Recommended reading on Development
As title states, what are the best books (or courses) to learn about development and running a development project? This would be for multifamily. Thanks!
[{"id": "futcz3q", "text": "Any ULI books", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "futeckg", "text": "Following", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "futr6ar", "text": "Local by-laws and community plans", "replies": [{"id": "g0iz5iu", "text": "Where would one find these?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "futrfo9", "text": "Sorry more of a rant than good advice here- I haven't found good books on this subject, I think because there's such a big disconnect between the textbook aspects of the deal structuring/financials and the soft skills that you just learn by working and negotiating with people all over the industry. I've recruited a bunch of people from masters in real estate programs and they all have fantastic fundamentals, but there's no one set curriculum to learn the street smarts.\n\nSo I guess I have more of a disclaimer- yes, you can learn the motions of development from a book or youtube (shameless plug- I'm sharing how to get started in development on my YT channel in my profile), but it's even more critical to learn how to navigate the people side of the business by just practicing. Actually, here's a good book for negotiating: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, former FBI negotiator.", "replies": [{"id": "fuu0vve", "text": "This is a great summary. Developing multi family housing has so many layers. A lot of the soft skills are focused on managing a budget, setting expectations with designers and properly scheduling deliverables. Never split the difference is a great read!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fuu1u6s", "text": "Last Harvest: From Cornfield to New Town: Real Estate Development from George Washington to the Builders of the Twenty-First Century, and Why We Live in Houses Anyway", "replies": [{"id": "fuxztgd", "text": "Glad I checked before commenting the same.  Last Harvest in particular is required reading for a consulting firm I know of, which is why I went ahead and read it.  \n\n\nTo add something constructive, after you read them, go to a zoning meeting for new construction (hopefully they're virtual or something right now).  In my experience it plays out just like the book.", "replies": [{"id": "g0iz6zh", "text": "How can one find these meetings?", "replies": [{"id": "g0l9l4i", "text": "Hard to give a blanket answer, but my town's local newspaper has a website that puts out notifications about all public town meetings.  When I was living in various cities the neighborhoods or districts (or both) had websites that performed a similar function.  Some places are definitely better about it than others.  For example, this looks like a good resource for NYC: [https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/about/commission-meetings.page](https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/about/commission-meetings.page)", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fuu3x4p", "text": "There\u2019s not any.  Not sure what scale you are talking about,  but really a good developer is someone who knows a little about everything.  You are more solving the puzzle of balancing the many components that go into it, rather than just doing anything textbook. \n\nYou should know the basics of underwriting/finance, planning, design, engineering and construction, sales/marketing.  Naturally you will be stronger in some areas than others, but don\u2019t be in a position where you don\u2019t understand the basics and at least appreciate it. \n\nDepending on scale, you can usually hire experts in specific aspects but you will be left exposed if you don\u2019t understand it to some degree and how it fits into the project.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]