Thank you for the info! I bought 7.5 acres where I currently live in north west WA. I've retired and would like to leave the home to my son and subdivide and sell the back five view acres but it's zoned R5A. Sounds impossible. Thank you for your video well done!
@@steveleach4973 I don't know what that zoning means, but you'll want to find out how much frontage you need as well as access to make any smaller plot legally definable. Some municipalities also have minimum sizes. The permitting office at the county is generally a good place to start. Good luck!
One set back is a lack of drinking water the town has. Utah and especially Las Vegas or Phoenix really needs nuclear desalination from the ocean for long term growth.
One set back is a lack of drinking water the town has. Utah and especially Las Vegas or Phoenix really needs nuclear desalination from the ocean for long term growth.
Wow! The law of attraction works. I am in Austin and recently purchased my first property ETJ and am interested in doing exactly this. Thank you! Subbed!
Starting to look into this since me and two brothers own a property where we currently live (separate houses) and we want to divide it. Looks more complex than what I expected lol, oh boy am I in for a ride. Great video
This is a lot of good information. My husband and I just purchased 4.5 acres. We own a small plumbing company and work with builders and developers. We spoke to one and showed him the lot and he said if the re zoning gets approved we can subdivide into 7lots. We are really interested to doing it but need help and guidance.
Thank you for a GREAT VIDEO! You were NOT long winded with in-applicable information. Your bullet points were short and concise. It was just what I was seeking. I will review the rest of your videos and subscribe. THANKS AGAIN, for an AWESOME video!
I have an acre of land in Bandera Texas and there is 1/3 of the acre that I never do anything with. It is unrestricted residential and a lot of lots for sale are smaller. I thought about getting rid of the 1/3 acre. I could give up my city water meter as I want to have a well drilled. Thanks, the video helped answer some questions.
Wow... that was a wealth of information. But also very much needed! There's so much involved... if your like me just learning about it then this is definately a mustto pay attention to.
Thanks Ram, glad you found the information useful. I am working on two subdivisions right now. One is at month 9, the other is on year 4. Takes longer to subdivide than get an advanced degree.
Now that’s a good video. Only one on RUclips this well in depth & actually giving solid answers. Love it. Keep up the good work dude! We need people like you!
I am a land development practitioner in New Zealand, I find most of the land subdivision requirements in your city in US are similar to those in NZ but I guess you don't only need a civil engineer but also a surveyor and also a town planner and perhaps other professions such as arborist, landscape architect, etc. for the job?
Hey Stanley, you certainly need a surveyor to mark the new lines. Town planners vary widely depending on where you are working. Some towns have none or just one person, others like Austin have a city council that may decide to look at your project once a month which can make it take years to get done. Environmental issues that get uncovered also can bring in specialists like arborists and wildlife managers etc. You are right that there are always small differences depending on the location. Thanks so much for your comments!
Excellent, wow, all of the other entities have to know and sign off🧐 Even the FIRE department to make sure they can get to all structures. I wonder, in Franklin county Missouri, how many sign off to build a lake community, or a grant?🧐. Thank you for the information..
A lot depends on your municipality. The closer you are to a dense city the more requirements and signatories there tend to be. So your experience may not be as painful as mine. Best of luck to you.
When one says "subdivide", it means the beginning of land development, right? It has not gone through the full course of land development, right? I just started learning and appreciate very much your very clear and organized video!
Land development can be a lot of things. You can sub-divide a property which is the legal part, you can develop utilities or the buildings that go on top. Usually you can sell at any point along the way.
Requiring or installing septic tanks per each lot in a very rural setting would remove the SER obligation? Land I am considering is nowhere near city sewer lines .
Yup it really depends on where you are sub-dividing. Rural areas are almost always septic, inside a city you might get lucky with a sewer and storm drains.
Excellent Information. My friend and I purchased a lot in leander in the crazy market of 2022 and paid a premium. We are unable to sell without taking a huge loss. Would you suggest we subdivide it to improve the value of the land? I would appreciate a consultation or any referral for a good civil engineer please.
Depends on what more you are doing besides just the subdivision, but your main team is going to consist of attorneys (legal docs), civil engineers (new plat, drainage, roads etc), surveyors (new lot lines) and maybe someone to deal with the municipality but you can do that yourself as well. There are many contact points in the government that will need to be managed like the ones listed in the video. These are generally all one-off vendors. You would bring these in house only if you were doing enough sub-divisions at volume.
