Frequently Asked Questions

A buyer's agent represents the buyer, not the seller. While a selling agent's job is to achieve the highest possible price for the vendor, a buyer's agent's job is to find the right property, negotiate the best price, and guide the buyer through the purchase process.

For development, this includes site searching, feasibility assessment, due diligence, negotiation, and connecting buyers with the right consultants. The result is a more disciplined purchase process and access to sites that often never reach the public market. See our guide on how to buy a development site for more on what this looks like in practice.

A real estate agent works for the seller. Their legal duty is to achieve the best outcome for the vendor. FWG Advisory works exclusively for buyers and investors. Our role is to identify the right site, run the numbers, complete due diligence, and negotiate on your behalf, with no conflicting interest in the selling outcome.

Beyond site acquisition, FWG brings development strategy, feasibility, and planning advisory into a single relationship, rather than requiring you to assemble multiple advisors independently. We also carry direct development experience, not just transactional experience.

FWG primarily works within the Central Coast Council and Lake Macquarie City Council areas. This covers suburbs from Gosford in the south to Doyalson in the north (Central Coast), and from Morisset through Toronto, Warners Bay, and Belmont on Lake Macquarie.

We have direct experience navigating the LEPs and DCPs for both council areas, and established relationships with planners and consultants who regularly work within those jurisdictions. For projects outside these areas, we assess on a case-by-case basis. Learn more about our Central Coast advisory services.

FWG Advisory fees are discussed directly with each client based on the scope of engagement and the nature of the project. We do not publish fixed rate cards because every project is different.

What we can say is that we work with a select number of clients and we structure our fees to be proportionate to the value and scale of the work. For an initial conversation about your project, there is no charge. Begin a conversation via our contact page and we will take it from there.

The best way to start is through our contact page. We ask for a brief description of what you are looking to achieve: whether you own land you are considering developing, you are looking for a first development site, or you want advisory support on a project already in progress.

From there, we will respond directly and, if there is a fit, arrange a conversation to understand your situation properly. We do not work with everyone who approaches us, but we respond to every enquiry personally.

It can be, but not every development stacks up financially and not every investor is set up to manage the complexity. The clearest opportunity for mum-and-dad investors is a small-scale dual occupancy or two to three dwelling project where the numbers are transparent, the site is well-chosen, and the investor has good advisory support.

The risk of going in without experience or without the right team is that costs blow out, the DA takes longer than expected, and the margin disappears. Done well, on the right site, boutique residential development produces returns that are difficult to achieve through passive investment alone.

The entry point varies enormously by location and scale. For a dual occupancy on the Central Coast, you might be looking at $600,000 to $900,000 for land and $400,000 to $600,000 for construction, making the total project cost $1 million to $1.5 million.

Most lenders will fund 60 to 70 per cent of project cost for residential development, meaning you need 30 to 40 per cent in equity or cash. On a $1.2 million project, that is $360,000 to $480,000. This is a guide, not financial advice. Your specific borrowing capacity, the site, and your chosen lender all affect what is required.

A typical small-scale residential development (dual occupancy or two to three dwellings) takes between 24 and 42 months from site acquisition to final settlement.

This includes DA preparation and lodgement (one to three months), council assessment (four to twelve months), construction documentation and tendering (two to four months), and the construction period itself (twelve to eighteen months). Site-specific issues, council delays, or slow RFI responses can extend the timeline. Budgeting at least 30 months is realistic for planning and financing purposes.

The main risks are: overpaying for the site (which compresses margin from the outset); underestimating construction costs, particularly on challenging sites; DA delays that extend holding costs; market softening between purchase and sale on longer projects; builder failure or cost escalation mid-project; discovery of site conditions not identified in due diligence; and poor design that results in dwellings that are hard to sell.

Most of these risks are managed through rigorous due diligence, conservative feasibility assumptions, and working with experienced advisors and consultants. See our guide on how to buy a development site for more on managing these risks.

A development feasibility study is a financial assessment of whether a proposed development produces an acceptable return. At its simplest, it compares end value (total sale proceeds from completed dwellings) against total project cost (land, construction, soft costs, holding costs, GST, and margin).

A project is considered viable when the return on total cost exceeds 15 to 20 per cent for a small residential development. A feasibility study should be run before committing to a site, and again after receiving builder quotes, to confirm the numbers still hold. It is the financial discipline that separates successful developers from those who are surprised at the end.

