| In these pages, veteran construction contractor, real estate professional and building trades authority R Dodge Woodson gives you everything you need to prosper in the profitable arena of residential land development.
Learn how YOU can become a player in the hot market for new housing!
You don't need a fortune or years of real estate experience to become a successful residential land developer. This shrewd, up-to-the-minute guide shows you how to find and acquire prime properties that are true diamonds in the rough. You'll learn the factors that determine whether you've got a good deal: engineering surveys, grading, water availability and drainage, utilities, traffic, and more. And once you've chosen your land, you'll discover what you need to do at every stage to make your project succeed.
With the step-by-step advice of real estate expert and contractor R. Dodge Woodson's failure-proof primer, anyone can learn to exploit the opportunities in land development. Reflecting today's advantageous financial land development climate, Be a Successful Residential Land Developer shows you how to:
- Tie up and control land with very little cash and plenty of escape clauses
- Tap into conventional and creative financing sources
- Apply powerful Internet tools to leverage information
- Get favorable bids from subcontractors
- Deal with zoning, environmental, and code enforcement issues
- Reduce neighborhood resistance and handle boards of appeal
- Put together a professional team and direct the project
- Develop a marketing and sales plan for your new home(s)
- Much, much more
Inside You'll Find Residential Land Development Success
Why Should I Get into Land Development? • Can I Really Do It? • The Development Team and Selecting the Viable Project • Finding Hidden Treasure • Tying Up Land without a Full Commitment • Having Your Experts Do Preliminary Checks • Going over the Ground from Top to Bottom • Planning on Paper • Storm Water Drainage • Deciphering the Dirt • Water Requirements • Land Lost and Cost for Roads • Flood Zones • Location, Location, Location • Plans and Specifications • Getting Development Bids • Sales Projections • Financing • Zoning • Closing Your Land Deal • Insurance and Subcontractor Needs • Rolling Out the Big Rigs and Site Supervision • Keeping Your Project on Time and on Budget • A Marketing Plan and Sales Team • New Projects
From the Introduction
Becoming a land developer can mean making a lot of money. And, you don't have to use a lot of your own cash to break into the business. Of course, the more money you have, the easier the task will be. Money is needed, and sometimes
a lot of money is needed, but you can work with loans or partners to avoid tapping too hard into your own savings.
It is not unusual for land developers to double their money when they turn raw land into building lots. Any homebuilder should consider developing building lots. The additional money made from the sale of a home that is built on a lot that you develop can be substantial.
Not all land is suitable for development. You may find parcels that are in a flood plain. This can be a problem, but it may not be a deal-stopper. A full investigation is warranted for any piece of land that shows strong potential.
This book is designed to introduce you to the many elements involved with developing land. It goes into great depth on the procedures for becoming a profitable developer. Even if you have never closed a real estate deal, you can become a successful developer.
If you are serious about becoming a successful land developer, you will benefit greatly from the author's experience over the past decades. Why take a chance on losing the farm when you can build wealth quickly with the expert advice that R. Dodge Woodson has to offer? As a Designated Real Estate Broker, the highest classification available, and the owner of Expert Realty Services, Inc., Woodson is your roadmap to success. He has written dozens of books, many of which have been listed as Best Sellers, and his experience and advice comes from the real world. You can learn from his mistakes and his successes without risking your savings account.
There are a number of professionals who will prove to be quite helpful to you during your development procedures. If you have good organizational skills and a knack for being self-disciplined, you have a good chance of making a go of being a land developer. The experts who you surround yourself with will make the technical work easier.
When you are planning a project, you will need site plans and sketches. Your stable of professionals can take care of this for you. Engineers and surveyors will do much of the work. These people are essential to a strong development. The key factor is that you don't have to possess any particular strength to learn how to develop land.
What types of lots will you develop? Is a building lot just a building lot? Not at all. There are many different types of subdivisions and within those subdivisions there are various types of lots. You must decide how to lay out roadways. A lot of land can be lost to road construction. There is much to learn before you buy land for a development project. The principles laid out in this book apply to all types of residential land development.
This classic guide to becoming a successful land developer is fully revised and offers the most modern tactics for beating the odds in the development game. New additions include such topics as:
- Wetlands
- Habitat Classification
- Sampling
- Field Applications
- Hazardous Materials
Just thumb through these pages and look for yourself at how accessible the material is. It's reader-friendly, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive. Check out the forms, checklists, and sample agreements that are contained between these pages. Where else can you find real-world examples of what you are likely to deal with as a developer? This information here is real. Woodson uses the forms himself, and the sample applications are real. Getting familiar with the paperwork and the procedures before you are faced with them during your project will certainly save you time and frustration, not to mention the potential of saving money at the same time. |
