Existing Residential Home - Small Lot Subdivision; 1 into 2

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Old homes and communities can be ripe opportunities for renovations and subdivisions, as the land parcels are often large enough to be subdivided. 'Urban' infill is the cool town planning term, but these sites represent chances to create profit and create more in a community that's usually close to its facilities. This project was one of those. An original bungalow style three bed, one bath, eclectic home that had been built onto a few times over, so we knew it needed a renovation. It was positioned right at the front of a >1200m2 site and far enough to one side (+5 metres) to allow a driveway to access a newly created lot at the rear. A simple project in most ways, except for a gully that ran down its western boundary, which during council assessment was incorrectly quantified as a creek, triggering a string of environmental hoops to jump through. Approved in the end, the process took over 12 months when it should have only taken three, and the budget overrun was a similar ratio. Sadly, both these factors caused a loss market project after the delays overlapped with the start of the Global Credit Crisis. Reduced volume then reduced demand, which reduced prices in a non-existent credit market. You don’t get them right all the time. To complete the story, the project is now fully finished with a home on the rear lot. So, product outcome = right; profit and timing outcome = wrong.