Best websites for small to mid-sized property developers

What have you found to be the best websites for learning about how to be a small to mid-sized property developer?

I have some knowledge in the property and investing space, but I'm looking for trustworthy sources from professionals. So perhaps blogs from professionals, etc. I'm particularly interested in learning about the finance side of things.

There are a lot out there so I was wondering what everyone has found to be the most informative and reliable, without being too technical?

 

At a higher level there are 3 things to consider when it comes to developing and that's:

1. DA/construction
2. Tax
3. Lending

The DA/construction is what can you build on a site - every state and LGA will have their own rules and regulations so research DA and CDC guides and understand what is possible on a site. Ultimately you will need to engage an Architect or Town Planner to assist you. If you have some spare time look at similar developments in the areas you are looking - go the council websites and you can download the DA files. You can see how DA's have been approved and reasons why they have been declined.

Tax - tax implications are crucial as this will eat into you net profit position. There are a lot of things to consider, such as margin scheme, GST, purchasing entities, etc. Paul from here has done a guide and it is very informative.

Lending - it is important to understand what you are able to do and also what sort of a deposit position you will require for different development types, (2 unit, 3 unit, etc).

This is a high level guide on the finance side of things:

Development Finance Guide

 

Hmm good question. I've learned a lot through reading around various sources.

In terms of most important:

- Funding - this will determine your affordability, what you can look for, etc. Development is capital intensive, and access to capital is a good risk mitigation tool too.

- Acquiring - I rely on council websites, planning authorities, and a lot of going through individual case studies. The team help too (architects, etc) to fill in gaps. Overall though, relying on service professionals to find you sites is tricky in this market - there'll be lots and lots of buyers if this is the method of acquisition.

- Feasability - understanding of costs and feasibilities is important to working out what to buy and how affordable it is. It's also a method to compare apples with apples as best as possible.

Overall, you learn most by doing and solving the myriad of problems that come to light through the process.

 

In all seriousness though, I learned nearly everything I know from a combination of reading the forums religiously, and from a lot of contacts I got directly or indirectly from here.

Priceless resource really.

Apart from that, I often advise that there is a lot to be gained from just going out there and getting practical property experience on the ground.

 

Mecone Mosaic

Free mapping service, shows the size of the block, lot/DP, you can measure lengths and areas etc. Best of all you can apply overlays (left hand side) such as zoning, flood overlay, bushfire risk, heritage etc. Very useful tool.

 

Do you have the tax guide done by Paul handy by any chance or point me to where i can find it please?

 

Here it's (thanks to Paul)
https://www.propertychat.com.au/community/attachments/developer-toolkit-zip.10434/