How to scale up to larger developments?

[Patrick Philip]

I am not asking about how to acquire financing. This is about the logistics of doing larger developments.

Currently, I am building single-family homes. I am managing the projects myself. I have a licensed General Contractor who gives me Power of Attorney to use his license. I pay him $1/sf. I am hoping to get my own GC license within the next year or so. I believe I could manage 10 home builds per year, although I have never done more than 1 at a time yet. Even doing one is constant work. Every day, I am going to the store (Home Depot, Lowe's, Floor&Decor, etc.) to buy things, return things, look at things, etc. It's possible that it would be too much to handle to even try to manage several houses at one time, but I will try and I think that I can. I also have to manage all the subcontractors. I have to pay them, inspect their work (although the goal is to get a good enough "team" of subcontractors that the work doesn't require too much inspecting).

My goal after this is to start building condo complexes. I want to buy vacant parcels in expensive areas and build as many condos on the property as zoning allows. It would be great if it could just be this easy...

1. Locate a suitable vacant parcel and buy it.

2. Get architecture/engineering done.

3. Hire GC to do the whole project for a price that will leave me with a nice profit.

4. Sell the condos.

I think my main problem here is #3. If I'm doubtful of whether I can even manage 10 home builds in one year, I don't see how I could manage large condo projects. Some things might be easier since it's all on one parcel, but at some point I'm going to have to either hire a GC or defer some management to others.

I think most developers just hire a GC to manage everything. I don't believe most developers have a GC license, although it is still my plan to get one.