Residential Subdivision Development

For over 25 years, Todd Myers has poured his energy into transforming and constructing homes, acquiring vacant residential lots, and developing both home sites and subdivisions. Throughout his career, he has refined his abilities and expanded his knowledge, consistently producing excellent work that satisfies clients’ needs. Todd’s vast experience demonstrates his enthusiasm for creating attractive, functional homes, as well as his skill in navigating complex land development and building processes. His devotion to exceptional craftsmanship, sharp attention to detail, and awareness of changing housing market trends has earned him a strong reputation in the industry. Whether he’s reviving an older home through renovations or orchestrating a new subdivision from the ground up, Todd’s expertise and proven track record in single-family subdivision development make him a go-to professional.

Is It Time to Become a Single-Family Home Developer?

Start by pinpointing a niche or untapped market that other seasoned developers might have missed, and consider its potential value. Assess how it could enhance the broader community—beyond just meeting your personal objectives. Clarify what “community” involves in this scenario, ensuring everyone understands who benefits. Check if county, city, or township planners have a long-term approach that aligns with your concept, and determine whether there are suitable properties available to support that vision. Also, identify possible hurdles you could encounter along the way.

Once you’ve framed your idea, line it up with the overarching aspirations of the local community. Thoroughly research and collect data without incurring any costs if possible. Delve into documentation from previous architectural plans, engineering reports, legal proceedings, and property acquisitions. Find out if anyone else has tried to build on the site before and why they may have run into obstacles. Look into whether local governments already invested time and money with no tangible results.

Staying Under the Radar

Maintaining confidentiality is paramount, a strategy Todd refers to as being “incognito.” Avoid revealing key details about your plan, and keep discussions somewhat ambiguous with others. Even friends and allies can inadvertently reveal tidbits like special financing options, property owner involvement, city contributions, or your external team. When talking with local authorities or other partners, mention you’re carrying out a land-use analysis for future initiatives in the area—true but intentionally vague. Over disclosing information can draw unwanted attention. People often enjoy sharing gossip, so keep your intel to yourself to avoid tipping off competitors.

Evaluate the data you collect and confirm whether your chosen niche or project approach is viable. During this feasibility phase, identify both challenges and opportunities. Define your target market, strategize your marketing approach, and review how local government has behaved in the past regarding similar projects. If you don’t yet have legal control over the property, work on securing it at this point. Then allocate a budget for environmental tests and analyses, refine your overall plan into schematic designs, finalize a cost breakdown, and reach out to financing prospects.

Planning, Financing, and Making Deals

Every vision needs a well-defined plan, complete with assessments, negotiations, and established roles, all gleaned from your earlier research. This stage sets the foundation for moving from planning to implementation, encompassing permits, detailed engineering drawings, and in-depth financial analysis like proformas for both development and ongoing operations. Implementation revolves around securing pre-sales, carrying out site surveys, clarifying construction specifications, and negotiating both permanent and construction loans. Overseeing this process equips you with critical insights to coordinate efforts, negotiate important give-and-take scenarios, and keep each agreement transparent and organized.

Effective negotiation fine-tunes the overall project, unifying marketing teams, property managers, architects, contractors, lenders, and equity brokers around your goals. At this juncture, you’ll finally look to acquire ownership of the land—whether through outright purchase, lease with an option, owner financing, or some other structure. It’s time to bring your big idea into the open. You’ll need contracts for items such as public utilities, infrastructure, engineering work, landscaping, and shared amenities. Also, consider requirements for bonding, draw schedules, equity schedules, oversight of construction, and supervision of marketing. By this point, you should be gearing up for sales.

Your marketing plan should prioritize early sales efforts leading up to your official launch. Clearly define lot boundaries for new builds and speculative homes. Afterward, shift your focus to day-to-day operations, sales, management, and continuous market and price analysis to optimize revenues and returns.

If you’d like guidance or want to discuss a single-family development concept, feel free to reach out using the form below, and we’ll be happy to help—free of charge.