Land & Farm Investing
by Craig Grella
| October 9, 2009
Last week I wrote an article describing how to price and develop offers on land purchases. While that information is an important part of the overall development process, it is only a small fraction of the work that needs to go into developing land for residential use. As such, I’d like to explore the residential land development process in a more thorough manner, which will include this article, and several to follow.
With that said, this article will focus on the process of land development, risks and rewards, and a few things you’ll need to get started in the business of Residential Land Development.
Land development is the process of preparing raw land for the construction of improvements.
It can include:
- Demolition of existing improvements
- Clearing and Grading
- Rezoning if required
- Installing utilities, sewers, streets, and sidewalks
- Constructing Improvements like driveways, foundations, and building pads
Although developed land creates no more income than raw land, it is nevertheless brings land one step closer to its ultimate use; a home, apartments, office buildings, hotels, etc.
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Commercial Real Estate
by Craig Grella
| October 2, 2009
Pricing land for development can be a daunting task for the untrained investor. As a niche subset of both residential and commercial real estate, using comparables for land can be as dangerous to a developer as it is mysterious, sometimes causing the failure of what was certain to be a fantastic development.
However, for the savvy investor, there is one universally accepted land valuation method used by development professionals, corporations, and appraisers alike; the Land Residual Method. By using this method you will be able to determine the current and future value of any piece of land, whether its use be residential or commercial. You will also be able to price land, such that any development you propose will have built in profit. With some practice, you will be able to employ the land residual method in just a few moments, summing up the value of almost any property just on sight.
The land residual method has a fancy sounding name, but to use it all you need is an understanding of some simple math. The land residual method is a calculation that takes the highest and best use of a particular piece of property and subtracts out the total cost of development to arrive at the residual value: the land value. Once you have the numbers it’s that easy. “How do you get the numbers?” You ask. It takes some research, but even a novice investor can figure it out relatively quickly.
For the sake of this article I’ll be speaking to residential single family development or single family lot land. Rest assured, commercial development uses the same principles, though the calculations are a little more in depth.
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This is Part 2 in the Residential Land Development series showing you how to find, price, and develop land for residential single family property.
Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman
Ted Karsch.
Welcome to Miami’s Condo Bust
by Joshua Dorkin | August 30, 2007The Orlando Sentinel had an extremely interesting article today about the Miami Condo Bust. The article detailed the dangers that go along with pre-construction investing real estate speculation.
How’s this for scary:
“Just how many other speculators face the same dilemma in the nation’s most glutted condo market will become clear during the next two years. [...]