Choosing The Right Multi-Unit Development Builder For Your Project
Choosing the right builder for your multi-unit development project.
Choosing the right multi-unit development builder for your project is essential for making the most out of your property development. To ensure you make the right decision to maximise your profit, you’re going to have to do your research.
What you’re looking for:
Relevant Experience
Before you start asking builders for quotes, narrow your list. You’ll want to choose a builder, or better yet, a design and construct team that are specialised in multi-unit development. Building a one-off custom home or a volume home is very different to managing the complexities of constructing multiple dwellings on one lot. Property development projects involve a lot more guidelines and restrictions. Your builder should have proven experience in successful multi-unit builds, ideally with the type of project you’re looking to embark on. That could be a dual occupancy, duplex, triplex, apartment or multi unit build.
Registered and Insured
Do your due diligence and check your builder is registered, and has the appropriate levels of insurance in place. In Victoria, you can also look up the Practitioner Disciplinary Register on the Victorian Building Authority website.
If your builder is also registered as a Master Builder (State specific), you’ll have further peace of mind that they have quality and reputation front of mind.
Transparency
The relationship with your property development builder is built on a trust and communication. Do not be afraid to ask questions. A quality design and construct team will listen to you, be able to answer all of your queries, and will encourage open communication. If your builder doesn’t take the time to answer your questions about your potential property development project at the start, it doesn’t bid well for future communication.
Communication should be open, and you should feel confident in your builder’s interests to optimise the build process. It helps to have communication styles that are in sync, as it’s likely you’ll be dealing with your design and construct team for 12 -18 months as they build your duplex / dual occupancy / townhouse or multi-unit site.
Ask who you’ll be dealing with on a day to day basis and make sure you get to speak with this person, and not just a sales team. At delcon our Directors are hands-on, and our Melbourne clients deal with the same team from concept to completion.
Feasibility
After you’ve narrowed your list of specialist multi-unit development builders, ask for a formal quote or project feasibility assessment for your property development project.
You should aim to get a few quotes, and the ones in the middle will usually tell you the final price you should expect to pay. Be mindful of quotes that are too cheap, and be sure to read the contracts properly for a list of inclusions and exclusions to ensure you’re comparing like with like. Keep in mind that the cheapest price isn’t necessarily the best price.
Excellent Referrals
Referrals will ideally come from multiple sources such as past clients and some subcontractors. Past clients will often be very happy to talk to you. If they had a great experience, they’ll want to sing their builders praises and tell you all about their investment success, or their gorgeous new home. Conversely, if their experience was painful they’ll want to warn you from making a similar mistake.
You could also ask to visit any sites that are in progress and speak with subcontractors to get an idea of how the build is going. If there has been any major problems, that might bring up some red flags.
Turn-Key Service
With a property development project, the process of turning one dwelling into multiple is complex. A quality design and construct team will be able to manage this entire process for you. A Turn-Key (also known as TurnKey or Turn Key) service is the holistic solution. Turn-Key is the whole package and includes preliminary designs, planning permit applications, design revisions if required by council, a planning permit, building engineering, a building permit, and full construction management.
Turn-Key means that the entire multi-unit development process is in the hands of your builder, with very little for you to worry about. This is perfect if you’ve chosen the right design and construct team, one with relevant experience and proven success. You project (and profit) will benefit greatly from this level of knowledge and experience.
Additional Information
There is some great and helpful information on the Consumer Affairs Victora website located at the following link: https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/building-and-renovating
It is a builder’s obligation to refer you to this website before commencing a building project or signing of a contract.
To read more about the process of getting started, subscribe to our newsletter and get our FREE PDF, ‘A Step By Step Guide To Your Multi-Unit Development Project’.
If you’re considering a multi-unit development project in Melbourne, get started today and give delcon a call now.