Finding the Right Site for Your Property Development Project
When looking to find the right site for your next property development project, many in the real estate industry would say that it is the investment that is the most important thing. However, without the right location, the investment won't amount to much. Finding the right location for your project can set you up for a successful and profitable project.
For any property development project, the key to success is finding the right location. If you are looking at residential development, residents will need to be near basic amenities. The site needs to have the basic infrastructure in place for schools, hospitals, and transportation nearby. You also want to consider things like the direction the land is facing. Many prospective buyers today consider whether or not they will be able to take advantage of the natural light.
When it comes to the slope of the land you plan to develop on, you want to try to find a piece of property that has a slight slope to help with the drainage. Finally, you want to see what is already on the site. Removing trees, asbestos sheets, and concrete slabs can get costly. Also, consider getting a survey done to find out what is on the land. Knowing what kind of materials you are building on can prevent major issues down the road. Founder and CEO of Longwell Company, Stanley Xu, is a successful real estate developer because he takes the time to research the properties before make the investment, ensuring he will make the highest return on the investment.
Becoming a Property Developer – Learning the Game
Becoming a property developer isn't just about buying, developing, and then selling the property for a profit. There are some points that one must consider to maximize your chances of success when you jump into the property development game. When you are scouting out locations, you don't necessarily need to find a piece of property in the best area of town. Purchasing in the center of the best area means you will pay the highest price, leaving you little room to make a profit. Rather try to find something on the fringes of the best area that, given time can become a part of the best area.
Before you purchase a property, you need to do your homework. Without doing the proper research, you run the risk of losing everything and ending up in debt for the rest of your life. Look at what other properties in the area go for, how much the stamp duties are, and the cost of the searches and fees. Finding a motivated seller will help you make a larger profit. Sellers that are desperate to offload their property will give you a better deal. You always want to have your ideal buyer in mind when you begin refurbishing or constructing your property. Make sure you are making decisions based on what your ideal buyer would like not what you like. Stanley Xu, a real estate developer in the Seattle, Washington area, is an expert when it comes to improving a property. For 20-years, Stanley has bought and refurbished buildings to attract new residents and buyers.
Stanley Xu - Starting an Honest Real Estate Investment Firm
If you're starting a real estate investment and development firm, your goal should be to improve the properties you acquire and turn profits for your team and investors. Building long term relationships with right people in the real estate industry can be emphasized by honesty and integrity. If you are working on relationships and networking, you will want people to identify you as someone who truly cares about these values and practices them in his business dealings.
Honesty and integrity build trust, which is the basis for any business relationship. You must constantly focus on the long term strategy. If you have an understanding of the big picture, then you will have a roadmap and understand your potential. Carefully calculate your investments and do as much research on the local community as possible in order to gain profit for your investors. This outcome can only happen if you also spend time caring and tending to the tenants of the properties you will acquire. Residents need to know that you have their back and will always take care of issues when they arise. Improving the look and feel of the property also shows that you care about the esthetics as well as the core functionality of a property. Renovating a property can give them a sense of comfort that their neighborhood will not be run down under your watch.
Stanley Xu founded The Longwell Company in 1992 in Bellevue, Washington with his wife, Nanling Chen, herself an experienced real estate agent registered in Washington State with over a decade of experience. The Longwell Company now owns over 2,200 apartment units in the Seattle area. Stanley Xu and his team are constantly looking for more apartment buildings they can improve for the sake of their residents and their investors.
Stanley Xu - Founding an Investment Business
If you are looking to start a business, you will want to do your due diligence in research. You will need to focus on securing funding, a business plan and preferably a headquarters. Investment is more than purchasing and profiting off of real estate properties. You will need to have a long-term strategy in place that assures your investors that you are working towards the most profitable and sustainable outcomes. This strategy also must allow for a strong foundation in the community and local residential neighborhoods.
When you are researching properties, you will want to look into all of the local amenities, developments, and statistics. Crime, Bad Schools, Poorly Developed Businesses can be a hindrance to your investment. Take a look at the work and employment rates in that county and state to make sure salaries are commensurate with your rental fees and deposits.
