By Robert B. Ludgate, Sr. Being a developer looks easy. We see successful developments all around us-shopping centers, industrial parks, and housing tracts. They look pretty simple-just buy a piece of ground, move a little dirt, put up some bricks and mortar, and make lots of money.
Development is profitable because development is a very risky business.
A developer must buy the right parcel of land. The location has to be suitable, traffic access must be appropriate, physical conditions of the land must be suitable, etc. Often a developer's agreement to purchase property is subject to conditions. The developer has to guess which conditions are necessary and will be acceptable to the seller. Buying Right is a complex undertaking.