All Forum Posts by: Fred Haas

Anyone know of a lawyer that can execute at a fairly high level on Land Development deals?

Thanks!

I can easily find deals. I have over 40 years of land development experience as an engineer so I can assess property pretty quickly.

Anyway, someone came to me with a couple of off-market properties. They were too big for what I am doing so I passed them on to another friend. The people who are selling are interested in being a part of a JV on the development, and my friend found someone who is interested in the property. The next step would be to get these folks together so they can talk. When I contacted the person who originally sent me the property, she asked "how do we get paid on this?" We, being she and I. I thought that was a good question so I am asking you all.

Does anyone have a good idea as to how we get paid for setting this up and what structure needs to be in place for that to happen?

Thanks!

Thanks T. Alan. I had plans tonight, but if you have another one let me know.

I am working in land development and would like to connect with others. Let me know if there are any established meetups.

Hey All,

I am working on a few projects. I am trying to get some sustainable builders established in a "spec home" subdivision. I am trying to support them by finding investors to assist in buying lots and financing  their construction.

I am familiar with the actual development side, but not so much with the investing and deal making (that's why I'm here to learn more), when I connect a builder with an investor, what would be a fair price to charge so I am compensated for my effort. I am thinking something like $5K, but I really have no clue what a typical fee would be. Am I asking an unreasonable amount or am I selling myself short here?

Thanks for your help.

Hey All,

I have a background in Civil Engineering working for around 40 years doing land development, floodplains, and waste management work, among other things. I stopped for a while to do life coaching and energy work, and then I met a guy who was a broker that wanted to get more into the development side so we teamed up with his dad, a lawyer, and started up.

As things have progressed, I am now finding lots of deals, and as it turns out, the guy I am working with is not really delivering the investors like he said he could/would so I am learning that part of the process now too as most of my deals sit quietly on the sidelines. I'm getting too old to wait, so if I have to take things in my own hands, I will.

Here is the caveat, I came back to do this because I am extremely passionate about sustainable development, net-zero carbon, thermal mass, compressed earth block, rammed earth, hempcrete and others with all the add-ons like rainwater collection, solar and permaculture. I'd be surprised if there is a sustainable builder in Texas that I have not at least talked to, if I don't actually know them.

I am trying to develop projects that allow these folks to showcase their work so people may discover that they can live in healthy, efficient, comfortable, forever homes that don't burn,  and are insect proof and mold free. 

Besides the funding for the subdivisions or site developments, we need funding for the builders to take down lots and build. They are transitioning from the custom home model to a spec home subdivision model. While this is exciting and opens the door to opportunity, they really need investors to make the shift since they aren't used to buying the land and funding the build without the buyer already in tow.

So I have an abundance of deals to do basically those parts, either develop subdivisions with all the horizontal infrastructure and sell lots, or fund builders spec homes in these developments, preferably all sustainable because a known stick builder can come in and build without any help.

So if any of this interests you or you think I would be someone you want to know, drop me a message and we can talk all about it. I am an introvert and an engineer so talking is not my thing, but I love talking about this.

Also, I'm not sure this is the site for this kind of development project since most everything I see is flips and rentals, although funding a custom build is basically flipping a brand new sustainable home.

All the best!

The terms used when describing floodplain areas have specific meanings. The floodplain consists of the "floodway" and the "flood fringe". The regulatory floodway is calculated by constricting the boundaries of the floodplain resulting in a 1 foot rise to the base flood elevation (BFE). In any jurisdiction (city, county,whoever is in charge), no structures can be put in the regulatory floodway because it will impact (ie raise) the elevation of the floodwaters surrounding the property. Depending on the jurisdiction, some will allow, and some will not allow, development in the flood fringe as long as you can demonstrate that the development does not raise the BFE (no rise) or possibly some other criteria, again jurisdiction specific. If development is allowed in the flood fringe then it has to meet certain criteria like it must be a certain elevation above the BFE, at least 1 foot, maybe more depending on the location, and it must be built with certain materials among other things. You can tell what zone you are in by searching your address here. https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search The City of San Antonio looks like they allow for certain construction in the floodplain as long as it does not raise the water surface more than 6 inches,but the "no rise" applies to the floodway. You can see their rules here.https://library.municode.com/tx/san_antonio/codes/unified_de... So, from what you have said it sounds like your lots are in the floodway based on what the engineer told you. Unless the floodplain study for this area is new this is not something that has just happened recently. Your options are to appeal the appraisal, make it agricultural (community garden or farm crops), raise bees or anythng like that to get the taxes down. As a general development rule, floodplains make good amenity areas so maybe you could sell it to the city or neighboring HOA looking for parking and pickleball courts or similar, or look through the allowed uses in a floodplain per the COSA regulations and see if anything sparks for you. I hope this is helpful. All the best!