All Forum Posts by: Jean Paul Valley

My question is if I buy a piece of raw land with the intention of hiring my own architect/contractor to build and oversee, am I liable for any injuries that happen on the work site?

My second question is if I hire a traditional builder or developer to build on the lot which I own, am I better of from a liability standpoint to then deed the lot over to the builder (presumably so its on them if a worker is injured) and then have the property deeded back to me when done?

Thanks

I am new to the field of development and am wondering how the more experienced BPers got the financing for their first deals? Did most of you have large down payments of your own available to get financing approved? or did some of you use more creative financing techniques?

Thanks in advance to all who share their stories.

I am new to the forum and RE development in general, and have a question on recreation facilities within a subdivision.

My question is:
If for example you build a large subdivision and have plans to build an enclosed rec center (with maybe a bball courts, pool, banquet room, etc..). Who pays for this? I believe that a HOA will be in charge of maintenance of the facility, but when would an HOA take over? I presume they wouldnt In the beginning phase of development because they are so few residents to even make an HOA let alone pay for the center.

To put another way, if the developer bears the cost of construction, maintenance and staffing of the facility at the outset, when will they be relieved of that burden?

I am a long way off from developing anything, let alone a subdivision with a rec center, but this question has bothered me for some time now. Thanks for any responses.

My wife and I are interested in building a new home for ourselves some time in the next couple of years. Previously, we hired your typical home building co. to put up our current house. This time, we would like to cut out the middle man and build ourselves. So my question involves financing the build. I understand constuction loans and am comfortable with them. But, to take it one step further, I propose the following scenario:

I from an LLC (jpv development llc). The new company then applies for a construction loan to buy the land and build the house. In filing for the loan I list that the home will be a model house for the LLC. The deed will be under the LLC.

I am no tax expert but I believe the write-offs for such a plan are favorable.

I am interested if any BP'ers have thoughts on this. Please feel free to tell me I am crazy and this plan is a silly waste of time, if you think so.

Thanks so much.

Thanks for all of the replies, really helpful. No, its not my project I am just reviewing some old notes in the office for my boss and came across the 300k quote. Initially, that seemed like an outrageous amount to pay for CE. However, as others mentioned that amounts to 3k per lot which seems more in line with their work.

So, I guess my question now, is 3k per lot a "normal" figure?
Also, what would be the ballpark per lot for excavation and construction bids?
Thanks to all for your help.

A quick look at the numbers and I think I know where the discrepancy is. In order to get a 300k charge for the lots (30k per lot) the construction/infrastructure costs must be included; which means that the quote from the CE included everything.

My question now, is that normal? is it standard for a civil engineer/architect to include the cost of construction in their quote? that seems odd to me but like I said I am new to this.

It's a small town and there are not to many civil engineers and large project architects. This co. Does both. They are essentially doing everything for the project outside of digging and building. Not sure there's enough other engineers/architects in the town to piecemeal it out.
300k just seems like a lot of money to pay for planning, supervising and certifying. I'm sure it will be another couple hundred grand for excavation and contracting team.

We were quoted a cost of roughly 300k for a particular company to do the architectural and engineering work on a 100 lot 50 acre subdivision. I am still new to all of this but that seems extremely high, considering they are not actually doing the digging and constructing (that is being done by an excacation company). They are performing the plans, town approvals, specs, etc...Is it normal to get a quote that high? thanks.

B.A. History from east coast private
J.D. (tax concentraction) from east coast private

Currently at a firm doing all things real estate from commercia/residential development to home closings. Loving it and am involved in some big deals. Still have a couple more years to lay the groundwork for the plunge into development on my own though.

Thanks for all the great and positive responses.

My biggest concern going into the project (likely 2-3 years before I even buy the land, so this is still exploratory) is the financing. I have a couple of potential partners in the works but would very much like to keep as much control over this project as possible, I'm sure you've all heard that before. I have gained valuable experience already in my young career having put together severl land deals and have represented clients in two major subdivision developments - still, bank financing seems like such a crapshoot for a first time developer like myself. Would welcome any thoughts, strategies or advice on this. Thanks.