Be a Successful Residential Land Developer (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Why would anyone get into land developing?..." (more)
Key Phrases: Rural Development, Male Female, Executive Order (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"More than any other book on the subject, I would recommend this one." -- Barbara Colley, P.E., author of Practical Manual of Land Development

Product Description

Cash in on profitable land development opportunities

Anyone can take advantage of the opportunities in land development with the step-by-step advice in R. Dodge Woodson's A-Z primer, Be a Successful Residential Land Developer. This shrewd guide tells you how to find prime properties that are true diamonds in the rough, and thoroughly explains the key engineering issues that determine whether or not you've got a good deal: surveys, grading, water availability and drainage, utilities, traffic, and more. You learn how to: *Tie up and control land with very little cash and plenty of escape clauses *Tap into both conventional and creative financing sources *Get favorable bids from subcontractors *Deal with zoning and code enforcement issues *Reduce neighborhood resistance and handle boards of appeal *Put together a professional team and effectively supervise the project *Develop post-development marketing and sales plans *Much, much more

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071341609
• ISBN-13: 978-0071341608
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,023,094 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Intro to development that could be half as long, August 14, 2003

By	Charlie Langston (Maine) - See all my reviews

A fairly useful overview that describes the issues a developer has to address, but not much about how to address them. For some reason the author tends to repeat himself. He says something and then restates it. He makes the same point twice.

He also tends to be rather vague: "Some aspects of site supervision can be dealt with in many ways. Some ways are more cost-effective than others." The book is full of statements like this.

I have found the book useful to help me identify issues that I need to think about, but if you are looking for answers--this book isn't for you. It should be titled, "What to Expect as a Land Developer."

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing, December 4, 2001

By	Richard Sherwood (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am more than half way through the book and am finding it difficult to continue. The author continues to list the steps of the development process, but with each step he fails to explain how to perform each step or give case examples of how it was done in a particular development. Instead he says "you can hire a professional to do this step if you like." If you do not know how to perform a function, and you hire a professional to perform it for you, a) how can you make any money? and b) how can you be sure that your professional is performing the function correctly? So far this book has been a major dissapointment.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed reader, May 26, 2003

By A Customer

This is the worst 'How To' book I have ever read...The author never makes a definitive statement about anything. Instead he says you could do this or that, hire someone or do it yourself, blah blah blah. He rambles on about the same subjects repetitively to fill up the pages. I feel like I have not learned anything of any use after reading the entire book. What a major disappointment!