Developers when did you start?

Well said. I guess when you put it that way makes alot more sense

 

For me, any development would have to make me more than I could make on a work contract of the same duration. Otherwise why would I bother? Could do it on roughly equal calculated profit just for the experience of doing something different. Plenty of people lose money on developments though, so plenty of dd and contacts required.

 

@ellejay definitely no expert here but can I suggest that the profit/gains should be commensurate with the risks involved. If you base the profits on lets say your contract income then it may seem great that you have replaced the income with a development but that may not be accurately taking the risk into account. The risk of you working to get the profit from your contract Vs the risk of doing a development to get that same profit may be miles apart. Also honestly, I hear people say "its worth to do it just for the experience mostly" etc...it's really, really not imho. There are so many risks along the way which really makes it in my view crazy to go into it if you can't project a good return on all costs from the beginning. I would hate to see you lose money on a stressful project just for the experience....

 

True, you're right. The numbers would need to make sense from the beginning. As you say, good numbers could easily turn bad so there has to be enough fat in there.

 

@Leo2413 @Blacky thanks for the down and dirty on the stress of a development. You've just made me want to do one even more now because it sounds hard

 

All of the above.

Not everything is equal, its very much depend on the size of the project as to how much cash you require of course.

You could start with a very simple development ie land and house package, easy and simple or you could buy a house where you can develop the rear and renovate the front, sell front house off and use the proceeds to build at rear.

This could be a very cost effective experience where very little cash injection is required. I think also good way to start small, baby steps and grow from here.

Another strategy which can require very little cash is buy the development site and put together approved DA, plans and permits and sell on to a builder, this requires local knowledge in terms of what product is required, and how to utilise this strategy so you can actually make a profit and on sell it. This is very handy one when you have actually some experience under your belt.

I started around 2013 and just sold my fifth development which was a DA with approved plans and permits to a builder. Nice and easy and quick profits of 30% without building. Mix it with some building/developments and you could make a nice tidy income.

MTR

 

@MTR is that 30% of all costs eg land + interest + plans + DA fees ?

You've done really well on the whole.

btw your new avatar scares the hell outta me..!!

 

LOL. not all babies are cute...

Yes after all costs 30% profit, the land has increased significantly from when I purchased it 12 months ago and the DA cost me around $21,000 not huge in the scheme of things.

The profit would have been greater if I had built as end values have also continued to soar, this one was a very hard decision to make, went with my gut.

MTR

 

You did well regardless. Your keeping risk at the forefront of your mind and living to fight another day for more profits. Nice one.

Much better avatar now! That baby was just too much for me to handle lol

 

I don't take any of the comments that way. Some of our more experienced developers could say "don't" to the newbies or they could say "hey, watch out for...". I like the "hey, watch out for..." posts because I would rather learn from someone else's mistakes than make them myself.

I am still working on my first development which was going to be 2 townhouses but turned into one because of council. I'm not upset now because of the market downturn and changes to finance. Besides, I am using it as a learning experience, so one is quite enough to handle for now. I must say that members of this forum have been a huge help in getting this far.

 

Yeh I definitely agree as long as its constructive feedback/criticism then its all good. Goodluck with your development !

 

Really, that is a shame.

I was a newbie developer 3 years ago. There is a massive difference from those advising newbies to be cautious, managing risk and strategies to assist from those that are just feeding negativity with no evidence to support this.

I know some on PC actually wanted me to fail they even character assassinated and destroyed one of my development posts. I even heard reports that they gloated that my last development project with 40% profit was lemon and I would lose money. All I can say is bless their cotton socks.... I will not harbour resentment and wish them well.

Germans call it
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortune of others. Borrowed from German into English and several other languages, it is a feeling of joy that comes from seeing or hearing about another person's troubles or failures. It is similar in meaning to the English term "gloating", an expression of pleasure or self-satisfaction at one's own success or another's failure.[1]

All I can say is just keep working at it and be persistent and learn from those who are actually making money, choose your networking buddies carefully and ignore the negativity and don't feed it.

MTR

 

@MTR The best, sweetest revenge is massive, massive success. Ohh it tastes so goooooooooooooooooood!

I've had all sorts of people in life wanting/wishing me to fail since I started this insane journey 16 years ago. They are all left wiping the dust off their faces as I rocket along.

 

Holy moly... you started 3 years go??!! Thanks MTR...now that's inspiration! Great advice

 

Start small and just keep going
All the best

 

Start small and just keep going
All the best