Thinking about subdividing an I.P and wondering if anybody can share some contacts on how to go too or who to talk too to get the process started? Are there any "pitfalls/Gotcha's" I need to be aware of before starting this process?
I think @lixas4 or @Westminster might have for Melbourne. First point of contact would be a private Town Planner, ask around a few and get quotes and see the price differences, also see how knowledgeable to person seems when talking to them. Gotcha's would be time frame, it seems to take a long time to subdivide, especially for a first timer. My first sub-division/build took about 4 years, alot of bad advice etc during that time. Second subdivision issues with council and town planners has drawn the process out to about 15months atm, 3months to get a Pre-DA meeting with council, a further 6 months for them to pick up the DA and throw a bunch of weird things at me (saying I need to demolish a garden shed to get the sub-division passed). Costs; You can have infrastucture costs if you need to upgrade transformers, sewer works, water works, storm water retention. can be up to or more than 100k in some instances. S94 or some sort of public open space fund that you will have to pay to council for each lot created, Maitland council is 8k, Makcay was 28k, so this can vary wildly.
I'd say the biggest pitfall is checking whether its worth the time, risk and effort. Even if its a property you already own, it doesn't automatically follow that its worth doing yourself. You need to be very realistic with your end values and costs involved.
Need to do a BOE feaso first to determine if it's worth it to go ahead. Returns have to be commensurate with risks.
Allow lots of time to get through council, then allow some more Consider tax implications. Ensure it is worth it for your end result with realistic end values. Good luck!
