Property development is tricky at the moment as the banks clamped down significantly, and many developers also had to deleverage to continue with their plans.

The house was planning in Tasmania, is in a development which has the last remaining land within a valley on never to be built out sea views.  I have bought the land as a way to reduce stamp duty, but in hindsight would have been better off waiting as any savings on this front are likely to be offset by the delay in building.  The overall cost of the land and build is in the $285k with retails price in the $330k to $350k mark

As it stands, the development was a joint venture and one of the developers pulled out when the s.. hit the fan leaving the project somewhat high and dry.  A new joint venture partner has been secured and we are now waiting on the bank’s approval to conitnue and get the show on the road!!

I also found out that the developer somehow used my land that was secured by a binding contract as security for the bank, so there is a risk that in fact I am somehow tied up in the overall development success and that despite the land having been paid for outright, it could be taken by the bank in the event of the collapse of the developer. Yikes!!  Lucky the developer is a good guy, but I should have made sure that the land title was in my hands.  Will let you know what the legal situation is on this so you can avoid a similar situation.

On the plus side the land values have held well; let’s just hope the hassle in the deal is worth all the delays!  Will keep you updated  with news

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