Cheers.

    Profile photo of NoobugawaNoobugawa
    Participant
    @noobugawa
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 16

    Thanks for your reply Pimobpi. I’ve spoken to a few builders and town planners last few days which pretty much confirmed what you said.

    Some town planners do two townhouses up to building permit stage for as little as $5-7k, most are between the $15k to $20k mark. So I think mine is little on the high side but I am happy to pay as the architect has done numerous townhouse and luxury homes around the area.

    Profile photo of NoobugawaNoobugawa
    Participant
    @noobugawa
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 16

    Actually engineering at stage 3 is additional $3500. So total is more like $23k to get the stage 3.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.