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Xpect Insight: Research for Business Development

Business development requires you to establish strategies and action ideas. Strategy and ideas come from research. Insightful strategy and impactful ideas come from exploring the right questions in the correct way in the first place.

Research in the property and construction industry requires a mix of academic rigour combined with practical nous. Omit either component and you can easily underestimate risk or completely miss reality.

With Xpect Insight you have a director with 14 years’ experience as a lecturer in property development, degrees in Architecture and Property from Auckland University, and an advanced course in Real Estate Finance from Massachusetts Institute of Technology so you can be assured of competent rigor.

Over 25 years, working in New Zealand, Australia and the United States for private developers and funders, an American software guru, a British Institution and both the New Zealand and Chinese governments, a diverse array of practical questions have been posed across a range of challenging property markets – good times and bad.

And research that provides real insight is not just about burying your head into google search or a spreadsheet at your desk. It is really about establishing and accessing a diverse robust network, getting on the phone and jumping in a car or a plane. It can almost be called ‘research by doing’.

Business development research assignments:
• Direct property fund portfolio analysis • Software development for project collaboration, leading to the tool CollaborIT used on prisons, hospitals, the Northshore Busway and other infrastructure and private developments in NZ.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/money-and-time-saved-with-online-document-system/NIGVPGX3QRLMTTV4KNWWVG2EH4/
• Retirement sector analysis in New Zealand & Australia • Residential development management best practice culminating in the book ‘House, Love, Land & Money’ https://www.amazon.com/House-Land-Love-Money-Development/dp/1547180692
• United States ski resorts and town centres
• Residential development risk management and problem solving resulting in the book ‘Turnaround Success’ https://www.amazon.com.au/Turnaround-Success-Resurrect-Failed-Developments/dp/1790590884
• Global residential market analysis concluding in opening and managing a property development business in Phoenix, Arizona.
• Hotel general management best practice
• International innovation across the property sector all referenced in the book ‘Destiny: Future of Real Estate Development’ https://www.amazon.com.au/Destiny-Future-Real-Estate-Development/dp/1095425676
• Private Public Partnerships
• Numerous other assignments – many documented in this blog

Choose Xpect Insight for your next research and business development project. Fee dependent on scope.

http://aenspire.com/xpect/xpectInsight.pdf

Whilst being well aware of the Scene One, Auckland project in the office my actual involvement was a fleeting stint managing purchasers at settlement and getting their defects sorted with the main contractor.

Some anecdotes :

When contractors are losing money getting them motivated to sort defects is challenging. You simply can’t let it drag on. The longer it takes the less contactable many subbies will become. Yes there is a contract but still…..

When pre-sales started, I remember it vividly – the fax machine started cranking pumping out signed sale and purchase agreements on the Friday afternoon and never stopped during the weekend until the project was sold out (or close enough) on the Monday arvo. Good ole days!

Many have complained that the three buildings this development eventually became blocked the water with a “wall” from the rest of the city. Well guess what council didn’t want to allow Vancouver style tall circular skinny towers so the architect was forced to comply with the bulk and location allowed at the time and waa ala.

This 3 level apartment project in Three Kings, Auckland, was the first Housing New Zealand development post a massive lull in new projects during and post the global financial crisis. The development management team was two of us when I joined but it quickly grew.

I was in charge of securing the builder- it went through an RFP design build process. Well actually there was a committee to decide who the successful RFP would be but no one else could make a decision so I said – “ok anyone not ok if I choose then?”

Silence.

So I chose.

I got the successful builder into the office. He had a DB sum of $ 7m something. I said “start with a 6 and its yours”. “No problem” and off we were.

At that time, once the deal was signed I would handover to a delivery department…..hmmm….I hope they kept the cost starting with a 6!

The project is practical social housing.

It’s ironic it was raining at the time of my most recent visit. Because the last time I went there, I had a new CEO and some board members and maybe a politician as well to show off first project of the modern generation. The unit we chose to open the door to, the CEO went in first, then scurried back and quietly said to me “Andrew the floor is flooded”
“Sh$t!”

Anyway we quickly found another unit, a dry one, one that the HWC hadn’t burst. Me,the CEO and the builders little secret. Lesson learned- check before you let a VIP go first.

The builder was very good though. Some innovations included a hidden double wall where the retaining met the lower floor habitable spaces. So no relying on a single layer of tanking to waterproof the block wall – those can fail all the time- ok for garages but that is about it.

Another innovation is rather than use weatherboard cladding on all surfaces the builder actually ran a weatherboard pattern in pre cast concrete for some of the more difficult walls- all in the name of lower maintenance . You can’t tell the difference.

All said and done the project later went on to win a Property Council award. That builder went on to develop a huge number of affordable homes for sale and rent- taking concrete innovation to a whole new level.

Xpect Remediate. For body corporates and asset owners requiring property remediation. Xpect is proud to partner with PJM Projects to solve body corporates and residential asset owners most difficult remediation problems.

My approach is that undertaking a capital works project on behalf of a group of owners, their kids, their tenants and their pets requires a lot more than just a technical approach.

Maximising value is actually the right outcome. Minimising stress whilst restraining cost is the best delivery mechanism.

And to do that you need independence on site – to question consultant and contractor advice – to gain consensus- to listen to the owners, to collaborate towards each decision and to ensure no dollar is spent without each item creating owners value.

Enough said. Paul Miller and the team have the track record, the past and present remediation projects and the empathic skills required to deliver in this important and delicate environment.

http://aenspire.com/xpect/xpectremediate.pdf

This was one of about a dozen 2/3/4 level terrace home developments throughout Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and Parnell where I was tasked with reclaiming the retentions from buyers.

Yes back in the day -and I can’t recall if other developers were doing it, or if it was our marketing strategy- the sale and purchase contract included a buyers retention. Say the sale price was $750,000 well the buyer might be entitled to withhold say 2% (I can’t remember the exact %) until any defects were agreed completed.

I don’t think this clause/concept has been around, certainly for off the plan (pay on settlement) purchases ,for 20 years.

I wonder if anyone will read this post and then try to utilise this idea as a buyer incentive to help move their housing stock? If so feel free to donate some sales proceeds! – I have a tonne more tested ideas!

In this particular development they all HAD fantastic views…….look in the comments to see what happened…basically a forerunner to the NPS-UD….