Looking for a partner or investor in a real estate development venture

**joemac** · 01-08-2011 05:06 PM

I have extensive experience in the construction industry and am interested in starting a company that builds net zero and passive houses. Either from scratch or buying rundown properties to convert. I will be specializing in alternative building methods and energy sources. I plan to do nearly all the work myself and have man power already lined up to complete the homes quicker than a conventional builder.

I haven't nailed down a business plan or model yet but what I'm leaning towards is building and selling the first several houses. This should cause a cash flush situation. With that capital I believe building a portfolio of rentals or holding our own paper would create a healthy cash flow. There would also be potential for a property management company and a mechanical contracting company in the same context.

I am located in MD but have a line on a handful of building lots in VA that are ready to build on. I'm on constant lookout for good deals and have another couple properties with houses on them in my area but the margins would be lower I believe. As for an investment I could break ground on my #1 prospective lot for less than $5K, building materials would probably be approximately another $40-50K and this particular lot could be purchased outright for $40K. The owner is willing to finance it at this point. I estimate the house will be worth in the neighborhood of $150-180K as this house will have a near zero utility bill or depending on what alternatives we decided on it could actually produce an income through net metering. The profit from this house should allow us to build 2-3 other houses at similar margins.

Feel free to critique as well, as any idea mine is dynamic and constantly changing.

**akula** · 01-09-2011 05:36 AM

yikes...how's the md/va market doing?

**Basil Simons** · 01-09-2011 08:01 AM

Hi joe

I am keen on hearin more about this venture,please foward me more details.
I am a property broker in SA but its more of a hobby we're I purchase on auction and sell off.I am in the process of recruiting 4 new partners to form a international business and product development company.

Regards

Basil Simons

**joemac** · 01-09-2011 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by akula

yikes...how's the md/va market doing?

The people innovating, pushing boundaries and themselves are making a killing just like in any industry. I'm not too much on the woe is me, I'm a victim of the economy. I believe you make your own economy. The MD/VA market seems solid. I'd estimate values have dropped 25% since the downturn but the metropolitan areas and military bases keep values up for the most part. Some areas I'd say have held their value <10% drop. Of course ten different realtors or appraisers will give you 10 different answers.

**akula** · 01-09-2011 05:20 PM

sweet...
it's great to see that you have faith in MD/VA real estate
we have faith as well..
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**arbsn** · 01-10-2011 12:39 AM

Thank you for investing your skills and time into building net zero homes.

You only spoke about real estate in your pitch. You never made it clear on how you plan on making these homes net zero. What type of energy are you planning on using?

Does the State/Fed government offer you/the home owner any rebates?

**patrickcbb73** · 01-13-2011 03:27 PM

Hey joemac I sent you a PM. I'm interested in getting more details about your venture and possibly becoming an investor. Good luck.

Patrick

**joemac** · 01-13-2011 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by arbsn

Thank you for investing your skills and time into building net zero homes.

You only spoke about real estate in your pitch. You never made it clear on how you plan on making these homes net zero. What type of energy are you planning on using?

Does the State/Fed government offer you/the home owner any rebates?

I am only just starting to scratch the surface in what is available in high efficiency homes. I stumbled across the passive house institute the other day. In lay terms, I am proposing building a home with an extremely high level of insulation to nearly eliminate energy loss. This coupled with very low outside air infiltration, efficient appliances and lights gets energy usage down to around <25% of total. I also plan to use alternative construction methods like butt and pass log construction and cordwood construction/post and beam. Not only do these methods insulate better than stick built, they use locally sourced materials and are much, much cheaper to build with. The cost of the house has a major bearing on it's efficiency in my opinion.

This will allow a small solar array and possibly a small wind turbine depending on location to more than cover energy usage. I installed geothermal hvac systems professionally and would use this as well. I'm also considering solar hot water and solar space heating.

The rebates are available at this time but I will be honest up front I am not sure on the amount and who would qualify the purchaser or builder.

Originally Posted by patrickcbb73

Hey joemac I sent you a PM. I'm interested in getting more details about your venture and possibly becoming an investor. Good luck.

Patrick

PM replied, hopefully we can get a line of communication established.

**eleven7** · 01-15-2011 08:03 PM

Hi JM,

I was flipping through Magic Johnson's business title and he has a lot of specifics on the ins/outs of his experiences in real estate development. Aside from that, there's some solid info regarding partnerships and joint ventures that's worth checking out.

Best of luck,
R