How to Develop Land

[Dwayne Bailey]

Hello, I have a question on land development in Virginia. Personally, I already build 4-6 houses per year through my company. However lots are becoming more and more scarce. Especially affordable lots. Everyone wants top dollar lately (I know why). I plan to start buying large tracts of land to develop into a subdivision. I'd say enough that'll accommodate at least 15 homes to be built, so about 60 acres. I know about zoning and to check with the county before I purchase. However I'm looking to learn the pitfalls of trying to develop land, to build homes. Also ballpark amounts of money I'll spend before I even break ground for the first basement. Like civil engineering costs, county bond costs (let's say for 60 acres), impact fees, and any other costs associated with land development. Also, since I started searching, I see some listing agents say, "preliminary site plan already approved." What's a preliminary site plan and where does that fall in the permit process for developing land? Also how do proffers make deals more difficult? Thanks in advance.