My Greatest Advantage Is Getting in Front of Builders and Developers Early

Robert Gallant · 2026-09-08T11:38:39-07:00

One of the biggest lessons I’m learning is that the best opportunities don’t always begin with finding a property.Sometimes they begin with finding the buyer first.Getting in front of builders and developers allows me to understand exactly what they need:• Preferred markets and growth corridors• Minimum and maximum acreage• Zoning and density requirements• Utility and infrastructure needs• Target acquisition price• Residential, retail, medical or mixed-use demand• Their biggest obstacles to getting projects completedThat information gives me a major advantage when speaking with landowners, brokers and local contacts. Instead of trying to convince someone to buy a random property, I can search for opportunities that already fit a real acquisition strategy.My goal isn’t simply to send listings. It’s to become someone who understands a developer’s criteria, identifies potential sites early and helps remove friction from the acquisition process.For those already working directly with builders and developers: what helped you become a trusted source of opportunities instead of just another person sending deals?

Jorge RuizPro Member

Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2025 · 18 posts · 4 votes

1w

@Robert Gallant Thank you for sharing some really important points. Do you wholesale land or just actual properties? I look forward to your response.

All the best,

Jorge

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Robert Gallant
OP
Wholesaler · Maine/SW Florida/Texas/Arizona · Member since 2026 · 8 posts · 6 votes
1w
Jorge, thanks for asking! I’m pursuing both land and residential investment opportunities, with a growing focus on land for builders and developers. I’m building those buyer relationships first so I can source properties that fit their criteria.
Are you buying land, homes, or a mix of both—and which markets are you focused on?
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Jorge RuizPro Member
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2025 · 18 posts · 4 votes
23h
I’m just now looking into wholesaling land. From there the plan is to acquire multi family properties. I want to understand as much as I can about wholesaling land before nailing down a market.
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Michael Eskenasy

Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 511 posts · 287 votes

1w

This is exactly the right direction. The real advantage isn’t “finding deals” faster — it’s building a living acquisition map around the buyers before you ever go hunting. If you know each developer’s geography, acreage, zoning, density, utilities, price ceiling, use case, timing, and current constraints, then every parcel stops being a random lead. It becomes a match/no-match decision against a known mandate. That’s how we approach it: capture the criteria once, keep it current, then let every new property, owner conversation, zoning change, permit, and market signal update the same operating picture. The compounding value is the memory. After enough repetitions, you’re not searching for land anymore — you’re maintaining a market of known demand and waiting for supply to intersect it.

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Robert Gallant
OP
Wholesaler · Maine/SW Florida/Texas/Arizona · Member since 2026 · 8 posts · 6 votes
1w
Michael, the “keep it current” part really stands out. A buyer’s criteria are only useful if they still reflect what that buyer can act on today.
That’s what I’m working toward—understanding what each developer needs and staying close enough to know when those needs change. The reasons they pass on a site could be just as valuable as what they initially say they want.
How do you keep that information current in practice—regular check-ins, feedback on specific parcels, or both?
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Michael K GallagherBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Columbus OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1w

seems to be true in this game no matter what part of it. At the end of the day the one that holds the buyer or the Tenant is where the real actual money and value is coming from. To your point, shopping around and talking to sellers when you know you have someone lined up is a much different proposition.

[email protected]614-362-2231

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Robert Gallant
OP
Wholesaler · Maine/SW Florida/Texas/Arizona · Member since 2026 · 8 posts · 6 votes
1w
Michael, knowing what a buyer or tenant needs gives those seller conversations a lot more purpose. There’s still plenty of due diligence to do, but you have a clearer reason to pursue a property.
Are you seeing more demand around Columbus from investors buying existing properties or builders looking for land?
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Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member

CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes

1w

Robert, getting in front of the buyer early is a smart way to reduce wasted motion because it gives you a much clearer acquisition target.

The part I’d add is to build your sourcing process around the developer’s actual underwriting constraints, not just their preferred geography. Things like basis per acre, entitlement status, utility availability, off-site improvement requirements, density, timing, and whether they need shovel-ready land versus raw land can completely change whether a site is attractive.

From the tax side, land and development deals can also have very different outcomes depending on what ultimately happens with the property. If land is acquired and later sold without being developed, the tax treatment can look very different from land held as part of an active development business.

One planning point people sometimes overlook: if unimproved land is sold and the transaction qualifies, the installment-sale method may allow the gain to be recognized over the years payments are received instead of all at once. That can be useful when structuring seller-financed land transactions, but it needs to be planned before the deal closes.

If the property is developed and sold as part of an ongoing business, that’s generally active development/dealer income instead. If some projects are kept as rentals, I’d keep those separate from the development operation because the depreciation and tax treatment are very different.

The more you understand how the buyer evaluates the site financially, operationally, and tax-wise, the more valuable you become than someone simply forwarding listings.

Feel free to DM me, I’d be happy to send over a few resources that might help on the development and entity side.

[email protected]941-914-7779

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James Wise

Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes

5d

Na, if you've got the hive, you'll get the Bee's.

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Kevin Ebbecke

Lender · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2024 · 3 posts · 1 vote

22h

I work with builders from the financing side, primarily on investment properties, and one thing I’d add is to understand the financing box for the end buyer just as well as the builder’s acquisition box.

I see deals all the time where the property looks good until you actually run the rent, taxes, insurance and financing together. A relatively small change in appraised rent, insurance or leverage can completely change the DSCR and cash flow.

The builder relationships that work best for me are the ones where we can work backward from the investor. What is the realistic rent? What does the deal look like at 70%, 75% or 80% LTV? Is there enough room for seller concessions? Does the property type create any financing issues? Can a foreign national or LLC buyer actually execute on it?

If you can identify those issues before the opportunity gets put in front of the buyer, you’re doing a lot more than sending deals. You’re helping make the deal executable.

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My Greatest Advantage Is Getting in Front of Builders and Developers Early

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