FAQs

This is the million dollar question that everyone has on their lips in W.A

As the title of your property can affect your right of use, it is important to understand the differences of each type of subdivision and which category your property falls into in the R-Codes.

Subdividing in Western Australia for the typical home owner will fall under 1 of 2 main types of subdivision; Survey Strata Subdivision (or) Green Title Subdivision.

The first and most important question to be answered is “Can I Subdivide My Land…”
The answer to this question will come down to a variety of things;

1. What is my area zoning (R-Code)?
2. Do I have the required land area in the new lots I wish to create?
3. Have I got the right frontage for a side by side subdivision?
4. Have I got the right clearance between the house and fence for a rear lot subdivision?
5. Have I considered the total costs of property subdivision?

Most people are completely unaware of the many stages in the subdivision process and the costs that come with dealing with these stages! Our goal is to teach you the process, so you can gain experience in Land Development.

Companies who offer project management who are not practicing land surveying companies generally operate on lump sum contracts in which they co-ordinate the contractors for you and manage the subdivision process on your behalf. This means you will foot a bigger bill, than if you project managed your own subdivision.

Use a Land Surveyor

Overpriced Project Management Companies are 100% reliant on surveyors to undertake the complex tasks during the subdivision. It makes sense to always use a Land Surveying company to manage your subdivision as you are dealing direct with the professionals who sign off on your final subdivision plan prior to it being lodged at Landgate. With you managing the other trades yourself for fencing, plumbing, electrical and demolition, you are sure to make significant savings across the project.

This question can be like asking “how long is a ball of string” …. Every subdivision has a different cost associated with it!

Our experience has taught us that, answering this question usually gets determined by one of the following 3 things:

1. What type of company you are using, is it a Land Surveying company or Project Management Company
2. Has the company a Fixed Price Contract (BEWARE)
3. If you are the Project Manager, who is advising you on what you need to do

Two Types of Subdivision

Have you ever noticed that when you are driving through your local area you typically see 2 different types of subdivision! One property will have perfectly compacted land with new fences and retaining walls installed ready to build on. We call this “manicuring the lots”. The 2nd property will have sand
on the ground at different levels, be undesirable to look at, yet it is fully completed with titles issued. We like to call this “rough & ready subdivision”. This will be cheaper and quicker to complete!

Why?

So what is the difference between these 2 and why has one person done it one way and the other person a different way?

Well basically the only difference is, one developer has decided to do more
than the other with the belief that by doing the additional siteworks it will increase the chances of a quick sale.

The bottom lines is this! If you want to spend all your money doing this additional work, then that is your choice. You may very well spend an additional $35,000 on earthworks and retaining whereas the other developer has done none of these things and has still sold each lot in the same timeframe.

Beware

Remember, some companies are invested in you spending more money! If they are project managing the construction of the subdivision, they are more than likely getting a back hander from the company doing the work. This is how all builders work with margins and some land development
companies use the same strategies.

Explore Your Options

Keep in mind that everything you do is going to cost money. Does it not make sense to look at strategies to do less work on your own subdivision? If there was a way not to do earthworks that was going to cost you $20,000, would you not explore this option?

In most cases the typical subdivision can be completed by doing a small amount of work and a lot of the time you will not need to do earthworks as mentioned above.

Engage a Consultant

The key to keeping your costs down is by engaging a reliable subdivision consultant you can trust and who is not invested in anything but trying to get you the best possible outcome by saving you money.

At MySubdivision we look at ways of doing less which leads to you spending less. We have experience in all areas doing subdivision. This experience has allowed us to save our clients hundreds of thousands of $$ over the years.