Straight answers about building

Waterproofing, the tiling months, quiet days and late doors — what 91 real diary entries from a Western Sydney co-living build actually show.

Licence and insurance, contract type, the 10% deposit cap, what's excluded, how the build is run, and what your warranties actually cover. The twelve questions I'd ask.

A live schedule, a site diary written the day work happens, a weekly report, and a set way of handling problems. Here's the system, with real dates from our current jobs.

A 600 m² corner block in Sydney's North West, two five-bedroom homes, 12 months on site — and the honest lessons I'd apply to your build.

Fixed price locks in one number; cost-plus charges the real cost plus an agreed margin. Which one saves you money depends on how much your design changes.

After running costs, market figures suggest a co-living owner keeps roughly 80% of gross rent as operating income, before finance. Here's the honest breakdown.

Not every block works, and zoning alone won't tell you. The six checks we run before we say yes: council rules, lot size, room count, parking, real feasibility and finance.

A CDC checks your design against fixed state rules and usually approves in 10 to 20 business days. A DA goes to council on merit and takes around 70 days.

A boarding house is affordable housing run by a Community Housing Provider, forever. Co-living has no rent cap, and the owner keeps control.

Generally $1.1M to $1.5M without a basement, up to $2M with one. Why we don't quote a price on the first call, and what actually moves the number.

The right block, Class 1b compliance from the first drawing, and shared spaces built to take real wear. How our completed flagship came together — including the water problem that scared everyone else off.