All Forum Posts by: Christopher Cassidy

I am a builder in Texas looking to get into land development. I know how to price out construction projects and build efficiently, but I'm still learning how to spot good land deals and identify what type of building makes the most sense in each area. 

A few questions for anyone who's done this:

- How do you figure out if land is a good deal (especially without MLS access?)

- What's your process for deciding the highest and best use of a property?

- How do yo keep track of past land sales to compare values? Do most people use spreadsheets, or is there a better tool?

-Any early mistakes to avoid?

I'd really appreciate any help! Love to learn or connect with anyone who could spread some wisdom. Thank you!

Howdy Michael! I've seen some solid seller finance deals out there, however, it's really seemed to slow down in my area (Weatherford area). But they are still out there, but it just takes a little more looking, especially at 4%! 

I'm not a long-term investor, but I have helped a few Investors build their investments in that area. Both were commercial properties (RV Park & Business Park), I believe their est. cap rate was around 12%. Just running ALOT of numbers and talking to as many people as you can in that area. 

Always happy to connect with others in this field and share notes, especially when it comes to working on the construction or labor cost aspect of the creative finance structure.

Howdy Mike! I agree that reading about different books on estimating rehab cost is a great start to become aware of the different costs and risks you could run into rehabbing a property. When I first started out I would go to active jobsites and literally give them a free's day's work just to pick there brain, learn their prices, and how it's supposed to be done right. 

-What I found is it's very common to do use cost per sqft unless the property is under 800sqft (for ex. you can't contract your labor at $1sqft for flooring if it's only 500sqft. It would then switch to day labor rate, which is custom to the trade.

***BE VERY CAREFUL GOING SOLO, you can have those number's mastered and know it like the back of your hand. But if you don't really know the process you don't know the risk. 

Using these average sqft cost for your rehab is great to get a idea if the property will still match your cap rate after your rehab cost. However, I always recommend a professional to take a look. All it takes is one mistake behind a wrapped wall or a roof line that you think might look OK.

I recommend to always continue learning the process, read books, talk to contractors, and even work with them. However, this is just to create confidence and knowledge in your field and what to look for.

Howdy! My name is Chris, I've been active in Real Estate for about 4 years and recently completed my first land development project. Over the past 3 years, we've built a metal building & Interior finish-out construction crew to be able to control our own building cost and allowed us to have a full understanding of the cost's to build. This created the confidence to build our first successful spec barndominium build, which was about a 6 month turnaround, and now we are looking ahead to working on bigger projects such as Storage Units, RV lots, or small business parks. 

I'm here to learn from others who've been through it, what to watch for and what to avoid. I hope to connect with other's with the same passion and be able to share ideas, experiences, and maybe even do some great projects together!