The fact-gathering process begins with your first contact with the land parcel and continues throughout the time you’re involved with the property. Although you’ll be collecting various types of information at different stages, the primary purpose of due diligence in the context of “developing” a property is to enable you to determine if the land development would be economically feasible.

The specific information that you will need about a parcel will depend on the land development scenario you want to do, the specific property, applicable laws or ordinances, the seller and other facts unique to the situation. However, as discussed in previous articles in this Land Development Values series, key issues include a rough estimate of the site yield, the improvement costs and the potential income you could realize from transforming the property. So those are the issues on which you should focus your efforts when you’re beginning your evaluation of land parcels.

Location: Utilities & Surrounding Area

You will need to find out if the parcel can be serviced by public utilities (especially sewer and water) because this has a direct impact on the potential yield of the site and the ultimate cost of improvements. In addition, zoning ordinances often require that public water and sewer be available in order for a parcel to be developed into certain uses or specify different densities based on public and private water and sewer. Accordingly, you’ll need to determine the locations of existing or proposed lines by reviewing mapping available at the offices of the municipality, governmental authority or private utility company. The presence of lines at or near the parcel is no guarantee that utility service is available. A moratorium on new connections could prevent the property from accessing existing lines, so you should also find out if utility permits are available and the cost of permit and tap-in fees.

Depending on your intended land development scenario, you might have to discard the parcel if it cannot be serviced by public water and sewer. However, if that is not the case, then you will ultimately need to find out (with assistance from your engineer) if the soils and other geologic conditions on the property favor on-site sewage disposal systems and wells. In addition to making site yield more speculative, private utility service may add significantly to improvement costs.

To avoid the “noxious neighbor” trap (discussed in a previous article), you should investigate the properties in the area of the one you’re pursuing. This means checking out the current zoning and getting details of any pending subdivision, use or development applications. Use common sense to define the scope of the area you investigate. The “impact zone” can extend beyond properties within walking distance where the existing use or proposed change could have a negative effect from a distance.

Physical Characteristics

You don’t have to be an engineer to collect some basic, preliminary information about the parcel’s features, such as existing structures, topography, size, shape, road frontage, and whether it appears to have areas of wetlands and floodplain. Data and mapping relating to soils, wetlands, topography and floodplain are available from several sources on and off the Internet. Aerial photography can be quite useful in getting a sense of the parcel’s boundaries and conditions on and off the site. If you get to the point of putting a parcel under contract, your engineer will assemble site-specific information, but your preliminary research should give you a general idea of the site’s natural or man-made features that may present challenges to developing it.

Restrictions

In addition to researching the zoning of the parcel, you may want to get a copy of the current deed to see if there are any obvious title issues, such as easements and restrictive covenants. (You would, of course, have a full title search done during the feasibility period of your purchase contract.) When you’re at the municipal office, be sure to find out if the property has undergone use, subdivision or development proceedings in the past and if so, review the municipal files and plans submitted.

Finished Product Value

After you “develop” the parcel, you’ll want to be able to sell it for a profit. Your buyers may be builders who will, in turn, sell the finished product to end users. Therefore, what you can get for the parcel in part depends on the ultimate value of that finished product (i.e., building lots, residential new construction packages, or office and retail facilities). Where you contemplate a residential subdivision, you should identify the current and pending residential communities in the area, the builders involved, what the home sites are selling for and the rate at which they are selling. Also critical is the revalue of existing housing in the immediate area because this in a sense sets the bar for the sale prices of the new construction on the site. For office and retail uses, research rent rates obtained for comparable non-residential properties in the area. Where applicable, find out the sale prices of individual office or retail buildings and condo units.

Owning a piece of your very own hunting property is no doubt one of the best possessions there is when it comes to hunting. I have been hunting public land my who life and I am definitely ready for a change. I grew up hunting a variety of game. My love of the outdoors led me to obtain a Fisheries and Wildlife degree from the University of Minnesota. After working for a few different organizations I am now a real estate agent who specializes in hunting properties. Over the years I have learned what it takes and what can be done to your hunting land in order to increase the quality of the hunting. As I go through these 4 tips, keep in mind that every property, population, and area is different. Some of these tips may work for you while some may not.

• The highly regarded FOOD PLOT

Food plots are the new rage when it comes to attracting wildlife to your property. Not only will food plots assist in attracting wildlife to your property but they will give you a place to observe and even stalk/wait for your game. This is a highly effective strategy and one that I encourage provided certain conditions are met and the owner takes time to learn the proper technique in building food plots.

• WILDLIFE OPENINGS

Like food plots, wildlife openings provide food and sometimes even cover for a variety of wildlife species. A wildlife opening is basically a cleared area on a property that allows for undergrowth and young saplings to grow. These young plants and trees can provide a very high amount of forage for animals. These open areas allow forage such as grasses, clovers, Jewelweed, and berries such as raspberries to grow. Wildlife openings are much easier to work with because they don’t need much if any future attention, unlike food plots. They are great if you do not have the time, money, or equipment to manage a full blown food plot. My next tip will show you some cheap and one-time additions you can add to the opening.