Stanley Xu is the co-founder of The Longwell Company, a real estate development and investment firm based in the Seattle area. Xu founded the company in 1992 in Bellevue, Washington, just east of Seattle. Since then, The Longwell Company has bought, improved, and sold many properties in the Seattle area. The Longwell Company only purchases properties that have the value potential in the future. Stanley Xu always tries to see the potential in the future rather than focusing on what the property is at the moment. His vision is on future profits for his company, which intertwine with improvements to the property for the residents.
Stanley Xu - The Longwell Company Co-founder
Stanley Xu is the co-founder of The Longwell Company, a real estate development and investment firm based in the Seattle area. Xu founded the company in 1992 in Bellevue, Washington, just east of Seattle. Since then, The Longwell Company has bought, improved, and sold many properties in the Seattle area. The Longwell Company only purchases properties that have the value potential in the future. Stanley Xu always tries to see the potential in the future rather than focusing on what the property is at the moment. His vision is on future profits for his company, which are intertwined with improvements to the property for the residents.
Stanley Xu was educated primarily in China. He attended the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Engineering and a Master’s of Science Degree in Engineering. He completed his illustrious academic career in the United States, where he earned a Ph.D. in Engineering from the Oklahoma State University. He is the chairman of The Alumni of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is well-connected to the Chinese real estate industry.
The Longwell Company, under the leadership of Stanley Xu, has made many high-profile purchases in the Seattle area since it was founded. Xu has overseen the purchase of The Madison at Fairwood, an apartment complex in Renton, Washington, and the Conner Building in downtown Bellevue. The Longwell Company tries to add value to all of the properties it purchases to secure high returns for its investors and make the residents of the properties happy.
Stanley Xu - Investment Strategy
The Longwell Company, a real estate investment and development firm founded by widely-respected Chinese businessman Stanley Xu, has a clear, repeatable investment strategy. After meticulously researching a potential investment property’s rent growth potential, investment expenditure necessities, and environmental factors, Xu, with his advisors at Longwell, identify sources of funding and create a capital return profile. When Longwell acquires the property, the company puts its excellent property management team to work, staffing the property on-site and improving the property as a whole with such renovations as installing washers and dryers in the units and upgrading community spaces with fitness and business centers on the property. Over the past decade, Longwell Company has focused more on environmental improvements aimed at conserving or reusing energy. Some green technologies installed in some of Longwell’s properties include low-flow toilets, dual-paneled windows, and additional insulation. All of these technologies improve the property’s carbon footprint and lower energy costs for tenants.
After all of Longwell’s improvements are made, property management standards are established, and some marketing activities completed, Longwell can raise rents and expand occupancy. Soon the property is transformed into a Class “A” multi-family complex that still offers rent significantly lower than similar properties in the same area, giving residents an excellent value. After an average of three years, Stanley Xu and Longwell usually dispose of the property, often selling it for a value high above what they bought it for, generating high returns on investment. Longwell under the leadership of Stanley Xu creates value in properties that they can sell for amounts far exceeding management and improvement costs.
Stanley Xu - Excellent Services
When Stanley Xu moved from Dalian City, China to Bellevue, Washington, just east of Seattle, he wanted to try a new business strategy—one that actually catered to customers instead of the bottom line, investors, and profits. Xu realized soon after he started his real estate company, Longwell Company, that he could make money while improving many decent but improvable properties in the Seattle area. He founded the company in the early nineties, when everyone was buying up property at a fast rate. He quickly expanded his portfolio. Ten years later, however, and the housing bubble burst. With many other business owners in the area panicking and leaving their residents high and dry, Xu continued his famous business practices.
Stanley Xu is seen as a business visionary, especially in his home country. He has always made a point to pour his investments into the upkeep and repairs of all properties he purchases. This approach is radically different than many real estate developers, who hope to resell the property after doing minimal work and cutting costs. Xu not only improves the physical buildings he buys, he improves the property management services, so that residents can enjoy better property management services.
The improvement in management services also means that the property will be better cared for and more valuable in the long run to Xu when he sells the property. Stanley Xu ensures that everyone wins when he makes an investment in any property in the Seattle area. His business was able to survive the economic downturn of 2008, and figures to survive much longer.
