aenspire delivering developmentprofit.com

For this development on Mt Wellington, Auckland, I did due diligence, the feaso and was involved in the design and marketing as a development manager.

Strategy:

It’s a live work project with light industrial (warehouse) down below and a 2 beddie apartment up above. Each ‘Duo’ was sold as a package. The initial idea being live above your small business. This concept was exploding north of the harbour bridge -mainly by one developer- but missing elsewhere.

I valued the apartment with comparable sales (plenty of brick and tile units but few apartments anywhere nearby). I ran a rental analysis as well for investors. I got hold of the best small commercial agents in the area to get a cap rate and a commercial rental for the warehouse. No matter how I optimistically ran the numbers and crunched the construction costs the project didn’t stack.

Then my boss had an epiphany -as most big thinking developers do- the punters will pay more for the DUO because they have the option of renting or living above their business and that demands a premium. 1+1=3 so goes the logic.

Anyway, he ended up being right, and with presales the project was bankable and a goer.

Right it’s just about time to enjoy the beautiful Omanu beach. BUT before I do I want to introduce you to a new business. It’s called “Xpect Connect”. Today I will introduce the first of two modules.

Xpect Connect – Project based prequalified procurement for small to medium developers and builders.

Xpect Connect solves procurement hassle and brings prequalified projects and contractors together, with the key value being utilising my experience of effectively doing this for years now in the industry network I have generated.

This is how it works. As the representative/project owner of a new development project you will send Xpect Connect your project details. Xpect Connect then prequalifies you as developer/project manager and also the project itself. If you and your project meets the special criteria I have developed, you will be asked if your “job” is to be posted live.

Upon approval Xpect Connect will post the job in this network, minus your name and confidential details – so you are not contacted directly.

Contractors will be invited to submit their interest, confidentially direct to Xpect Connect. The submissions will be in a standardised format to solicit interested parties that are relevant to the particular project. Xpect Connect will prequalify the contractor using special criteria I have developed in order to see if there is a fit with the project. If there is a fit, after a specified period of time to give others to submit, prequalified contractors will be sent to the project owner.

Xpect Connect charges a one off fee to the project owner of $2,500+GST per successful placement and takes no liability for the contracted work or relationship. The service simply delivers you a shortlist vetted by an industry professional in a structured manner that you can then work with. Subsequent services to continue the procurement can be purchased from Xpect Connect if required, otherwise you are on your own.

If Xpect Connect is of interest I invite you to register direct with me at andrew@xpectproperty.com with “Builder Connect” in the subject line.

Projects being accepted now.

Main contractors invited to register their interest in this service now, so you are not missing from the Xpect Connect network.

Williams Corporation. They blew away the competition. They put everyone like me on notice. They invented or at least did it the most of essentially new product types and new site layouts.

They created volume out of many small relatively simple easily serviced sites rather than the complex and longterm beasts large sites typically are (believe me!).

I was both in admiration and jealous, or maybe just disappointed I couldn’t replicate some of the same.

Williams created more affordable homes than any other business in New Zealand. Let them swig champagne on the jet!

This is the first house (duplex) I ever project managed – well helped the site manager really. Designed by Richard Priest in Parnell, it had a tonne of extravagant features and one of the two homes was for my developer boss at the time.

Some funny ancedotes:

The concrete subbie carved a big line in the diamond cut polished concrete floor. He fixed it by using some sort of white expoxy. It stood out in the living room like the crack above his pants. On the landline I said you’re going to have to dig that white mess out, figure something that looks better and recoat the entire floor. That set him off…..a day later….I walked onto site to see this enormous man standing an inch away from my bosses face. The concrete subbie thought my boss was me and was about to have a go….my boss didnt even know about the line at the time!

Bulgarian tilers sold us the (price) dream but ended up having to tile the double shower glass mosaic tiles floor to ceiling and everything in between twice because they couldnt get the lines straight.

The same bathroom had a massive mirror with the tap handles protruding out. So you had to pre cut the mirror and then do the second fix of the tap fitting super carefully. The plumber carefully broke that mirror three times!

Xpect 2 Connect – Property Development Recruitment.

Is this a problem? You want to hire staff for a development project or your business but it’s a deluge of CV’s and you don’t really have the time and energy to go through each one. So you hire a recruiter but their expertise is limited in property development. And you could still end up having to review a number of candidates that may simply not be fit for the job. Further, your own experience at assessing development team members is limited, so you really are taking a risk.

Xpect 2 Connect solves this recruitment hassle and brings prequalified prospective employees and developers/asset owners together. Having interviewed, employed, trained and worked with hundreds of staff in the property development business over many years I bring a unique and valuable independent assessment of what it takes to do these roles. And how much you should pay in the current market. Many, if not everyone decent are in my network.

This is how it works. As the employer you will send Xpect 2 Connect your draft job description. Xpect 2 Connect will clarify and help you with the job description, providing advice as to the ideal target candidates title, experience, technical skills and personality requirements.

Once confirmed Xpect 2 Connect will post the job in this network, minus your name and confidential details – so you are not contacted directly. In some cases the job will not require posting, as there will be suitable candidates already in our system.

Prospective employees (or contractors) will be invited to submit their interest and Curriculum vitae confidentially direct to Xpect 2 Connect. Xpect 2 Connect will prequalify those candidates in a structured process I have developed over many years suitable to finding the best employee a developer needs.

Xpect 2 Connect then sends a shortlist of prequalified prospective employees to the employer as well as a summary of all those considered but did not make the final shortlist.

Xpect 2 Connect charges a one-off fee to the employer of $5,000+GST per successful placement, payable at the end of any trial period. Xpect 2 Connect can also provide one on one structured development and project management training, where a candidate satisfies most of the requirements but has not operated in a property owner/developer client side role previously.

Proposed roles from employers being accepted now. Please email to andrew@xpectproperty.com

Prospective candidates considering a new role are invited to register their interest in this service now, so you are not missing from the Xpect 2 Connect network. Please email to andrew@xpectproperty.com

This is an independent, non-bias and confidential service for all parties.

For further information:
http://aenspire.com/xpect/xpect2connect.pdf