Tag: Team building
Building the Right Team for Property Development Success (Part Two)
In property development, assembling a team of technical and strategic experts is only part of the equation. While professionals like planners, architects, and contractors lay the groundwork for your project, having a skilled financial and legal team ensures you can navigate the complexities of funding, legalities, and market positioning.
In this continuation, we explore the indispensable roles of Accountants, Lawyers, Real Estate Agents, Valuers, Quantity Surveyors, and Financiers—professionals who provide the financial insight, legal assurance, and market savvy to propel your project to success.
6. Accountant
Accountants are at the heart of your project’s financial structure, guiding you through key decisions that shape your development’s profitability. From determining whether to register for GST to advising on the best legal entity for your project—be it an LLC, LP, or Trust—accountants ensure that your structure aligns with your financial goals while remaining tax-efficient. These decisions need to be made before committing yourself to a particular path, as it can be difficult and costly to unwind once you’ve set things in motion.
By engaging a property-focused accountant early, you can optimise your tax liabilities, protect your profit margins, and ensure that every financial decision supports your overall development strategy.
7. Lawyer
A lawyer is your shield in the complex legal landscape of property development. Their expertise spans reviewing sale and purchase agreements, facilitating settlements, and ensuring that funding agreements from financiers are clear, favourable, and align with your project goals. They also meticulously scrutinise construction contracts and other critical documents to safeguard your interests and protect against potential liabilities.
That said, it’s important to remember that your lawyer is a backstop—not your first line of negotiation. As a developer, it’s critical to develop an understanding of key legal concepts yourself. This enables you to negotiate the best deal upfront, leaving your lawyer to refine and approve it. Ignoring these concepts makes it difficult to structure deals effectively and can lead to missed opportunities.
When it comes to property development, the buck stops with you. Ultimately, all liability rests with you as the developer, so you must take ownership of the process, read every document carefully, and fully understand what you’re committing to before signing.
8. Real Estate Agent
Real estate agents do much more than simply sell properties. They are instrumental in ensuring your development is marketed effectively, priced competitively, and positioned to attract the right buyers. A great agent brings access to an extensive database of potential buyers and can directly promote your property, accelerating sales and boosting market visibility.
Beyond sales, their market insights allow you to refine pricing strategies and meet buyer expectations, ensuring your development achieves maximum profitability while staying competitive.
9. Valuer
Valuers are a critical tool for assessing the current and future market value of your development. For many projects, a valuation report is essential for securing main bank financing. While first-time developers can greatly benefit from having a valuer undertake a report, experienced developers often take this process in-house. As a developer, you should have a deep understanding of your product and price point, enabling you to confidently assess your project’s value.
At ASAP Finance, we simplify this process by eliminating the need for external valuation reports. Instead, we conduct our own internal valuations using our extensive in-house sales data—leveraging insights from delivering over 1,000 houses annually. This approach not only reduces administrative burdens but also allows you to focus on progressing your development with fewer delays, creating a more streamlined and efficient experience from start to finish.
10. Quantity Surveyor (QS)
A Quantity Surveyor is the financial gatekeeper of your construction phase, overseeing labour and material costs to keep your project within budget. Their expertise helps prevent cost overruns while ensuring that resources are sourced efficiently.
At ASAP Finance, we take a milestone-based approach to streamline this process. For every project, we prepare a cost-to-complete schedule that outlines available funds and their release timelines. This scalable system can fund projects with up to 50 houses or more, all without requiring an independent QS. By simplifying cost management, developers can maintain financial clarity and momentum.
11. Financier
A good financier is more than just a source of capital—they are a strategic partner in your project. Building a strong, long-term relationship with a non-bank financier can be the key to unlocking opportunities and getting deals across the line that might otherwise fall through. Unlike traditional banks, where managers frequently change, long-term relationships with non-bank financiers can mean access to more leverage, flexible pricing, and preferred treatment.
Experienced financiers understand the intricacies of property development. They don’t just provide funding—they offer valuable guidance when challenges arise and can facilitate resolutions between contractors, engineers, and other stakeholders. Their insights and support can help keep your project on track and avoid costly delays.