Could you go through the subdivision process before owning the property or is this only after you own it? I want to buy several acres and subdivide so my sister and I can live next to each other!
Very informative. Quick question though. Should I get a perc test done by a soil scientist first then have it surveyed or the way round? Should I have them done before or after subdivision? Do each lot need its own survey after subdivision? Thanks in advance. I am in NC Orange County.
Interested in purchasing a property to subdivide, what are some things I should do before purchasing the property to see if subdividing is even feasible?
First thing is to talk to your local municipality. Most have some form of development assistance office. Check for minimum lot sizes and restrictions that you need to be aware of in your area. Also find a good local civil engineer that has done subdivisions before, they can help you navigate the local governments too.
Great video. Can you tell me what forms does a bank need to be completed if there is still a mortgage on the property to be subdivided? I have called the bank and they said they need to look into what forms need to be completed as this is not really done but instead of release of land. We are just subdiving into 3 lots and not to construct anything at the time of maybe sell in the future.
It depends on the bank, but by default the bank will have a lien on all of the new sub-divided lots. You can refinance the debt with a subset though depending on the new value and the debt, but each bank will have different requirements and their own paperwork.
@@BuildingTimeFreedom Thank you, so now we have gone through the subdivison process and got approved by the COUNTY> as we are not selling any of the 3 subdivided lots they said lets go ahead with a partial release of mortgage(they were not sure on subdividing without selling part) We paid for the appraisal they required and got approved. now the County, lawyers and surveyor needs them to sign off on the plat to record the 3 lots. they are refusing and saying that they are releasing lots 2&3 and they are only concerned with lot 1 with the house on it and the mortgage will stay with lot 1. I cannot proceed if they do not sign the plat and how are they releasing lot 2& 3 without the subdivision and legal descriptions recorded. I am confused and need advice on how to handle their denying to sign the subdivision plat to get it recorded in the COUNTY> They said the release document should be enough but the county disagrees.
What percent should you buy land to develop and make money: example: Resale of a plot 100k should by land at 25% = 25k develop land cost 50% =50k to make 25% = 25k on the deal …. Or should the land cost way less becauseto devolp takes so much more. Or should we expect les% of gains. Exsamole buy land at 10% off ARV because to develop const 70% of the ARV The reason is there is a deal that I have working now and im debating if the land is at the right price. Thank you
Joao, it really depends on the market, your exit strategy, and time required to achieve that strategy. In general time solves all problems so delays tend to save deals gone wrong as long as you can hold onto it. You can also schedule a call with me on my website if you like. Contact me through www.johnblackman.com
I'm a CM in Houston and many cities are adopting the UDC. I'm trying to do build a house in Richmond and the City has been unbearable. Curious your thoughts on the new development code.
I am currently working a subdivision in Travis county and it has taken me several years. I think I am at the end of it, but the worst part is simply that the development office is under staffed. It often takes a week to get a 5 minute task or answer which holds up development. They do try their best but are playing wack-a-mole at scale.
@@TexasCountryLiving oh I didn't even cover that process. It's a long process for sure but that also keeps a lot of people from doing it. The subdivide project I am working on now is on year 4, although I think it will finally finish this year.
Hey John, I'm over in Georgetown Texas but I was curious, it seems like this is more catered toward an actual developer point of view. Is it this complicated if I had 5 acres and just wanted to plop it in half and sell the other lot?
It's certainly less so if you aren't developing it. You still need to have all of the features of a viable tract in your new lots, so depending on how you want to sell it, you may want to create desirable features in the lot you are subdividing. If you aren't developing, then no you don't need to do most of what is in this video. Thanks for your question.
It depends on the requirements of your municipality. Here in Austin, it's about $35,000 for a small residential lot. This can go up a lot depending on the size of the property and the amount of surveying and engineering required. So it's hard to put your finger on an average.
@@BuildingTimeFreedom Thank you, that's about what I have been hearing, I have a lot in Seattle that I want to subdivide and build on but these costs are adding up fast
@@volvo8938 Most of that is in surveying and engineering. Usually the city requires a long list of services which make up most of the cost. That's interesting that the price in Seattle is about the same as Austin. I lived in Seattle for 10 years as well. Good luck on your sub-divide.
@@mk273 applies to both. The main difference in size is the amount of engineering and number of easements and restrictions you will run into. All of the steps still apply. Your municipality will have limits on how small new lots can be based on zoning.
