Choosing the A team – 5 skills you must have

A good friend of mine asked me once how I could do a property development without really having any skills myself! I guess I could have been offended, but I had a secret talent; the ability to form an A team. Individuals and organisations with the skills I needed to get the project completed successfully. In my experience, a team whose counsel you trust and who you can problem solve with in difficult situations, is an invaluable asset. It’s worth putting in time and focus to get your A team together.

I’ve spoken before about the importance of a good lawyer and a good accountant as the first step before you even start looking at blocks to buy. Both of these specialists need to be experienced in property development. If you’ve got a lawyer that you already use for your personal business, that’s fine. But if they don’t have specific property development experience, they are not going to be able to help you when you find yourself in a tricky situation. The same is true of your accountant. They might be your personal accountant or even a business accountant, but if they don’t have property development experience, they may not be able advise the correct way to set up your business or to run the project financially.

Another service provider that not many people really consider as part of the team, is a banker or financier. You may need a considerable loan, and be obliged to meet specific criteria such as pre-sales before you receive finance. If you don’t have a good relationship with your banker, you could find that the loan is not approved and the project is over before you’ve even started.

Some other members of the team who you might consider to be simply administrative, are very important. These include the surveyor, the engineers and the building certifier. There are a lot of decisions that you need to make that may result in the building not being certified. Things like fences, boundary lines, pool fence heights or locations; safety considerations where you might have a creative vision in mind, but you’re just not sure if you’re going to meet the complex criteria to get approved. Having a relationship with a specialist certifier for example will get your ideas on the right track.

The other main Consultant that you need to look at early in the process is the real estate agent. They will be critical at the sales stage, but they are very helpful early on when your project is taking shape. Forming relationships with real estate agents can be an invaluable research tool. They will know what the market is looking for, how much developments are currently selling for and what features are a necessity. Things you can ask them include:

• Do the properties need a pool? If so, is a spa or plunge pool sufficient?
• Do you need wide corridors for elderly people or those living with a disability?
• Is a bathroom for every bedroom required or will a well designed shared main bathroom do?
• Does every townhouse need a bath?
• What about a lift?
  

With larger developments, a spectrum of housing options is often wise, so that the development appeals to a wider audience.
Real estate agents can estimate the final sale price of the properties to fine tune your feasibility assessment. They can also guide you on the mix of dwellings in your development (assuming you are going to build more than two). Building six townhouses that are exactly the same may make the sales process difficult, because there aren’t necessarily six buyers for the same property. If you’re looking at a bigger development, the real estate agent might have ideas about the right a mix of housing options so that you can appeal to different buyer groups from downsizers to first home buyers and families. It’s not just about what the Architect vision is in terms of how the development looks; it’s got to be a practical representation of what the market wants.