FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Many rural subdivisions are undertaken by property owners themselves engaging us to process the subdivision for them. Unlike an urban subdivision where costs can be quite high, rural subdivision can be undertaken in a relatively simple and cost-effective way. We are experts in rural subdivision and can give valuable guidance as to the possibilities, process and costs.
Most subdivision is fee simple, i.e. creation of freehold titles. For higher density residential development and commercial and industrial development unit titles are a common form of subdivision. Cross-lease subdivision is now quite rare – more common is conversion of old cross-leases to freehold or unit titles.
In simple terms the stages of subdivision are feasibility (what are the yields and likely costs), design, consenting, construction, surveying and titling. For a large urban subdivision some of these stages can be quite complex which is why the initial planning stage is a critical one. Our process involves assisting our client to identify all of the likely challenges, very early in the process so that there are no surprises down the track.
Consultancy services for land subdivision is a core part of what we do. We can advise from the beginning of the process and provide all the services needed right through the approval processes to construction and completion.
Usually it is better to engage a head consultant to manage a larger project. There are obvious benefits in engaging a multi-discipline practice.
Cato Bolam can provide experienced project management for large and complex developments, coordinating the people, approvals and technical work needed to keep the project moving. Our Project Managers work closely with senior project leads and bring together planning, engineering, surveying, architecture, ecology and other specialist inputs, while managing key deliverables, Council processes and programme requirements.
We can support the project from resource consent through detailed design, construction, Council sign-off and title issue, giving you a coordinated team and clear point of contact throughout the process.
We undertake a range of services for large subdivisions and love to be able to offer design solutions to create great places. Specific knowledge around the details of large scale projects is essential for dealing with Council and providing the best solutions to keep costs down and make developments more profitable.
As well as project managing the resource consent process, we can also manage the construction phase of your development. This can also be arranged separately if you prefer to manage construction yourself.
We often discuss this with clients at the start of a project, although the decision can also be made once the resource consent has been issued and you are ready to move into construction.
One important point to keep in mind is that contractors often require significant lead time, so it is worth planning ahead rather than leaving these arrangements too late.
Even a small project will require project management – we will usually provide this service on your behalf.
As well as providing most of the services that you will need we will usually undertake the project management for you as well – we do this on small and large projects. For very large and complex developments involving major inputs other than ours, separate project management may be a good idea – but even then we find that this is generally carried out by our larger clients themselves.