The Land JV is the most creative tool in development finance and the hardest sell.
The structure: landowner contributes the site into a new LLC, co-owned with the developer. The land value becomes equity. The LLC completes entitlements, design, capital raise, construction, lease-up, and sale.
Where we lose people: the moment they hear they'll subordinate their land value to the construction loan. Most land sellers aren't developers. The risk profile is foreign to them.
The other key challenge: Must remove existing debt on land to free up 1st position for new construction loan.
But for landowners who understand it? Their land goes from a stagnant or undervalued asset to an equity position in a fully developed project, all while being a tax free move.
That's the upside that makes the conversation worth having.