Five Ways to Prepare for a Subdivision without Paying a Cent
The idea of subdividing your land is at once exciting and daunting, filled with potential yet fraught with uncertainty. If you are on the fence about whether or not to start a subdivision, here are four things you can do to help you decide without paying a cent.
At the end of this process, if you’re keen to develop your land in Wellington, Porirua, Levin or Kapiti Coast, give the subdivision specialists at Tararua Surveyors a call and we’ll meet you at the starting line.
1. Determine Your Development Goals
Property owners often have a vague notion that they’d like to develop their land, but the project never gets off the ground. Taking the time to really think about and narrow down your development goals is what sees a subdivision advance from ‘idea’ to ‘project’.
Ask yourself what you want to do and what you want to gain from a subdivision and consider what sort of project you’re willing, able and interested to take on. Fleshing out your dreams, goals and plans is an important first step in subdivisions and will give you a clear understanding of what you hope to gain.
2. Do your Research
Once you know what your land goals are, check out your local District Plan map. Find out what zone your property is in and look up the rules and regulations that dictate subdivisions where you live. Find out if there are any restrictions or limitations that can affect your plans.
Follow up your research by calling your local Council for free advice and further information on what is allowed on your site and what consents might be needed. Starting a subdivision by undertaking your own research means you will be informed, empowered and involved from the outset.
3. Talk to your Neighbours
The benefits of talking to your neighbours before beginning any subdivision work are two-fold. First, you can find out if anyone else in your community, and therefore in the same zone as you, has subdivided a section. You can hear what their process was like and learn from their experience.
Second, by speaking to neighbours from the start, you’re more likely to have a positive relationship if you end up needing to negotiate on things that affect them, like boundary adjustments or connecting drains. People don’t like to be blindsided, so informing them of your plans before the project begins is a great way to start off on a friendly note.
4. Estimate the Project Cost
Now that you’ve started to narrow down the ins and out of subdividing your land, you can calculate a rough estimate of what it will cost you. Of course, once you get professional land surveyors on board, they will give you a more accurate estimate, but by doing an initial cost estimate yourself, you can know what to expect and decide whether you’re ready to get professionals in to start putting the wheels in motion.
Talk to the Professionals You’ve discovered your goals, done preliminary research, spoken to your neighbours and looked at your calculations – now you’re keener than ever to get this subdivision started. It’s time to call in the professionals.
If you are in Wellington, Porirua, Levin or Kapiti Coast, the team of experienced land surveyors and planners at Tararua Land Surveyors will get your subdivision plans underway. Give us a call today.