This story is dedicated to my very best friend Tracey. She is a real fighter and I think what she has proven recently can be applicable to us all.  Today's message is: When you want something badly enough, you fight for it.

When it comes to developing, we have all heard about the Development Application (DA) and the Construction Certificate (CC), but how and what exactly is involved with each council approval?  It is important to understand this process before you start developing.    

Australia has one of the most residentially mobile populations of any country. This means we don't mind moving house. Researchers refer to this as Net Internal Migration or NIM.  With so much attention focused on Sydney's hot property market and the rapid growth in the city's house prices recently, it is easy to see how regional migration starts - when people move from cities to regional areas. 

When you are developing property, finding actual comparable sales references in the same market that you will build is extremely important.  You need to estimate what your dwellings will be worth on completion of your project. 

This week we've been designing new duplexes to build in a more upmarket location. We've been studying floor plans with our builder and their drafts woman. The villas are three bedroom, master with ensuite and main bathroom, separate living room open plan kitchen, dining and living space with alfresco dining under the roof. 

After my first four inspections I stopped to eat my packed lunch and found myself reflecting on just how lucky I was.  I didn't feel like I was working, not like the way I worked all through my twenties and thirties.  

If you are thinking of developing property then you will need to have a good understanding of construction finance. As property developers, most of our clients like to highly gear their lending. That means, using as much funding from others to pay the builder rather than use their own cash reserves.

Today I drove around a new land estate in the Hunter Region of NSW where we now have a couple of dual occupancy projects planned. It was early morning - I'd left Sydney by 6am to get an early start on my day. As I pulled up to the site we are looking to secure for a client - it had just turned 8am, my eye was caught by a ruckus across the road.