Archive for April, 2008

Real Estate Carnivals

If you are as interested as me in all aspects of real estate, you should visit some of the real estate carnival hosts. These are sites that review numerous posts every week and publish the best in a specific topic. One of our posts was chosen as a standout. Here’s what was said about one […]

How You Make Money With Investment Real Estate

Four Ways You Make Money 
Before you actually purchase that investment property you have had your eye on, you need to have a well thought out plan on exactly how you will make your money on that investment. I have seen a number of first time investors get so enamored over actually making their first deal, […]

Conceptual Design - First Development

First Big Problem
When we received the conceptual design layouts, we knew we had a problem. They were all 4,500 SF or greater. If you remember from a previous post, our initial financial model had us developing a 3,200 SF home at $200.00/SF. The smallest conceptual design was 1,300 SF greater than our model. At $200.00/SF, […]

Contract Writing Checklist

Choosing a Design or Construction Contract
When you are choosing a contract for your architect and contractor, you have a number of standard forms to choose from. The AGC (Associated General Contractors), AIA (American Institute of Architects), CMAA (Construction Management Association of America) and others have their standards. In addition, the firm you deal with may […]

Design Kick-Off Meeting - First Development

Design Meeting Agenda
We actually had our design kick-off meeting at the site. We wanted to combine the kick-off meeting with a joint meeting with our contractor to “site” the house or decide where on the lot the house would be placed. It is important to do this right the first time so you don’t run […]

Selecting Your Contractor - First Development

Importance in Selecting a Good Contractor
Selecting the contractor for your real estate development is one of the most important things you will do for each real estate investment you start. The wrong contractor will not only cost you time and money, but also provide such an unlimited amount of aggravation that you will question your […]