Whoa! Just FYI, $1000/foot X mile (5280 feet) is not "half a million dollars". It's over $5 million. "Small mistakes" like this (and not correcting it) can cause one to doubt the correctness of virtually everything else. Might want to correct it if you care.
Yeah you got that right. Typically you would probably get better pricing if you were going to put in a mile of sewer but you’re right. Always check your sewer extension costs ahead of time and pricing will vary by market.
Where there is pain there is profit! Non incorporated communities can be good but they usually have their own restrictions and the developer that set them up is going to collect a premium for the work to get it there.
Thank you for watching! If you have subdivided land before, what were some setbacks you encountered?
Thank you for the info! I bought 7.5 acres where I currently live in north west WA. I've retired and would like to leave the home to my son and subdivide and sell the back five view acres but it's zoned R5A. Sounds impossible. Thank you for your video well done!
@@steveleach4973 I don't know what that zoning means, but you'll want to find out how much frontage you need as well as access to make any smaller plot legally definable. Some municipalities also have minimum sizes. The permitting office at the county is generally a good place to start. Good luck!
please see below
One set back is a lack of drinking water the town has. Utah and especially Las Vegas or Phoenix really needs nuclear desalination from the ocean for long term growth.
One set back is a lack of drinking water the town has. Utah and especially Las Vegas or Phoenix really needs nuclear desalination from the ocean for long term growth.
Thank you. Searched over a dozen videos and you're the only one checking things off.
You are very welcome, glad you found it useful!
Thank you for not talking at 100 mph like most RUclipsrs. You were very clear and concise with the information you conveyed.
Thanks @mellymel9892 glad you liked it. These are the things I struggle with on my projects. Hope it's useful for you.
I put these fools on 2x. How do you have the patience?
What a great lesson! I learn more from great channels such as this one than from years at university. Thank you for sharing.
Wow! The law of attraction works. I am in Austin and recently purchased my first property ETJ and am interested in doing exactly this. Thank you! Subbed!
You're welcome and best of luck with your sub-dvide! It can be gone, it is a game for the patient.
GREAT VIDEO..Transcripts..replies, highly organized.. smooth presentation..informative..
whats not to like..thank you
Thanks so much for the kind reply. May your municipality respond to your emails in a timely fashion. :)
What an awesome video!!! Thank you.
You are very welcome, glad you found it useful.
Starting to look into this since me and two brothers own a property where we currently live (separate houses) and we want to divide it. Looks more complex than what I expected lol, oh boy am I in for a ride. Great video
This is a lot of good information. My husband and I just purchased 4.5 acres. We own a small plumbing company and work with builders and developers. We spoke to one and showed him the lot and he said if the re zoning gets approved we can subdivide into 7lots. We are really interested to doing it but need help and guidance.
Really helpful! Great video
Thanks, makes me happy to hear that!
Thank you for a GREAT VIDEO! You were NOT long winded with in-applicable information. Your bullet points were short and concise. It was just what I was seeking. I will review the rest of your videos and subscribe.
THANKS AGAIN, for an AWESOME video!
I have an acre of land in Bandera Texas and there is 1/3 of the acre that I never do anything with. It is unrestricted residential and a lot of lots for sale are smaller. I thought about getting rid of the 1/3 acre. I could give up my city water meter as I want to have a well drilled. Thanks, the video helped answer some questions.
You could absolutely do that, is it in the county or the city?
Wow... that was a wealth of information. But also very much needed! There's so much involved... if your like me just learning about it then this is definately a mustto pay attention to.
Thanks Ram, glad you found the information useful. I am working on two subdivisions right now. One is at month 9, the other is on year 4. Takes longer to subdivide than get an advanced degree.
I must concur with the comment's below. You really get to the point and explained it very well. Thanks!
Thanks so much David!
The best video ever, Thank You.
Thanks, I'm glad you got some value out of it. Really appreciate your comment!
Now that’s a good video. Only one on RUclips this well in depth & actually giving solid answers. Love it. Keep up the good work dude! We need people like you!
Thanks so much Blaine, glad you got some value out of it!
I am a land development practitioner in New Zealand, I find most of the land subdivision requirements in your city in US are similar to those in NZ but I guess you don't only need a civil engineer but also a surveyor and also a town planner and perhaps other professions such as arborist, landscape architect, etc. for the job?
Hey Stanley, you certainly need a surveyor to mark the new lines. Town planners vary widely depending on where you are working. Some towns have none or just one person, others like Austin have a city council that may decide to look at your project once a month which can make it take years to get done. Environmental issues that get uncovered also can bring in specialists like arborists and wildlife managers etc. You are right that there are always small differences depending on the location. Thanks so much for your comments!
