Don’t you wish you could time the stock market to sell at the peak? Doesn’t everyone want to know when to get off the rollercoaster before the next freefall so we can maximize our return on investment? That’s the dream, to predict the market, and developers are no different when it comes to the land development market. Well, most developers are no different.

Developers often use the word “value.” Sometimes they’ll talk about creating value, and other times they’ll talk about extracting value. In land development, a project must add or provide value to be a success.

This seems so obvious, but many less-than-successful developers skip the critical step of defining the value they intend to redeem. In turn their consulting teams assume what value the developer wants to achieve. This circle of ignorance can and does lead to confusion, wasted time and resources, mismatched relationships, and projects that don’t optimize the value the developer wanted.

I once knew a fisherman and developer named Don. He found a community he wanted to both work in and live in, a place filled with natural beauty, plentiful water, great fundamentals for growth, and great fishing of course.

Once upon a time there was a local developer named Doug. He found property he liked and was well-suited to his product. He did his research on the dirt. He hunted for the problems that might be hidden. He purchased this piece of undeveloped land and felt confident.