All Forum Posts by: Don Gouge

Better yet, contact the state real estate commission and explain the situation to them.i am sure they will provide clarity.

I would love to be in a position where I thought 10 million wasn't much money.

Sit down with a lender from a small local bank and share your situation and goals and let them take it from there.

You need to work on that 90k on student loan debt! It is going to be an anchor around your neck. 

A home inspector probably isnt the best choice for a property that needs extensive rehab. You need an experienced rehab contractor to take a look.

Have you paid them any money?

This is a commercial enterprise. See a local  bank lender about a commercial loan

The biggest assets of large (1000+ yearly) homebuilders is their ready to build lots. The secret isnt really the houses they are building but the lots they have to build on. Some firms just develop the lots and then sell the entire subdivision to the big builder. As has been alluded to before, I would partner or at least get extensive advice from experiend developers or engineering firms that have designed subdivisions. I did a small subdivision many years ago and built a few houses in it and also sold some lots. My real land profit was tied up in unsold lots that I eventually sold off over the years. When I first started building spec houses in the early 90s, I was able to buy some nice lots in good subdivisions that were built in the mid 70s before the economy imploded. Developers either went bankrupt or just couldn't sell because the economy tanked. They got caught holding the bag. I have tried to remember that you are depending on the condition of the economy a few years away when you start.

I have a great amount of disgust for the attitudes these agents have in reguard to getting a property under contract and the further negotiating of the terms after they have gotten the property off the market. Contingencies at one time were used just to protect buyers from conditions that were not easily seen at contract signing. They are now often being used as a tool to put the buyer at an unfair advantage after the seller has lost the value of a fresh listing. If a buyer backs out because he hasnt done his homework or can't get the price down further, the seller has to return to the market with a less fresh listing and a stigma of falling out of contract.

  May answer as to what you need to know before you make an offer is basically "everything" with the exception of less than obvious defects to the structure or situations that need environmental testing. I know that is probably not the answer you were looking for but I am a guy that turns over every stone before I act. 

I would be concerned with the time frame of the project whether just the land development or the turnkey house. How long would it take from today to get to have a fully buildable and permitted lot? How long until you get to the closing table with your first house in this new development? What will the economy and demand look like at that time? Depending upon where this development is and its regulations you can easily be looking at 2+ years.