Our 8 lot development is now complete and we couldn’t be more proud of what we have achieved. We’ve taken an overgrown wasteland and turned it into eight warm and healthy homes for new families to enjoy. To see the full transformation of this development take a peek at our project page here. Now that the subdivision is complete, titles are issued and code of compliance approved, we have the luxury of looking back and reflecting on our journey across the last two years. So….. what we have learnt?
Know your numbers
Back cost (by this I mean review and update in real time) as you go to keep the anxiety away and your project on track. We have a cost to complete spreadsheet that was used throughout the development and formed the basis of my reporting for our lender. This shows your progression through the development in relation to your forecast. It gives you a live document to constantly refer back to. It gave me the ability to increase resources in areas where we were under budget and pull back the reins in others. Overall it gave me back control and piece of mind so I could sleep at night!
Development Finance
Navigating through the world of finance for a project this size was new territory for me, and I certainly gained a crash course in banking and second tier lending. I thought I knew a lot prior to this, but quickly found out I really had no idea in terms of the process and criteria lenders work to. You can lose A LOT of time and braincells relying on the wrong banker. We strongly recommend getting help from a mortgage broker that has experience in development lending. Jack Windler from the Mortgage Supply Co. was outstanding in getting us the funding we needed.
Having a reliable broker that understands your situation and can go to bat for you with lenders is a crucial part of any developers livelihood. Brokers talk the same language as the lenders and will provide all the information lenders need and leave out any of the information they don’t need to know. I learnt this the hard way, becoming an open book when first discussing projects with my bank. More information the better I thought, and told them all my projects on the go and all the grand plans I had. Having assumed they would think “this guy is on to it” whereas all they were thinking is that bad four letter word – RISK!
Project timeline management
The biggest takeaway for me is to maintain your critical path in a long development. It’s easy to loose sight of these milestones with so much activity on site. This refers to tasks that are essential to the project finishing on time. In other words miss these dates and your finish date is likely to blow out. One fact I like to remind myself is that NO ONE cares about your project as much as YOU do. This might sound harsh (not intended to) but it is the truth. Your subcontractors and associates all no doubt want the very best for you, and hopefully all have a great working relationship with you. I know I certainly have a fantastic group of subcontractors that really look after me.
However when it comes down to it, they are still getting paid regardless, so a week here or there of delays probably doesn’t lose them too much sleep. You are the one with the task of reporting to your client. You’re also the one responsible for the budget. And of course you are the one reporting to your lender and watching the interest tick over every month. So when it comes to managing that slippage in your schedule be strict of tasks that will have a direct impact on you meeting your targets, and hustle like crazy to keep your contractors on track.
Keep your paperwork in check
Don’t fall into the trap of working round the clock on site and neglecting the paperwork in the background, as this will surely come back to bite you. It’s a lot easier to throw man power at on site jobs like painting or fencing than it is processing your 224 notice with council or trying to get your titles issued by LINZ. Try not to procrastinate on getting your surveyors to lodge 223 with LINZ. Or delay getting as-built’s drawn up and design schedules completed so you can apply for your 224 with council. Without ticking these boxes, the end result of settling on time simply wont happen and it is near impossible to make up lost time.
Finishing touches
For some tasks, more workers doesn’t necessarily mean quicker results due to restraints like space, expertise, licensing class etc. Landscaping is one area you can throw resources at and achieve a lot in a short amount of time. Its a numbers game ultimately, so if you had budgeted on 5 workers for 4 weeks throw 10 across 2 weeks to achieve the same result. Outside jobs gives more space and flexibility in skillset so manage them wisely and bring your project together in a short timeframe.
You can’t do everything!
Don’t think you can do it all and don’t be afraid or too proud to ask for help. The best project managers know what they know, and know what they don’t know. So delegate to specialists in their field to do the heavy lifting in areas you aren’t strong in. Don’t feel like you need to be an expert in everything. I’m certainly not, and I’m more than happy to admit that. Surround yourself with smart and loyal contractors/colleagues/friends and you can’t go wrong.