• Mast producing trees

Mast producing trees are basically trees that produces forage from their canopy. One of the highly regarded trees of wildlife in Minnesota are the Apple trees. Apple trees are great for wildlife and hunting properties because once they are established they can produce a huge abundance of forage for wildlife during the fall season for years to come. Apple trees can be a great addition to a wildlife opening.

• Trails

Although trails are naturally occurring in the wilderness it can be very beneficial to add or maintain them on your property. Most wildlife prefer the path of least resistance, which is why you will find trails throughout the woods. Maintaining the current trails or even creating trails will allow you to monitor the local wildlife population. Trails provide a great place for game cameras which allow you to see and track you game even when you are not around.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and keep in mind that not all properties may be right for these techniques. If you are new to property ownership, I suggest you pick up a few books or check out some other articles to learn more about the subject of managing your property for wildlife.

Have you ever considered what it takes for raw land to turn into the massive land developments we see all around us? Very few things in the world take as much consideration as how to create a land development. It takes developers many months to look into past, present and future information to ensure that they have created a sound plan for the environment to develop the land for the purposes the developer needs it to accommodate.

Research is done for land development because each separate project has its own issues and special circumstances that make it unique. Surveyors and Civil Engineers work closely together to look into every possible potential issue to make sure they have a plan for anything that can happen with a land development project. Things such as drainage, ground stability and the other structures surrounding the project are all some of the things that need to be taken into consideration before the shovel breaks ground.

There are steps that land developers must take on their journey into developing a piece of raw land. First, they must spend an ornate amount of time looking into all of the factors that affect a project. They track economic trends to see if investing time and money in to a land development project is profitable. They also look into things like population growth and job growth to determine the growth of an area. This step usually involves many different professionals. Government officials, business members, real estate professionals and builders will meet with a land developer to create a due diligence report. This eliminates all the guesswork involved and puts the facts in place to determine the worthiness of a proposed project.

Once developers have found land, determined that an area’s growth rate is worthy of the proposed project developers will go about negotiating for the acquisition of the raw land. There are two common ways most developers go about this process they are; purchasing the land upfront with cash or negotiating an option to purchase the land by a set date and price by putting a large deposit down. The second option is considered more favorable because it leaves developers funds available for the project at hand. It is unwise to tie up working capital when working on land development projects.

Next developers draw up architectural plans for approval by local government officials. Whether land is being developed for a sub division, a professional complex, an industrial park or a shopping plaza plans need to be approved by officials and if funding is be acquired by outside investors should also be involved in approving the proposed draft. This step all involves accessing permits by all stages of government that are needed for the developer’s project to continue smoothly.

Lastly the land will be converted from raw, natural land into what land that has been processed into a state that makes it useful and valuable to the land developer and all participants involved in the process. Builders come in purchase the land and begin turning it into a piece of property that fulfills the need of the surrounding community.

Development takes a piece of Earth that most people look at as a vacant wasteland without purpose and turns the natural, raw, land into a plot of riches. Developers take on the huge risks involved in land development because of the large reward financially in the end.

What is An Entitlement?

The definition of entitlement with regard to land development is the legal method of obtaining approvals for the right to develop property for a particular use. The entitlement process is complicated, time consuming and can be costly, but know what you can and can’t do with a piece of property is vital to determining the real estate feasibility of your project. Some examples of entitlements are as follows:

Entitlement Examples:

1. Zoning and zoning variances for building heights, number of parking spaces, setbacks. Your land use attorneys and zoning experts come into play here. My advice is to heavily rely on their expertise and follow their directions to avoid unnecessary delays in your approval process.

2. Rezoning. Depending on the current use allowed for the property, you might need to have the site rezoned which is a complicated process and sometimes cannot be done.

3 Use Permits. You may need to obtain conditional use permits and this goes hand in hand with zoning and zoning variances.

4. Road approvals. Do you need to put in existing roads? Who maintains the roads? Are there shared roads via easements? These are all questions that you need to have the answers to and be prepared to comply with in the regulatory process.

5 Utility approvals. Are utilities available to the site? Do you need to donate land to the city in exchange for utility entitlements? Again, you will need to comply with the municipality regulations and standards.

6. Landscaping approvals. The city planning and development agencies must also approve your design and landscaping. Your architect and engineers will be most helpful in this area.

Hire an Experienced Development Team:

The best advise is to hire an experienced development team of architects, developers, lawyers, project consultants, civil, soil, landscape and structural engineers and consultants at the onset to help you analyze, review, interpret and advise you regarding design studies, applicable zoning and code requirements, and maximum development potential of the property. Without an experienced team, it is extremely difficult and a lot of time will be wasted in trying to complete the regulatory process because the very nature of the regulatory process is so complicated.

