Most people lose money in land development before the engineer is ever hired. They buy in Zone A without pricing the CLOMR. They skip the $4K topo and eat $40K in import fill. They close without a will serve letter and find out the city can't serve them. I've watched it happen on real projects across the Valley, and I built this group so it doesn't happen to you. Here's what you get as a member. Every Thursday at 7:30 PM I run a live Deal Review. You post a parcel, address or coordinates, and I screen it on camera the same way I do for paying clients: FEMA panel, zoning, utility access, lot yield, and a rough cost per lot. Ten minutes, real answer, buy or walk. The Vault holds real documents from real projects. Feasibility studies, EOPCCs, drainage report sections, city comment letters and the responses that cleared them, drainage district punchlists, utility company packets. Names removed, numbers left in. Templates you can use tomorrow: the EOPCC spreadsheet, deal proforma, feasibility checklist, will serve request letter, and the contract structure I use to control land before I buy it. The RGV Jurisdiction Matrix: who to call at each city, water district, and drainage district in Hidalgo and Cameron, what they charge, and how long they take. Access to Dirt to Deal for parcel screening, member pricing on FEREST feasibility studies, and first look at off market land I come across. Start by posting your role and the parcel or problem that brought you here. Then work through the Classroom in order. If you have a parcel right now, post it and I'll take it Thursday at 7:30. Bring one real parcel. If after 30 days you don't know whether to buy it or walk, I refund the month. Fernando

A few ground rules to keep this community sharp and useful: Stay on mission. Civil engineering, land development, construction, and the business around it. Real questions get real answers. Share context: location/city, project type, what you have tried so people can actually help you. Educational only. Nothing here replaces a licensed engineer of record. Stamp your own work. No spam or pitch-slapping. Don't join just to sell. Contribute first. Respect. Disagree on methods, not on people. Everyone started at zero. Protect confidential info. Don't post client data, sealed plans, or anything you don't have the right to share. Break the rules and you're out. Simple. Glad to have you here.

Glad you're here. Land Dev Lab is for people who want to understand land development the way it actually works, from raw dirt to recorded plat, and build a career or business around it. Three things to do right now: First, reply below and tell us your role (engineer, surveyor, contractor, developer, student) and what project or problem brought you here. Second, open the Classroom and start with Land Development 101. Third, ask a real question. Stuck on drainage, a city comment, a scope, or a price? Post it. That's what this place is for. No question is too basic and no project too messy. Let's build. Fernando