All Forum Posts by: Bart Pair

It isn't crazy. In fact in some places they don't just develop existing islands but they actually make their own.

Check out "The World" project near Dubai.

http://www.theworld.ae/postcard/

When you find out the present zoning of the property, the future land use and the local agencies comprehensive plan for how they see the area being developed (all can be done at the local planning office) you will have a much better idea of what you have just bought.

If the land could in any way be developed into something more than single family residential lots, i.e. if there is any multi-family or commercial component than I would advise you to hire someone qualified to help you with the site planning of the development. Your local planner or engineer may do you a disservice if they don't have considerable experience in developments of this size. (Noticed I didn't include architects in that list - from my experience most architects are great at building design but shouldn't try to do land planning.)

If you have never done any development like this before than it would make sense to partner with someone who has (or flip it entirely) once you have a site plan of the property's potential.

It really depends on how long the permitting process is going to take for what you plan to do.

I have been involved with projects where the property didn't close until after all permits were obtained, the plans had already been sent out for bids and the contractor had been selected. Can't get lower land carrying costs than that.

Most developers underestimate how long permitting may take. (And let me tell you it isn't getting any shorter.)

Don't just go fill it!!

There are several things you need to check out just yet.

The biggest questions that need to be answered are;

1. Is it a wetland? To be a wetland it needs to have wetland vegetation, wetland soils, and wetland water characteristics. Being in a floodplain it probably satisfies the third requirement, but you would need to find out about the other two. If it is a wetland depending on the size and quality, you may still be able to fill it in, or you will have options for mitigation, or you will just be stuck.

2. Does the strip of area serve as a drainage path for property other than yours. (i.e. when it rains does stormwater runoff from properties other than yours flow into or across this strip of floodplain) If so then you can't just fill it without it providing a route for this stormwater to get to its ultimate destination. If you fill it in and the stormwater from your neighbor now has nowhere to go and floods his property, you got problems.

3. What type of floodplain is it? FEMA has different classifications (floodplains, floodways, etc.). What it really is will determine what hoops you have to jump through to fill it in.

4. What does the local jurisdiction require? Down here in florida things are so flat and low areas are so connected that it is really like a big bathtub when it rains. All the low areas fill up at the same time. So every bit of storage volume matters. Because of that many cities and counties have a "compensatory volume" rule. What that means is that for every cubic yard of dirt you put in a floodplain, you need to create a cubic yard of floodplain storage somewhere else. (i.e. if you fill in the expensive corner of your property, you will need to dig a hole in the cheap back corner of your property) I doubt you have that rule in Oklahoma but you should ask.

Those are the main questions that need to be answered. There are others.

I don't mean to discourage you. It shouldn't take much to answer these questions, and then you will know what options you have.

At least call the local planning and zoning department. Figure out what it is zoned for, what the future land use and comp plan envision for the area.

That is a minimum.

It depends on the size of the land you have, if this make sense or not but you may want to run an add in the airline magazines. (The ones in the seat pocket.)

Pick an airline that has the most flights to Costa Rica obviously.

Just a thought.

If the project was approved by the town that means it is public record and essentially is common knowledge. What do you mean by approved? Was it rezoned and that was approved? Is it a planned development or district that required city council approval?
Or has the site been through site plan permitting with the city and they have received a development order?

Unless it is the last one, you may need to tie up some land for a long time so be prepared.

Also, just how big of a project is it? Is it really going to make that big of an impact? One guide for this is the traffic study. (I assume you are talking about a project big enough that the Town required a formal traffic study to determine the projects impacts on the nearby roads. If not forget it, the "insider information" you have probably isn't worth a whole lot)

What kind of improvements is the project going to have to do according to the traffic study? Hopefully, they are going to have to put in a light and some turning lanes. Then we are talking about a project with some oomph. If it is just some turn lanes and no light, I'd be more cautious. If the traffic study says they don't have to make any road improvements, than the project probably isn't big enough to radically change the property values around it.

Just my 2 cents.

I don't have a lot of experience in this area, but I am currently working with a developer in Florida who does these extensively. He has told me that the market for affordable housing has not taken the blow that the rest of the residential market has taken (It's kind of protected, because of the way it is structured.)

That said, affordable housing can get complicated. In fact, it may not even be the City that you need to work with. It could be a state department that actually funds these projects and the City's are just middlemen. (That is kind of how it is in Florida.)

My advice would be to try and JV a project with someone who has done it before. Go to the City and find out who really handles affordable housing. Then talk to them and find out who the developers are that they typically work with on affordable housing projects. Find a deal, tie it up, and then approach the developer with a JV offer.

Could be the cheapest way to get an education in a promising subset of the market.

Interesting analysis. I am guessing you are assuming these are starter homes? The reason is you aren't accounting for anyone bring equity from a prior home into the deal and being able to pay more for a house.

That is fine, but I would do a check of the demographics in your area and find out how many 18-30 year olds you have in your area and are projected to have over the next few years. That sounds like your target audience so you want to make sure there are enough of them to warrant building these homes.

There are two big factors that determine what contamination will really cost to clean up.

1. what kind of hazardous material it is

2. is it in the groundwater or not

Most people think leaky storage tanks from gas stations and such are really expensive to clean up, but in reality this type of substance can be relatively cheap (none of its cheap). It's the dry cleaners and manufacturers that tend to kill you.

Plus if it is all contained in the soil and isn't in the groundwater that can be a big opportunity to get a property for a good price. Cleanup is pretty straightforward in that case, as you simply remove all the dirt and place new fill.

If it is in the groundwater its best to just walk away. Even if you can clean it up, you will be forced to do monitoring for years.