Investment & Design

[Reece Carter]

Does design have a place in the investment thought process? And who manages it?

I am an architect in Atlanta market and looking to change the way the I work with the current builders in the area. I want to drive better design, tighter (realistic!!!)budgets, and faster resales.

I am looking to educate myself how the financial side of the development business works and hopefully see that design has a place for it all.

Reece

[Bryan Hancock]

There is certainly value in having a good designer. The folks we work with have specialized skillsets and know how to navigate the city gauntlet, which is quite difficult in Austin right now.

As an investor the only folks that add this value are people with specialized expertise. There are many architects that are a dime a dozen. The few specialists there are can command a premium and I try to send almost all of my business to them for the right projects. A simple, flat lot with no setback, topo, etc. challenges doesn't need a specialist. It needs someone that can get the job done competently with good service.

A more complex job should command a premium like anything else that requires specialized skillsets.

Developers control the money, budgets, risks in projects, etc. Design and domain expertise certainly play a huge role in the process. Tight budgets are a nice-to-have, but budgets for projects are generally purposefully padded to account for uncertainty. The real value comes from domain expertise that saves the developer money, gets things done faster, or gets things that one could not get without the expert's services.