Here is how the process works. First, remember to keep in mind that the process is very slow and frustrating and can take approximately 3 to 12 months or sometimes years depending on how complicated the project is. Part of the reason is that each city planner has different interpretations of their local rules. Today, approvals involve jurisdictions overlapping such as city, county and state and these jurisdictions do not communicate with each other. It is extremely crucial that you establish good working relationships with these planners to obtain your approvals. Again, this is why you need to work with a development team that has already built these relationships with local staff of the local jurisdiction where your property will be developed. These relationships will streamline and help to expedite your approval process. Your experienced team of experts will be able to negotiate issues for you and eliminate additional requests by the local jurisdiction to avoid further delays in obtaining your approvals.

Regulatory Process:

Majority of development projects must go through certain aspects of the entitlement process and some projects will be required to go through several public hearing processes for approval depending on each jurisdiction’s rules. To begin, commercial development of land requires a review and approval from the local Development Review Board or Planning Department Review Division. Each municipality has a different name but the functions are similar.

1. The process starts with obtaining site approval from the local Planning and Development Department. By contacting the local Planning and Development Department Review Division, your expert team will then put together a land use pre-application which complies with the codes of that particular jurisdiction. By complying with the codes, this will eliminate additional requests by the jurisdiction, further review and extension and unnecessary delays of the approval process.
2. Next a meeting date will be set. You and/or your representatives will meet with the Planning Department to discuss the proposed project and review process. The process includes approval of your site plan, elevations, colors, landscaping, vicinity map, etc. Environmental information will need to be submitted also. There is usually a fee that accompanies the application. The fees vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
3. If for some reason your site plan is denied, you can appeal to the City Council. The appeal process varies from each jurisdiction.
4. Once you obtain site approval, then you will need design approval, master use permits. The design approval process is where your architect will design the building shell, core layout, exterior appearance, building height, site layout, landscaping concepts, traffic impact, site access and utility layouts and submit them for approval.
5. Neighborhood hearings are generally required for all general plan conditional use permits. You may be required to send out written notice or post information on the site. Normally the City will send notices to the neighbors also. Signs should be placed on the property, and an open house meeting is generally held. Your development team will be instrumental in advising and assisting you so that you have a higher probability of achieving success in obtaining neighborhood approval. Be prepared, even if you comply with the regulatory process codes and regulations, there is always the possibility that the neighborhood may have their own agenda and that the hearings and decisions may not be favorable to your project going forward. This is where your attorneys and the rest of your development team’s expertise and participation are crucial.

If wetlands are located on the property you will need special documentation that states whether the Wetlands Act applies or not. If it does, either it will result in significant or insignificant impact as granted by evidence of a permit. Sometimes it is best to set aside or donate the wetlands portion of the property and avoid development issues. Your development team will be able to advise you on the best course of action once they have assessed all the information and reviewed the reports.

Land development is a crucial part of the modern society we live in today. Land development involves the alteration of natural land to create a site that is ready for building. Construction could be for public, private, commercial, residential or even government sectors. Developing land involves many improvements. For instance, most land in its natural state does not have adequate drainage for building. In order to create an environment that is stable to build on land developers go in and prep the land for later construction. This might involve excavating the land, filling it in, paving areas or even adding concrete. These things are done to improve the land to prepare the environment for construction.

Developers assume great risks when developing land. It is such a lucrative business to go into because of the risks involved. Not every mind works in the same fashion. Land developers must be able to look at the current facts and historical data to make predictions on how the conditions involved will affect the piece of property. With that information they can choose what the best method is to prepare the site in order to create the most usable land.

The risks involved are huge. If a mistake is made even if construction has begun on the land the developer is responsible for correcting the error. When something goes wrong the developer is physically and financially responsible to correct the situation. They are creating the entire infrastructure of the project. The position they hold is not only risky but very profitable when things go as planned.

Of course there are so many aspects of risk in any position that is held. The first risk in land development is the developer’s skill level. How much experience does a developer have? You need to be able to look at a piece of natural land and develop it within the concept the construction company has without error. The bigger the project the more difficult the task at hand will be. Developers must use math, science and their knowledge of construction to create a site for their clients.

Developers will be called in as investors search out available raw land. It is important that a developer know what to look for in helping investors purchase property to develop. It is important to know if the lot you are looking at is going to be perfect for a residential sub division or is a mini mall is better suited for that property. It is important to access the land around the site including any buildings that might be erected already or in process. Does the development that is being proposed fit in the area? This all rests on the land developer.

If you are searching out land to develop before an investor is involved you will also need to find funding for your proposed project. This is quite often the hardest part of a developer’s job. You must prove that it is viable and at the end of development you will be able to make the money needed to pay off the loaned amount. It is a waste of money to develop land that is not seen as valuable. How as a developer can you make each development more valuable than the next?

Land development is not all about where to place this dirt to make a smooth canvas for construction to begin. As you can see it is truly all encompassing in the entire construction process. Developers need to make sure that the manner in which they displace the current landscaping and replace it is the most profitable for all involved.