R2 Low Density Residential is the most common residential zone. It permits single dwellings, secondary dwellings (granny flats), and dual occupancy (two dwellings on one lot). R3 Medium Density Residential permits multi-dwelling housing, including townhouses, villa units, and in some cases residential flat buildings.

The practical difference for developers is that R3 land supports three to five dwellings on an appropriately sized lot, while R2 is limited to two. Zoning has a significant impact on land value and development potential. See our landowner's guide for more detail on what each zone allows.

Possibly, depending on your zoning, lot size, and frontage. In R2 zones, you can generally build a dual occupancy and then subdivide into two Torrens title lots, provided the resulting lots meet the minimum size requirements in the Local Environmental Plan. You cannot subdivide into three or more lots in R2.

In R3 zones, multi-dwelling housing and multi-lot subdivision is permitted subject to size and DCP requirements. The first step is checking your zoning on the NSW Planning Portal and then running the numbers on a basic feasibility. Our landowner's guide walks through this in detail.

A dual occupancy is two dwellings on a single lot of land. They can be attached (sharing a wall, like a duplex) or detached (two separate structures on the same lot). Dual occupancy is the maximum development type permitted in R2 Low Density Residential zones across most of the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie.

After construction, the two dwellings can often be subdivided into separate Torrens title lots, creating two independently sellable properties. Dual occupancy development is one of the most accessible entry points for first-time developers due to its lower capital requirement and manageable planning complexity.

Torrens title subdivision is the process of dividing land into separate, independently owned lots, each with its own title registered under the Torrens title system. In residential development, this is the most desirable form of ownership because each dwelling sits on its own freehold lot with no ongoing body corporate or owners corporation involvement.

In contrast, strata and community title both involve shared ownership of common areas through a management structure. Torrens title dwellings generally achieve higher sale prices and are preferred by buyers and owner-occupiers for this reason.

Torrens title means the dwelling sits on its own freehold lot. The owner is solely responsible for the land around their dwelling and there is no shared structure requiring an owners corporation. Strata title is used for apartments and attached dwellings where multiple lots share a building or common areas. A strata scheme requires an owners corporation to manage the common property, which involves levies and collective decision-making.

Community title is a hybrid used for larger mixed-use or staged developments, where some land is shared community property and individual lots are either Torrens or strata. For boutique residential development on the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie, Torrens title is the preferred outcome.

A development application is a formal request to a local council for permission to carry out a development. In residential terms, this includes building a new dwelling, constructing a dual occupancy or multi-dwelling housing project, or subdividing a lot.

The DA is assessed against the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and the Development Control Plan (DCP). Once approved, it grants planning consent but not building approval. You still need a Construction Certificate before work starts. See our full DA Application Guide for Central Coast and Lake Macquarie for more detail.

The statutory target for residential DAs in NSW is 40 business days from the date lodgement is accepted as complete. In practice, most residential DAs on the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie take four to twelve months.

Complex proposals, those requiring referral to external agencies, or those that attract significant public submissions take longer. Well-prepared applications lodged through a pre-lodgement process generally track toward the shorter end of that range. Allowing six months as a planning assumption is prudent for most residential projects. See our DA Application Guide for a full breakdown by council.

Both are qualified to prepare residential DA drawings in NSW. A registered architect has completed a university degree and professional registration. A building designer holds a licence under the Design and Building Practitioners Act. The right choice depends on the complexity of your project and the quality of design outcome you are seeking.

For boutique residential development, a skilled building designer with strong residential experience is often a cost-effective choice. For projects where design intent, architectural resolution, and enduring value are a priority, a registered architect adds meaningful value. FWG works with both, depending on what the project calls for.

The seven key factors are: zoning (R3 or above for multi-dwelling); lot size and frontage meeting LEP minimums; shape (regular, rectangular blocks are most efficient); orientation (north-facing for livability and passive solar); services (sewer access is non-negotiable); overlays (minimal flood, bushfire, and heritage constraints); and context (a street or suburb with comparable development activity).

The best sites score well across most of these factors, not just one or two. See our full development site selection guide for more on how to assess each factor in practice.

Off-market development sites come from relationships, not portals. Agents often have clients who want to sell quietly, without a public campaign. Landowners sometimes sell directly to developers they have been introduced to through a trusted network. Watching the NSW Planning Portal for DAs in areas of interest can also flag owners who are development-aware.

The most reliable way to access off-market sites consistently is to work with a buyer's agent who has established relationships with local selling agents and can approach owners directly on your behalf. See our guide on how to buy a development site for more on where sites come from.