Thanks for the video, it was very informative.
Great video thanks for the info
Any recommended surveyors in the Austin area for a subdivide?
They are all pretty busy, so I would use the one your engineer has the best results with. They are going to get a better response than you will.
There is this new SB9 in California I wish you could tell us about the land division in the residential R-2 zone.
I can't say that I know enough about it right now to be useful. Looks like I have some research to do.
Excellent, wow, all of the other entities have to know and sign off🧐
Even the FIRE department to make sure they can get to all structures. I wonder, in Franklin county Missouri, how many sign off to build a lake community, or a grant?🧐. Thank you for the information..
A lot depends on your municipality. The closer you are to a dense city the more requirements and signatories there tend to be. So your experience may not be as painful as mine. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for the information on the topic.
When one says "subdivide", it means the beginning of land development, right? It has not gone through the full course of land development, right? I just started learning and appreciate very much your very clear and organized video!
Land development can be a lot of things. You can sub-divide a property which is the legal part, you can develop utilities or the buildings that go on top. Usually you can sell at any point along the way.
Requiring or installing septic tanks per each lot in a very rural setting would remove the SER obligation? Land I am considering is nowhere near city sewer lines .
Yup it really depends on where you are sub-dividing. Rural areas are almost always septic, inside a city you might get lucky with a sewer and storm drains.
@@BuildingTimeFreedom thanks for your help and great video
Excellent Information. My friend and I purchased a lot in leander in the crazy market of 2022 and paid a premium. We are unable to sell without taking a huge loss. Would you suggest we subdivide it to improve the value of the land? I would appreciate a consultation or any referral for a good civil engineer please.
Very informative now I know why they can't give me a quote to subdivide. Any idea what the cost is to subdivide a 75 acre plot of land
Thanks for the video I really appreciate the info
You're welcome, it can be a daunting task to take on.
How many different teams or people must one hire to do the entire subdivision process and what are their roles?
Depends on what more you are doing besides just the subdivision, but your main team is going to consist of attorneys (legal docs), civil engineers (new plat, drainage, roads etc), surveyors (new lot lines) and maybe someone to deal with the municipality but you can do that yourself as well. There are many contact points in the government that will need to be managed like the ones listed in the video. These are generally all one-off vendors. You would bring these in house only if you were doing enough sub-divisions at volume.
Could you go through the subdivision process before owning the property or is this only after you own it? I want to buy several acres and subdivide so my sister and I can live next to each other!
Very informative. Quick question though. Should I get a perc test done by a soil scientist first then have it surveyed or the way round?
Should I have them done before or after subdivision?
Do each lot need its own survey after subdivision?
Thanks in advance. I am in NC Orange County.
Interested in purchasing a property to subdivide, what are some things I should do before purchasing the property to see if subdividing is even feasible?
First thing is to talk to your local municipality. Most have some form of development assistance office. Check for minimum lot sizes and restrictions that you need to be aware of in your area. Also find a good local civil engineer that has done subdivisions before, they can help you navigate the local governments too.
Thank you
I have 30 acres in west llano county
Texas
I’d like your thoughts 💭
@Janice happy to give you my thoughts, you can book a call with me here buy.stripe.com/6oE9Cr2nX0dqdkk6oq
Great video. Can you tell me what forms does a bank need to be completed if there is still a mortgage on the property to be subdivided? I have called the bank and they said they need to look into what forms need to be completed as this is not really done but instead of release of land. We are just subdiving into 3 lots and not to construct anything at the time of maybe sell in the future.
It depends on the bank, but by default the bank will have a lien on all of the new sub-divided lots. You can refinance the debt with a subset though depending on the new value and the debt, but each bank will have different requirements and their own paperwork.
@@BuildingTimeFreedom Thank you, so now we have gone through the subdivison process and got approved by the COUNTY> as we are not selling any of the 3 subdivided lots they said lets go ahead with a partial release of mortgage(they were not sure on subdividing without selling part) We paid for the appraisal they required and got approved. now the County, lawyers and surveyor needs them to sign off on the plat to record the 3 lots. they are refusing and saying that they are releasing lots 2&3 and they are only concerned with lot 1 with the house on it and the mortgage will stay with lot 1. I cannot proceed if they do not sign the plat and how are they releasing lot 2& 3 without the subdivision and legal descriptions recorded. I am confused and need advice on how to handle their denying to sign the subdivision plat to get it recorded in the COUNTY> They said the release document should be enough but the county disagrees.
