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Here’s another of my “insider” strategy tips and secrets, that a head-shakingly few other “professionals” are even remotely aware of, for:

  • Finding your perfect “build-able” lot
  • Financing your new home or home addition
  • Designing your new home or home addition
  • Building your new home or home addition

So here’s my “insider” strategy for today:

One of the secrets to having a successful- on time…on budget…great design You love…high quality
workmanship…smooth and hassle free process – and fun home building experience,is putting together the right team of professional “partners” to guide you through the process.

Not many people even know this (I’ve been doing this for 20+ years and only a few savvy real estate developer/investor “types” have a clue), but the right team can make it “real estate heaven”, a process so smooth that you’ll be looking for another transaction to do as soon as you finish this one…

And the wrong team can turn the whole project into a nightmarish mistake that could be excruciatingly painful and and an ordeal that you’ll want to wipe from your mind immediately.

And since the process really starts way before the first shovel ever pierces the earth, I view the partner checklist in terms of Phases.

Phase 1 partners are needed to determine project feasibility:

  • Is the project a go or no go?
  • Can you afford it?
  • If you can, is this how you want to spend your money?
  • Does the piece of land work for your needs?
  • Is the land build-able?
  • Are there subdivision, zoning orsetback issues?
  • Will the home plan work for you?

Many of the Phase 1 partners need to stay involved in Phase 2… through out the life of the project.

Like a lot of partnerships, many of these relationships are inter-dependent; decisions and input from one partner are needed for another partner to complete their portion of work.

Phase 2 Partners are brought in only after the go/no-go litmus test is passed. Why spend money if you don’t have to?

And here’s a bonus for you, this is the actual checklist that we use on our projects…

Phase 1 Partners:

  • CPA/Tax Advisor
  • Real estate agent
  • Bank Loan officer
  • Property owner or landowner (if you are purchasing from owner)
  • Architect and Builder
  • Planning department
  • Design review committee
  • Building department

Key Point: You do not have to retain the entire team at the
beginning of the process… And YOU DON’T WANT TO. Only bring
in the partners that are appropriate for that section of
the job.

Phase 2 Partners:

  • Land Surveyor
  • Soils engineer
  • Well/septic engineer
  • Appraiser
  • Attorney
  • Insurance agent
  • Material suppliers
  • Structural engineer
  • Arborist
  • Subcontractors
  • Laborers
  • Building inspectors
  • Disbursement agents
  • Bank inspectors
  • Landscaper
  • Mover
  • Interior Designer

In my next “insider” strategy tip email I’ll explain the partner
roles in more detail.

I think you’ll be astonished at some simple-fix-steps, that if
assigned early on to some of the partners, could result in
huge economic windfalls or could give you a quick signal that
your project may not make sense in its initial form and you
need to re-purpose the plan.

Please keep the comments and critiques coming and let me know
what’s on your mind. And I’d appreciate if you could tell me:

  • What would you love to see during the home building process that would make your life easier?
  • What frustrates you the most aboutthe home design and building process ?

If you want more “insider” secrets to make a yo9ur new home a profitable investment sign up here for our special series