Product Description

Are you the Next Donald Trump? Successful real estate developers can become enormously wealthy. However, the flip side is many developers run out of cash before cashing in. Poor cash flow is the primary cause of business failure for real estate developers. This new book details how to become a successful real estate developer and demonstrates step-by-step how to set up, operate, and manage a financially successful real estate development enterprise. The author has explored every avenue in explaining this potentially rewarding yet risky business. The book covers the entire process of establishing a small real estate development firm and the ongoing management necessary in an easy-to-understand way, pointing out methods to increase your chances of success, and showing how to avoid the many common mistakes that can doom a start-up. The book focuses on small developments that you can start by yourself featuring both residential and commercial applications. Once the basic skills are learned, the book points out areas of expansion by leveraging your first investment. While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through finding your first location that will bring success, learning how to draw up a winning business plan, installing basic cost control systems, assembling your team of experts, generating high profile public relations and publicity, learning low cost marketing ideas and low- and no-cost ways to satisfy customers and build sales, setting up accounting and bookkeeping procedures, and auditing. There are thousands of great tips and useful guidelines. You will learn the development process, governmental issues, environmental issues, demographics and trends, market research, site selection, feasibility analysis, due diligence, preliminary pro forma, property acquisition, project design/refined pro forma, entitlements, financing/final pro forma, construction, operation, feasibility studies, financing, market analysis, construction, and asset management. The new companion CD-ROM contains all the forms demonstrated in the book for easy use in a PDF format.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79837 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Trying to figure out if this is a career you want? This will help.
Tanya Davis covers everything from basic business, to the nuts and bolts of running a real estate development. She gives you all the "have-to-do" items as well as all the things you should avoid or watch out for. (Loved the list of negotiation tactics that can get in the way! They apply to lots of conversations outside of business.)

I liked the easy to navigate chapters and headings, and the glossary was excellent, but my favorite things about the book are all the checklists and examples that she gives. They really make you focus on each aspect of the deal: your personal skills, the business atmosphere you're operating in, and concrete details about the property you're considering. It's actually a bit intimidating. They do help you take a hard look at all aspects of your project, though, and that is important.

Unfortunately, the checklists don't have a separate listing in the table of contents or index. They are set off in grey boxes, you can find them if you flip around, but it's kind of a pain if you are looking for a specific one and can't remember which section it's in.

That's one reason I wouldn't buy this book just to dip into as a reference. I think it would be less effective that way, anyway. By reading it from beginning to end you walk through the process of starting a real estate development venture, without any of the risks of actually bidding on property. It allows you to get an overview of what needs to happen, as well as what the pitfalls are.

Normally, I rate a how-to book based one whether it makes me feel like I could get the job done. This book definitely left me with the knowledge that this job is not for me. Not because the book couldn't explain it, but there were aspects of the job I'm just not suited for. So I initially figured I'd give it a 4. However, after thinking it over, I realized that when there is a lot of money at stake, I don't want a book that is going to make it seem to easy. That's how people get in over their heads. So this book gets a 5, because if you are thinking of getting into real estate development, it will help you decide if you have what it takes.

Practical guide for a complex subject
From a distance, Real Estate Development would seem to be a difficult industry to "break into" for those with few contacts or experience. The Real Estate Developers Handbook dispels these myths by providing an inside look at what it takes to get in and make money in the field. As an alternative to years spent working up through the ranks, the author's provide a fast track into the world of Real Estate Development by taking you through all the steps in the process: from locating land to working with government officials permitting to construction.

Often the best advice is provided by those who have made mistakes along the way. Davis saves you money and time by identifying potential hazards and pitfalls in the industry. While the subject is complex, the material is broken down in a manner that is easily understood, even by those without an extensive background in the field. Upfront, the author discusses personality traits of successful Real Estate Developers and gives a description of actual job functions. The case studies scattered throughout give specific examples from experts in the field.

Be warned, this is not a book for those with a passing interest in the field - it goes into great detail. Demographics, financials, due diligence and market trends don't make for an exciting beach read, but for those with a serious desire to enter into Real Estate Development, it leaves no stone unturned and is a fantastic "go to" guide.

Good introduction to the basics of real estate developement
Good introduction to the basics of real estate development, and great for getting your head around basic concepts. Fantastic example spreadsheets, business plan, and contract docs.

On the negative, and I am being very picky: text is huge--they made the book much thicker than it needed to be; more content would have been great. One or two example proformas don,t work, or at least I could not make sense of them--maybe they were simplified and removed some information? On the same note, more in depth examples would be great. Lastly, it is written by lawyers and it is approached from a very litigious angle; more attention should have been given to how one should engage design professionals and contractors, not just getting in bed with a lawyer.

In closing, I still highly recommend this book to anyone taking on a development endeavor--it appears to lay out the basic tools for a great beginning.