@@kathyhernandez4980 happy to do a call with you to discuss the details. You can book a call with me on www.johnblackman.com.
What percent should you buy land to develop and make money: example: Resale of a plot 100k should by land at 25% = 25k develop land cost 50% =50k to make 25% = 25k on the deal ….
Or should the land cost way less becauseto devolp takes so much more. Or should we expect les% of gains.
Exsamole buy land at 10% off ARV because to develop const 70% of the ARV
The reason is there is a deal that I have working now and im debating if the land is at the right price. Thank you
Joao, it really depends on the market, your exit strategy, and time required to achieve that strategy. In general time solves all problems so delays tend to save deals gone wrong as long as you can hold onto it. You can also schedule a call with me on my website if you like. Contact me through www.johnblackman.com
I'm a CM in Houston and many cities are adopting the UDC. I'm trying to do build a house in Richmond and the City has been unbearable. Curious your thoughts on the new development code.
I am currently working a subdivision in Travis county and it has taken me several years. I think I am at the end of it, but the worst part is simply that the development office is under staffed. It often takes a week to get a 5 minute task or answer which holds up development. They do try their best but are playing wack-a-mole at scale.
The city takes their sweet time but ultimately, zoning is law! So if it's zoned for it go for it
Yup they are trying to add more reviewers, but they have some way to go.
And even if you don’t have the zoning you want you can possibly rezone. It takes time and work but can have big payoff.
@@TexasCountryLiving oh I didn't even cover that process. It's a long process for sure but that also keeps a lot of people from doing it. The subdivide project I am working on now is on year 4, although I think it will finally finish this year.
I am thinking of doing a subdivision, but it's very complicated. I would love some advice and your opinion.
@angelaswan3869 just reach out to me on my website johnblackman.com
Hey John, I'm over in Georgetown Texas but I was curious, it seems like this is more catered toward an actual developer point of view. Is it this complicated if I had 5 acres and just wanted to plop it in half and sell the other lot?
It's certainly less so if you aren't developing it. You still need to have all of the features of a viable tract in your new lots, so depending on how you want to sell it, you may want to create desirable features in the lot you are subdividing. If you aren't developing, then no you don't need to do most of what is in this video. Thanks for your question.
Very informative. Thank you!
Have you ever dealt with Land in Eagle Mountain Utah?
No, but I'm sure they have similar issues as everywhere else. Typically the further away you get from a city, the easier it is to do what you want.
On average what do you think it costs to subdivide a residential lot ?
It depends on the requirements of your municipality. Here in Austin, it's about $35,000 for a small residential lot. This can go up a lot depending on the size of the property and the amount of surveying and engineering required. So it's hard to put your finger on an average.
@@BuildingTimeFreedom Thank you, that's about what I have been hearing, I have a lot in Seattle that I want to subdivide and build on but these costs are adding up fast
@@volvo8938 Most of that is in surveying and engineering. Usually the city requires a long list of services which make up most of the cost. That's interesting that the price in Seattle is about the same as Austin. I lived in Seattle for 10 years as well. Good luck on your sub-divide.
@@BuildingTimeFreedom when you say small residential lot, how much is that? Less than an acre or like 2-3 acre lot ?
@@mk273 applies to both. The main difference in size is the amount of engineering and number of easements and restrictions you will run into. All of the steps still apply.
Your municipality will have limits on how small new lots can be based on zoning.
Whoa! Just FYI, $1000/foot X mile (5280 feet) is not "half a million dollars". It's over $5 million. "Small mistakes" like this (and not correcting it) can cause one to doubt the correctness of virtually everything else. Might want to correct it if you care.
Yeah you got that right. Typically you would probably get better pricing if you were going to put in a mile of sewer but you’re right. Always check your sewer extension costs ahead of time and pricing will vary by market.
I am interested in your services I own 24 acres and would like to subdivide
Would be happy to talk, you can get in touch with me via my website www.johnblackman.com
Hire a land surveyor
A couple of times actually, before the build, at forms time, and again when the build is done. Love my surveyors!
good grief. subdividing sounds like a bear. what do you think about developing in a non-incorporate community? easier, harder, do, don't do.
Where there is pain there is profit! Non incorporated communities can be good but they usually have their own restrictions and the developer that set them up is going to collect a premium for the work to get it there.