A lot of people have at least a notion of what a real estate developer is, not in the least because President Donald Trump is one. That said, the concept of real estate development, as Gene Bernshtam has explained, is one that is actually very complex. For instance, in many cases, the developer isn’t a single individual, but rather an entire corporation. This isn’t surprising when you consider that real estate development transactions often involve millions of dollars, far more than most of us will ever have.
Gene Bernshtam Looks at Two Types of Real Estate Development
There are two many types of real estate development, and the two are completely linked. The first is the land developer, which means people purchase empty plots of land and work on things such as roads, zoning, utilities connections, and so on. The second is the building developer, who purchases the now prepared land and construct offices, residential areas, commercial zones, and so on. In many cases, the two types of real estate developers work together or they may even be one and the same person or institution.
Why People Want to Get into Real Estate Development
The number one reasons why people are interested in real estate development is because of the money. President Donald Trump, for instance, is one of the wealthiest men in our country, and he was even able to use that wealth to get himself elected as the next president. However, there is never a guarantee of high returns and, in order to get into real estate development, you usually have to have a significant amount of cash behind you already as well. Most people get into the field through debt leverage, which means they don’t have to make any personal investments. However, that isn’t suitable for everybody either.
In order for someone to get truly wealthy through real estate development, they firstly need a whole lot of knowledge and expertise. They have to be able to anticipate market demands, often years further down the line. It can take several years to construct a new industrial complex, for instance, and there is no guarantee that, by the time it finishes, there will be a demand for that type of building. Good real estate developers know how to read trends and how to follow them, but also how to interpret those trends in terms of future planning.
That said, while knowledge and expertise is, obviously, hugely important, real estate developers also need to have luck if they are to become truly wealthy. Sometimes, things just go their way and that is what is needed to truly become successful. They need to find that investor willing to take a gamble, a parent or relative to give them a lot of money, a windfall or lottery win.
Knowledge, expertise, a willingness to learn and to take risk, and a huge amount of luck. Those are the key elements of success for a real estate developer.
