@Pavan SandhuThanks!
@Pavan Sandhu@Asad Shaikh
In your initial post, there are some cost items missing:
1. Development impact, school, park, and permit fees
2. Soft costs - arhcitect, strucutral, MEP engineers, soils engineering, survey and setting grade stakes. In our markets we have HERS rater costs and other new requirements like that.
In your follow on posts:
1. Simple design that looks great, straightforward framing, flat roof (sloped).
2. Can he build for $100 /ft with those cabinets, countertops and bath fixtures. The tub is beautiful.
We are building in Los Angeles, a plain and simple rental product, at around 100 per foot. But we don't have any of the nice items, cabinets, high end tubs, etc. Just check that the builders had actually delivered recent past projects at that cost.
3. Check the builders past LLC partnerships? Did they go well, are the people satisfied, would they do another deal with him again? Be very grounded in your assessment of him, his past historical deal performance, past build costs, etc. It's much lower cost to do that before you get LLC married, then after you in the deal.
For the rest of the post:
Reaction to the developer fee is that 20% is high. It is a small deal, so the % should be higher generally relative to the size of the deal, but not 20%. Think of it this way, what % would you have for profit on a GC contract 4-10% max. Like someone said, maybe 15% is OK.
Who found the lot? If you did, you should get some value for that, that has value right, that took time right? Get paid for it.
Many time we build in an acquisition fee 1-3% , depends on the deal and if it can handle the additional cost of acq. fee. Sometimes you can represent the buyer (yourself and him) and get part of the listing brokers fees, but that's hit and miss. At this level, small lots, most listing brokers are hell bent on keeping all the commission. I regularly pay outside land finders 3% on the buyer's side to find me more or better land parcels.
Also, pay attention to time when you each get paid. A developer fee is usually paid right up front or drawn monthly. Your commission gets paid at the back end. What if the deal does not sell for enough and you have to reduce or eliminate your commission, he gets fee and you dont? No. Maybe have all fees paid as a priority or preferred return out of profits, that way if there is a cost reduction issue, and fees have to be reduced, you make them up as priority payment from profits, then do the splits afterwards.
You need to take into account imperfect execution scenarios, or market down turn scenarios. It's so easy to set everything up in the beginning, everyone's feeling good and the market is solid (honeymoon period), and so it's easy to give away too much profit, or allows too many fees to others, or except too much responsibility compared to the other partner.
