Working in the real estate and custom building business for almost 25 years, I have seen a lot of projects succeed and a few that have failed. The failures were more often than not done by people who owned land and wanted to make a big profit by developing it. I can’t blame them one bit, but at the same time you have to understand there are companies in the business of land development that fail so how does a beginner have a chance?

My advice seek lots of advice before you start, and don’t be afraid to back off if the market is not favorable or a common sense alternative makes more sense currently. Some times the alternative is more profitable, some recent advice and the math that went along with it: I have a friend in the retail business she owns land in the White Mountains (2 acre lot) that she paid about $30,000 for. The property had a 3 bedroom septic design and a town approved driveway permit, the land had decent views but no site work had been started. In order to build there would need to be site clearing, septic and well installed, driveway cut in, and the building designed and constructed.

We figures that the size and style home that would fit the neighborhood would cost about $220,000 to build. So with the land lot this would be a $250,000 investment the recent comparable sales suggested the owner could net $300,000 for this build and sell plan. A $50,000 profit was the working figure (assuming no borrowed funds, or carrying cost which will reduce the return rather quickly). This is a $50,000 gain on a $250,000 investment or about a 20% return.

The Alternative; sell the land net $60,000 as is with no stress or risk, the gross dollar value is less but the return on the investment is 100% vs. 20%. If you had your own crew and needed to keep them busy in between other project than the professional builder would do a spec house, I would advice the owner to sell the land.

We have been involved in multi-lot subdivisions, condo project and retail developments each case will need its own plan and in many cases alternative plans also. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance to you.

Steve Loynd, Managing Broker
Alpine Lakes Real Estate - Lincoln NH Office

Many of the more progressive towns have seen the value in allowing cluster development zoning. It works best if the area has a community or town water & sewer system, which will allow smaller lot sizes and more undeveloped parkland. The idea is to cluster the homes around a cul-de-sac or allow multiple attached housing units, in order to reduce the amount of roads and excavation. This will mean more of the total land area can remain unspoiled and open common land for all the residence to enjoy. An example of this theory working is if a town required one acre zoning on a 400 acre tract of land the developer might get 350 home sites with roads taking up the balance of the acres, and in a cluster development requiring only one third of an acre for each home site you could easily have 100 acres of parkland (open common areas). If the area requires private septic systems and wells for each site this would not be a practical development for single family homes but it does work well for condominium and mixed use developments.

Have Alpine Lakes Real Estate review your plans; we have 25 years of experience in the zoning and development field.

Answer: Real Estate

Would you be interested in a vacant lot with a $60/year tax bill, it has 1,350 feet of water frontage with mountain views. What if it had no building restrictions, is over 17 acres and has a dozen waterfalls and deep pools to wade in. Would it interest you if this location was abutting the White Mountain National Forest, was near a major ski resort, and had close proximity access to the state highway system?

Now what if I told you I had two of these lots for sale stating at $10,000/acre would you believe me?

Well give me a call and I’ll go walk the land with you. It’s half way between the Jack O ‘Lantern Golf Course in Woodstock NH, and the Loon Mountain Ski Resort in Lincoln NH.

“The Truth is Stranger than Fiction”
For great properties at reasonable prices call Alpine Lakes Real Estate - we have the answers to your questions.

My latest project took some doing, but I learned valuable lessons in the process. I was talking to my site contractor about an old culvert that needed repair and he got me started on this project. First I needed to make an application for a “permit by notification” in which I spelled out the issues of an existing pipe that had failed and needed to be replaced. In the process of this repair I read some literature about wildlife habitats and about a movement to build private bird sanctuaries on like minded peoples property. It seamed like a simple task at first, then came the permit process. I had a two acre pond in mind, but later found by keeping it under 50,000 square feet I removed many of the state and local hurdles (and additional costs) that I would have to face under the jurisdiction of “site specific application” with the Department of Environmental services.

Even with this hurdled cleared I was required to provide the following information prior to successful permitting.

7) An insurance bond for the reclamation of the pond area to insure the town all proposed work would be completed as drawn.

I just wanted to dig a hole in my back yard and let it fill up with water; the process took seven (7) months and several thousand dollars. I’ll let you know how it turns out when it’s done.

If you are looking for a real estate company with design, construction and permitting experience you’ve come to the right place at Alpine Lakes Real Estate we do it all.

Developing a subdivision plan - the five C’s: Consult, Compare Costs, Compromise and then Commission.

The first rule when looking at land is don’t leave any money on the table, which is just another way of saying maximize the return. In a recent review of highest and best use Alpine Lakes Real Estate was asked about recommendations for a 30+ acre parcel with limited road frontage and no reasonable access to municipal water or sewer. In this case we consulted an engineer, surveyor, and wet land scientist, then compared costs for the maximum allowed number of lots within the town zoning. Next we studied the returns based on costs (with several options). We compromised based on wishes and reality and finally came up with prices that the market would accept. This allowed the seller the best return for his out of pocket expense and assured our participation in the project from start to finish.

Every development and marketing campaign will vary in length but in this recent scenario we did all the behind the scenes work and were ready to market in a little over 3 months. The ones I work on from start to finish are the most gratifying to me as a real estate professional. Alpine Lakes Real Estate and our in house design consulting firm would be happy to review your next project, and offer our insight on developing and marketing your property. We have been successfully developing, building and marketing real estate projects in the White Mountains and Waterville Valley regions for over 30 years.

Modular Features and Benefits - Building in a climate controlled environment has its advantages:

1) It’s efficient to repeat the same process over and over and do it out of the elements.
2) Plans can be customized to fit the buyer’s needs so long as the box can be shipped.
3) Building code is strictly followed as inspections are signed off before these homes can enter the United States.
4) Once set on your foundation the home is weather tight shortly after delivery.
5) Fixed price without unreasonable delays scores very high with modular buyers.

Stick and Brick homes advantages:

1) There are virtually no size or dimension limitations to custom designs.
2) Changes and alterations can be made through out the building process (these are not free of charge, but can be done).
3) Site issues can require changing aspects of the design with on site construction the need for flexibility can win the day.
4) New products & materials can be used no mater the price, size, weight, or dimension.
5) Custom homes can be built on any site with the right engineering and wallet.

Alpine Lakes and Cargill Construction offers both and would be happy to talk about your buildings application and your home owner needs.

I came across a few real estate brokerage and appraisal books I kept since college. One was “Income Property Brokerage, by John M Peckham III” required reading in my real estate investment class. So I pondering how much would still apply to today’s developer and or real estate investor.

To my surprise a lot of what was written in the early 80’s still makes sense now. When I went onto Google to look up the author I came across his current work available at www.REcyber.com

Peckham has kept up with the times. His company offers current blogs and insight into the world of commercial real estate.

His work was worth reading back when it was required and as it turns out it is still worth reading today. For those of us that have been in the business for 25 years you can still teach an old dog a new trick.

What do you need to know before you start building a home in New Hampshire?

First steps:
1) survey the land
2) design, home septic and well
3) building permit, requiry step 1 and 2 to be completed.

Now the fun begins should you consider a modular/manufacturer home builder like Pro-Fab or hire a friend or family member. But knowing the issues that face you early in the project can make or break the overall development success. Request my FREE report @ ALRE@AlpineLakes.com it pays special interest to water front development issues.