Development Evidence Register: What to Resolve Before an Offer

Turn the property story into checkable claims

A development evidence register before an offer breaks a promising property description into separate claims: intended use, title rights, site dimensions, service access, construction scope and a supported market exit. Each claim should have evidence, a date, a reviewer and a status. A polished summary is useful only when the underlying unresolved questions remain visible.

Give each decision its own evidence lane

Title and covenants need legal documents and interpretation. Planning needs current controls and property-specific assessment. Geometry needs appropriate measurements or survey. Building feasibility needs the proposed design and relevant professional review. Market research needs comparable product evidence. A favourable result in one lane does not close the others, so avoid one overall green label that hides the weakest lane.

Use dated references instead of assurances

Record the source document, version, page or clause, effective date and retrieval date. CAV’s “due diligence checklist” is a starting point for identifying issues.1 A verbal assurance can be logged as a request to substantiate, but it should not occupy the same evidence status as a document reviewed for the specific claim.

Separate screening from approval

A desktop map check, concept layout or database classification is screening evidence. Planning Victoria’s guide describes the permit process and the role of applicable controls.2 An appealing concept cannot establish a planning permit, building permit, service approval or subdivision entitlement. State which next decision is needed and who can answer it for the address.

Assign a consequence and next action

For every unresolved row, write what could change if the assumption fails, who will respond and which document or inspection is required. Group dependencies: an access constraint can affect layout, construction method and cost simultaneously. Avoid estimating its dollar consequence before the relevant scope is understood. Keep the issue open until the evidence actually supports closure.

Carry the register into the contract discussion

Give the evidence register to the buyer and relevant advisers before setting unconditional assumptions. Ask the solicitor or conveyancer about appropriate conditions and timing for the specific transaction. Preserve the dated version used for the decision. A later update should record what changed, so the original basis of the offer can still be reconstructed.

Questions buyers ask

Can a concept layout close planning and title questions?

No. It is one part of screening; the relevant documents and address-specific decisions remain separate.

What closes an unresolved evidence item?

Evidence appropriate to that claim, reviewed by the responsible adviser or decision-maker, with its date recorded.

Continue the evidence check

Use the development evidence hub to build a source-linked issue register, then compare the Development Insights methodology and current tool. These articles explain research methods; they do not reproduce proprietary transaction databases or establish an approval, valuation or future result.