Beyond competitive interest rates, the best financiers offer flexibility in their terms. Waiving pre-sale requirements or removing QS oversight, for example, can accelerate your timelines and reduce costs, giving you more freedom to execute your vision.
At ASAP Finance, we take this approach further by considering the broader picture of your project. With an in-depth understanding of property development, we help you navigate complexities, streamline processes, and unlock opportunities for growth—ensuring that your project reaches its full potential
Summary
In property development, the right financial and strategic team is just as critical as the technical experts who lay the foundation. With accountants, lawyers, agents, valuers, QS professionals, and financiers working together, you create a comprehensive support network that protects your project, maximises returns, and ensures its long-term success.
Whether your project is small or large, partnering with professionals who understand the nuances of property development is key to standing out in a competitive market and achieving sustainable growth.
Building the Right Team for Property Development Success (Part 1)
In property development, the strength of your team can make or break your project. With so many moving parts and regulatory hurdles, it’s essential to assemble a team of experts who bring both technical skills and strategic insight. In this blog, we break down the key professionals you need and how their expertise drives the success of your development.
1. TownPlanner
A town planner is crucial for navigating zoning laws, council regulations, and traffic considerations, ensuring your project aligns with local planning rules. Their job is to balance maximizing development objectives, such as site yield, height limits, and density, with council-driven social outcomes. By aligning with sustainability goals and other local priorities, planners can expedite approvals and avoid costly delays. For instance, in high-density areas, aligning with sustainability guidelines might fast-track the consent process, helping avoid major roadblocks.
2. Architect
An architect transforms your vision into reality, creating a design that balances functionality, aesthetics, and compliance with regulations. Early engagement with contractors during the design phase can help ensure that the plans are practical to implement. By collaborating closely with contractors, architects can make informed decisions about material procurement and availability, preventing future delays. A detailed architectural plan also ensures that contractors have fewer questions during construction, speeding up the process and avoiding council rejections due to missing details.
3. Surveyor
Surveyors play a vital role in property development by establishing accurate property boundaries and conducting topographical surveys for site planning. Their responsibilities range from preparing scheme plans and Land Transfer (LT) plans to handling your s223 and s224c applications. During construction, they manage set-out plans and conduct as-built surveys, ensuring that the project adheres to initial planning and avoiding future boundary disputes. Their precision is essential for keeping project on program and ensuring legal compliance
4. Engineer (Civil, Structural, Geotechnical)
Engineering is multifaceted, and a good engineering firm will provide a full suite of services, from civil engineering to structural and geotechnical work. Engineers are responsible for critical aspects such as earthworks, roading, flood modelling, and site services design. In Auckland, for example, securing an Engineering Plan Approval (EPA) is one of the three crucial approvals (alongside resource and building consent). The EPA ensures that infrastructure like stormwater systems and roads are up to code, safeguarding your development’s longevity and compliance with local requirements.
5. Contractor (Civil and Vertical Construction)
Contractors bring your project to life, handling everything from roadwork and drainage to the vertical construction of buildings. The right contractor ensures the project is delivered on time, within budget, and to specification, minimizing delays and costly rework. Working with experienced contractors who understand the complexities of both civil and vertical construction helps streamline the building process and reduces the likelihood of errors during execution.
Stay Tuned for Part Two
Building the foundations with planners, architects, surveyors, engineers, and contractors is just the start. To bring your development to full fruition, you’ll need a skilled financial and strategic team backing you up. In Part Two, we’ll explore the indispensable roles of Accountants, Lawyers, Real Estate Agents, Valuers, Quantity Surveyors, and Financiers. Each professional adds the financial insight, legal assurance, and market savvy to propel your project to a successful, sustainable finish. Stay tuned!
ASAP Finance are market leaders in providing fast, simple, and effective development finance to builders and developers across New Zealand. Whether you’re tackling a large-scale project or need a tailored funding solution, our expertise will help you succeed. Get in touch with our team today