SPECIAL EDITION - Our Development FEASIBILITY worksheet
Every development that ever lost money started life as a "guaranteed winner" at someone's dinner table.
Buy the block, build a nice house, sell it, pocket the difference.
Easy right…
Then stamp duty shows up. Then 18 months of interest. Then the agent's cut, the landscaping that wasn't in the build contract, the styling, the marketing.
The "difference" you were going to pocket gets eaten one invoice at a time - and you find out at settlement, not before.
Developers who DO make money run feasibility studies BEFORE purchasing a block.
So we built you one that takes 10 minutes to run, not a finance degree.
Our Development Feasibility Calculator.
Fill in the yellow cells, get a green, amber or red verdict on your deal.
Ten minutes in a spreadsheet, versus eighteen months and a six-figure lesson.
📩 How to get it
Hit reply to this email with the word "FEASO" and I'll send the spreadsheet straight back to you.
👋 One favour first
Know someone eyeing a block, plotting a knockdown-rebuild, or about to "definitely make money" on their first build?
Forward them this email - when they reply “FEASO”, they get the spreadsheet too.
Worked example: Let's run a real deal through it
A $650,000 block in VIC.
Step 1 - Buy the block
You type four numbers. The spreadsheet estimates stamp duty for your state automatically.
Land price: $650,000
Stamp duty (auto, VIC): $35,750
Conveyancing + inspections: $3,500
Real cost to own the dirt: $689,250
Already $39,250 more than the sticker price (and we haven't built anything yet).
Step 2 - Build
Build contract: $480,000
Design, engineering & approvals: $25,000
Driveway, landscaping, fencing: $30,000 (Almost never in the build contract)
Contingency at 10% (auto): $53,500 (first projects always cost more than budgeted)
Total build: $588,500
Step 3 - Holding costs (the part most people don’t think about)
Time is a cost.
You tell it how long (14 months to build, 4 to sell) and your rate (6.5%) - it calculates the interest for you, including the way construction loans draw down in stages.
Interest on the land loan: $50,700
Interest on the construction loan: $35,065
Rates, insurance, utilities: $6,300
Cost of simply holding for 18 months: $92,065
$92,065 to own a project for 18 months.
This line item is why "it took longer than expected" is the most expensive sentence in property.
Step 4 - Sell
Expected sale price (from 3+ comparable sales, not vibes): $1,750,000
Agent at 2%: $35,000
Marketing, styling, legals: $15,000
Cost to exit: $50,000
Step 5 - The verdict
Total money out the door: $1,419,815. Sale price: $1,750,000.
Net profit: $330,185
Margin on cost: 23.3% - clears the 15–20% benchmark developers look for
Return on the cash you actually put in: 106%
Verdict: 🟢 STRONG
But here's the bit that matters
The spreadsheet stress-tests the deal for you.
If the market drops 5%, you still make $244,435.
Drops 10%? $158,685.
This deal doesn't go red until the sale price falls roughly 19% below expectation.
- Subject to Finance
The fine print: the calculator is general information, not financial advice. GST and tax are excluded - see your accountant. Stamp duty is an estimate; confirm with your state revenue office.
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