Capital & Development

How do we structure the deal?

From lot size to exit value. The questions a developer answers before making an offer, not after closing.

Run the numbers Bring me the land

The chain

From the lot to the exit value.

This is the path I walk with every piece of land. Move the numbers to match your lot and see where it lands. If the land is worth more than the house standing on it, this is where it shows.

Lot7,500 sf Zoning0.50x Buildable3,750 sf Comps$800/sf Demolition$35,000 Construction$1,155,000 Exit value$2,700,000

Examples to start with: single family 0.50, duplex or townhomes 0.75, small multifamily 1.50. The real number comes from your city's code, and it is almost never the one the listing promises.

Buildable area0 sf
Sellable area0 sf
Exit value$0
Total cost$0
Profit$0
Margin on cost0%
There may be a way
Most you could pay for the land$0

Worked out to leave a 20% margin on cost. This is the number I use when someone says their land is worth what the house next door is worth.

This is an estimate to think with, not a feasibility study. The real one needs a survey, a zoning review at the city, and bids from contractors. That is exactly what I put together with you.

How it gets structured

Five ways to make the deal work.

The opportunity is rarely what is missing. The structure is: who puts in the land, who puts in the money, who builds, and how it gets split.

Joint venture

You put in the land, someone else puts in the capital and the build. Nobody sells cheap and both share the result.

Private lending

You lend and the project pays you interest, with the property as collateral. Lower ceiling, lower risk.

Equity partner

Capital in exchange for a share of the project. What really gets negotiated here is the order in which each side gets paid.

Seller financing

The land owner gets paid over time. Useful when the price is right but today's cash is not enough.

Construction loan

The bank releases money in stages against real progress. The schedule rules, not the enthusiasm.

Or the fifth option

Do not do the project. Sell the land to someone who can build it today, and put the money where it actually works.

Case 004 · Capital

Someone wants to put $100K into Miami. Three moves I'd consider.

And a fourth one almost nobody looks at: lending to the person who is already building.

Verdict: first stories coming soon

The next step

Bring me the land or the capital.

Send me the address or the folio number and I will tell you what I see: what can be built, what it would cost, and whether the numbers hold.

A personal reply, not a robot.