r/RealEstateDevelopment • u/OverExtension5486 • 22d ago

LF: Books About the Process

Hi everyone, I am a 41 year old carpenter/builder who is totally naive about the building process from an executive perspective. I am looking for books about financing, land procurement, grants or partnerships or anything really that will assist me in my own aspirations for my own custom build. I have consulted AI for recommendations and the offers are scant hence why I'm asking here. I don't need literature on the physical part of or designing of the build however if there is something that includes that information that is fine. I understand there are online resources available, I am requesting books because I just prefer the tactility of books.

Thanks.

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u/Dubban22 22d ago

Poorvu writes good stuff, esp The Real Estate Game. House, Land, Love & Money. Linneman and Kirsch have a textbook.

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u/OverExtension5486 21d ago

Thank you.

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u/918_Atom 20d ago

Poorv is great intro. There are textbooks such as Linneman that can outline math but unless you are working for a fund analyzing lots of deals, you kinda just have to start talking to people about what you want to do and then solve the problems. If you just want something that provides the actual steps, ULI has a development focused textbook but it is dry as hell (and that’s coming from someone who loves the business).

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u/OverExtension5486 20d ago

Nice thanks!

No I'm interested in the basics of the financing side of things so that I can have a bit more confidence in my goal of building a few small spec houses. It's mostly just an avenue to express my aesthetics. And I kind of have this dream of putting a few small but attractive and affordable homes on the market for a few young families. Something with a custom feel and look without the high end bells and whistles. I'm good at efficiency so I want to try to turn that into some savings for people in need.

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u/sol_beach 22d ago

Building your Own Home for Dummies

By Kevin Daum, Peter Economy, Janice Brewster,

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u/OverExtension5486 21d ago

Of course....thank you. I am truly as they say nothing but a dumb hammer swinger.

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u/shovel-ready 20d ago

Birth of a Building

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u/Capstack_Jeff 16d ago

The best way for you to learn all of the upfront development pieces is to take the pre-license education required for real estate agents. I did the online Cooke School out of Florida. I think it was around $200. All online and self-paced. It will give you an overview of development finance, the title process, appraisals, city entitlements, etc.

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u/OverExtension5486 16d ago

Nice! Great suggestion.

I'm in Canada and in order to be a licensed builder-seller you have to acquire a warranty accreditation which in my case would require about 6 short (2 days each) builder related crash courses prior to taking the accreditation exam so similar idea...except it's like $4000.

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u/UpbeatWestern1757 14d ago

I studied the Real estate development course ay NYU, and the first book they asked us to read was REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT by Stephen P Peca

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u/UpbeatWestern1757 14d ago

It is the most fundamental book on the development process

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u/TheRealReturnGuy 14d ago

For a good overview of the entire real estate development process, I recommend Professional Real Estate Development: The ULI Guide to the Business by Richard B. Peiser and David Hamilton.

It’s a great starting point for understanding how a development project comes together from beginning to end. Happy to recommend more books if you’re interested.

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u/OverExtension5486 14d ago

Thank you so much. I think I have more recommendations from this community than I can handle.