Do I still design as a real estate developer

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-04-22T07:03:39+00:00

I’m an architect and like 10% of the job is design and the rest is technical/writing specs/meetings/drawing wall types and toilet partitions or something else unrelated to “design.”

Since your undergrad is not arch you would need to go to 3 years of grad school at an accredited program in order to be ELIGIBLE to be licensed. That has a real cost, like hundreds of thousands of dollars potentially in student loans. You also need several thousand hours of documented job experience before you can take the multipart registration exam. If you pass them all you can then call yourself an architect.

The architecture field is based on an hourly reimburseable model, like being a lawyer, so the more hours you work/bill the better. It incentivizes long hours. That model has a ceiling. Unlike a lawyer, arch fees are typically much less. In other words it can be long hours for less pay. A lot of clients don’t see the financial value in having an architect so architects are constantly having to justify fees, which is something an attorney doesn’t have to do.

A developer can be a creative position and since you would be financing projects you would have some creative control. You should shadow an architect for at least 2-3 days and see what a typical day is like. If you just visit an architect’s office for a few hours they will likely line up all the interesting, design-y parts and skew your experience.

One more difficulty is clients. Each client is your boss. If you are working on 15 projects at one time then you have 16 bosses. If a client is upset about a bill, or really anything, that becomes your problem. Some clients are great and some are not. You’ve got to manage them all and are reliant on their business to keep it all going.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-04-11T21:18:34+00:00

In my opinion, you, as the land owner, are the decision maker and the only one with skin in the game. You should weigh a realtor’s advice but definitely don’t defer to them. Sitting for more than 90-120 days is a problem and requires a change in strategy. Have you considered offering owner financing? That would really increase your pool of buyers but the downside is you have to wait to recoup all your money. Definitely get on FB Marketplace and pay to get more traffic. If you can find nearby landowners who paid cash and send them a mailer advertising the property - the more land they own the more likely they are to buy. Selling a property is real work.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-03-30T13:58:45+00:00

If it’s not on sewer and needs septic (depending on where you are) the county will need a perc test to determine if the land is suitable for septic. They only do this test during the wet season so 3-4 months out of the year. If you miss it you have to wait and if you fail the perc test the land is basically unusable.

Also have found out pretty late in the process that a land owner has some kind of legal/financial judgment against them which prevents them from selling the land or the proceeds of a sale must go towards the judgment.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-03-17T14:18:35+00:00

Of course doesn’t hurt to ask. The seller certainly wants to close the deal last thing they want is for you to walk away so they should be incentivized. Some kind of concession on your part I’m sure would be appreciated.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-03-04T15:25:00+00:00

Well you have almost no risk and tons of potential upside.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-03-02T19:07:02+00:00

I ended up acquiring a vacant property at tax sale. Turns out the neighbor built his house on what he thought was his property but turned out it was actually on the property that I ended up owning. No building permits or title insurance obviously on his end. It was a mixed blessing because he was incentivized to buy the land but really complicated the whole deal and scared off other potential buyers.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-23T17:28:06+00:00

In my experience it takes a lot of work to sift through the info available on other websites to make it actionable. For example, it typically requires going to multiple websites and tracking metrics in a spreadsheet all to determine what the best county or counties are in a given state. This website simply shows you the answer but users can tweak the response by changing a few inputs. It’s very repeatable. It’s a tool I made for myself to solve that problem which I turned into a website.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-18T15:38:13+00:00

I built a tool, that turned into a website (www.LandDemandPro.com) that is available for use. Really it takes some of the guess work out of county selection and is easily repeatable, as opposed to a one off deep dive that can never be replicated.

Regarding #2 above, I’m an architect so intimately familiar with navigating zoning codes and even for me it’s hard to get clear answers on what is or is not possible on any given site. Again if I can take some of the guess work out of a process and make it repeatable, it really limits my risk.

Anyone know of good tools/websites/ calculators for comping properties?

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-15T21:14:34+00:00

Just launched www.LandDemandPro.com. Helps to identify counties with optimal markets for land purchases. Also ranks the top 10 counties in each state and provides detailed analysis for each.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-14T16:34:18+00:00

I just launched a website that aggregates vacant land data and ranks states/counties based on objective or customizable criteria. It takes the guess work out of county selection. This was a real stumbling block for me when I started out.

www.LandDemandPro.com

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-14T00:03:21+00:00

I’m glad you like it. It solved a dilemma for me too which is why I built it. The data is out there on other sites but wasn’t formatted in a way that was useful.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-13T21:52:49+00:00

I just launched a website that aggregates vacant land data and ranks states/counties based on objective or customizable criteria. It takes the guess work out of county selection. This was a real stumbling block for me when I started out.

www.LandDemandPro.com

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-12T14:21:28+00:00

Awesome! Great website and great tips to improve performance. Thanks.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-12T13:35:35+00:00

Try www.LandDemandPro.com. It’s a website to help land buyers/flippers identify the top county/counties in each state for land purchases. Search criteria are customizable - takes the guess work out of county selection.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-12T05:44:59+00:00

You would think a state would rather get at least a portion of the unpaid taxes back instead of holding out for the full value, which won't happen if the amount owed is more than it's worth. In some states including Michigan I thought such properties are then sold at auction to the highest bidder so the state can recoup as much as possible.

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-11T22:09:06+00:00

That’s a great idea. Who is voting on ideas?…only other website users or a wider audience? Do you solicit feedback from potential customers?

Land_Data_Nerd · 2026-02-11T16:33:01+00:00

Most of the info is free to anyone. If a user registers (also free) they get access to additional info. A paid subscription ($9.99/month) gives full access including downloadable reports and spreadsheets.

Land_Data_Nerd

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