Most civil engineers design subdivisions for other people. Here is how to start owning the projects yourself. I run FEREST Development Services and M2 Engineering. One does the engineering, the other does the deals. Here is the basic structure I use. Step 1: Find the land. Look for raw acreage on major roads (arterials or collectors) in growing cities. In the RGV, I look along SH 107, US 83, and expanding city ETJs. The land needs to be annexable or already inside city limits with access to water and sewer. Step 2: Run your numbers BEFORE you make an offer. Use a simple proforma: Land cost + construction cost + soft costs (engineering, permits, testing, financing) = total investment. Divide by buildable lots = cost per lot. Compare to what finished lots sell for in that market. Real example: Angelica's Dream V2 in Weslaco. 10 acres, $250K purchase price. 47 lots planned. Estimated EOPCC around $1.5M all-in. Cost per lot: roughly $32K. Market value of finished lots in that area: $45K to $55K. That is a $600K to $1M spread on the deal. Step 3: Control the land with a contract, not cash. Put $5K to $10K in earnest money. Build in a 60 to 90 day feasibility period. During feasibility, do your drainage study, check utilities, confirm zoning, and get your preliminary plat reviewed by the city. If anything kills the deal, you walk away and get your earnest money back. Step 4: Get your engineering done right. This is where being the engineer gives you an edge. You control the design, timeline, and cost. You know exactly what the project needs before you close on the land. Step 5: Fund the construction. Use a combination of your own equity (10% to 20%), investor capital, and a construction loan. The EOPCC is your loan document. The lender funds draws based on completed milestones. The biggest advantage engineers have: you already know what things cost. Most developers are guessing. You are not. www.ferest.dev

On the Conway Mile3 project, water and sewer combined cost $245,000. That is 29% of the total construction budget, and nobody driving through the finished subdivision will ever see any of it. Here is what goes underground in a typical subdivision: WATER SYSTEM ($110,000): 8-inch C900 PVC water main running down the street. Fire hydrants every 500 feet (city requirement). Individual service lines (3/4-inch or 1-inch) stubbed to each lot. Valves at every intersection and tee for isolation. Connection to the water authority main, which usually requires a tap fee of $1,500 to $3,000 per lot. SANITARY SEWER ($135,000): 8-inch SDR-26 PVC sewer main with manholes every 400 feet and at every change in direction. 4-inch service laterals to each lot, stubbed 5 feet past the right-of-way. Minimum 0.40% slope on the main (gravity flow). Connection to the city sewer, which requires another tap fee. DRY UTILITIES ($35,000): Conduit for electric, gas, and telecom. You install the pipe. AEP, gas company, and AT&T/Spectrum install their own lines inside your conduit. Coordinate trenching with your wet utility contractor to save money. The biggest utility mistake: not getting a will-serve letter before you buy the land. A will-serve letter from the water and sewer provider confirms they have capacity to serve your project. Without it, you might buy land that cannot be developed. www.ferest.dev

Grading is the first thing that happens on site and the last thing most developers understand. Here is what you need to know. When you grade a subdivision, you are doing three things at once: 1. Setting your road profile (finished grade of the street) 2. Establishing lot pad elevations (where homes will sit) 3. Creating your drainage pattern (where water goes when it rains) If you get any one of those wrong, the other two break. Real example: On the Conway Mile3 project, earthwork came in at $95,000. That is for 9 acres of relatively flat South Texas land. The site had maybe 3 feet of elevation change across the entire property. Why so much? Because flat land is actually harder to grade than sloped land. You need to CREATE slope where none exists. Every road needs at least 0.5% longitudinal grade to drain. Every lot needs to slope away from the house toward the street or a swale. Common grading mistakes: Not balancing cut and fill. If you haul in or haul out dirt, that is $15 to $25 per cubic yard of hauling cost on top of the earthwork. A good engineer designs the grading plan so you use the dirt you cut to fill the low spots. Ignoring existing drainage patterns. Water has been flowing across this land for decades. If you block a natural drainage path without providing an alternative, you will flood someone downstream and get sued. Not compacting properly. Your compaction spec is usually 95% Standard Proctor for road subgrade. If your contractor is not testing every lift, you are gambling on your road holding up. The takeaway: grading drives everything. Get it right first. www.ferest.dev

Drainage will make or break your subdivision. Here is why. On a 47-lot project I engineered in Weslaco, TX (Angelica's Dream V2), 100% of the site sits in FEMA Zone A. That means every square foot of the property is in the floodplain. What that means for development: 1. You cannot just grade the site and call it done. You need a full drainage study, detention design, and possibly a CLOMR/LOMR with FEMA. 2. Every cubic yard of fill you bring in displaces floodwater somewhere else. You have to prove to the city and FEMA that your project does not make flooding worse for your neighbors. 3. Detention ponds cost money and eat lots. On the Conway Mile3 project, we dedicated an entire commercial lot (43,400 SF) to detention. That is land you cannot sell as a residential lot. 4. Storm sewer pipe is expensive. On that same project, storm drainage cost $125,000, which is about 15% of total construction. Common drainage mistakes I see from new developers: Buying land in a floodplain without understanding the cost to get out of it. A CLOMR alone can cost $30K to $80K in engineering fees, and take 12 to 18 months for FEMA review. Assuming the city will accept sheet flow off your lots into the street. Most cities in the RGV require on-site detention for any project over 1 acre. Not coordinating drainage with your paving design. Your road profile IS your drainage system. If you do not design them together, you end up regrading after the road is built. The bottom line: always get a drainage study before you close on the land. $5K on a study can save you $200K in surprises. www.ferest.dev

Real EOPCC walkthrough. Every line item explained. An EOPCC (Engineer's Opinion of Probable Construction Cost) is the budget your lender will use to fund your project. Here is a real one from a 46-lot project, line by line. MOBILIZATION: $15,000. Moving equipment to site, setting up erosion control, temporary facilities. CLEARING AND GRUBBING: $22,000. Removing brush, trees, and existing structures. In South Texas, this is mostly mesquite and huisache. EARTHWORK: $95,000. Cut and fill to establish road grades and lot pads. This project is relatively flat, so earthwork is moderate. PAVING: $185,000. 8-inch flex base + 2-inch HMAC. 1,284 LF of 32-foot road. Includes subgrade prep. CURB: $45,000. 24-inch ribbon curb on both sides of the road. 2,568 LF total. STORM DRAINAGE: $125,000. RCP storm sewer, inlets, headwalls, and detention pond grading. WATER: $110,000. 8-inch C900 PVC water main, valves, fire hydrants, service lines. Connection to the water authority. SANITARY SEWER: $135,000. 8-inch SDR-26 PVC sewer main, manholes, service laterals. Connection to city main. DRY UTILITIES: $35,000. Conduit for electric, gas, and telecom. The utility companies install their own wire and pipe. EROSION CONTROL: $12,000. Silt fence, inlet protection, stabilized construction entrance per SWPPP. SIGNAGE AND STRIPING: $8,000. Street signs, stop signs, and pavement markings. TESTING: $22,000. Compaction, concrete, asphalt, and materials testing. SURVEYING (CONSTRUCTION): $30,000. Rough staking, fine staking, and as-built survey. TOTAL CONSTRUCTION: $839,000 This does not include land, engineering fees, permits, or financing. Those are separate budget categories. Save this post. Reference it when you are reviewing your own EOPCC. www.ferest.dev