If you have a smaller piece of land that you would like to develop as a horizontal or vertical condominium with a higher density, you will probably need to what’s known as a Master Plan. A project with a Master Plan needs vastly more work than the previously-described low-density project. A project with a Master Plan needs either permits or approval from nine different government institutions, give or take. The full permitting process for a Master Plan development is described in detail in Chapter 9 on permitting.

But what, exactly, is a Master Plan, and what does it involve? A Master Plan is a document that describes your development’s layout, property lines, electrical plan, water use, wastewater disposal plan, environmental impact, and many other things. Your architect will be responsible for pulling your Master Plan together, but to do so, he or she will need the following information:

1. A document outlining the property’s concept, business plans and objectives.
2. A land survey of the property including all known infrastructure, public roads and easements, surface topography (minimum one meter vertical increments) a vegetation inventory (including any known wetlands or protected natural resources), any known or proposed subdivisions, and all areas included or excluded from the master planning assignment.
3. The results of a hydrological analysis including the locations of natural springs, surface waters, fresh water wells, and areas prone to periodic flooding.
4. The results of soil testing, including the soil type, water percolation rates, the bearing capacity of soils, drainage characteristics, and depth to bedrock.
5. A map of the general area with the boundaries of the client’s property clearly indicated.
6. If a golf course is being planned, preliminary and amended golf course layouts including proposed boundaries and supporting infrastructure.
7. Aerial photograph of the property, including adjacent areas if possible.
8. Local and national development regulations, including land use controls, water and land management regulations, flood control, preservation of agricultural lands, historic preservation and setbacks from natural areas (water bodies, wetlands, vegetation).
9. Property descriptions with existing land uses described and any special boundary and/or easement information.

Using that information, your architect will be in charge of drawing up the Master Plan. The permitting process, as described in Chapter 9, could take as long as two years, depending on your development’s size, density, location, and environmental impact.

As mentioned elsewhere in this book, proper due diligence before you buy is extremely important in finding out if you’ll be able to do what you like with your new property. With high-density developments, however, it’s so crucial that in some instances, developers buy an iron-clad purchase option that reserves the property for a certain amount of time while they carry out the permitting. They actually buy the property only once the permitting is done or nearly so. This way, in the event of any unforeseen permitting hang-ups that could sink the development, the developer can walk away with minimal losses.

Whether you’ll be able to do this depends a great deal on the seller. Many sellers are just looking for quick cash up front, especially when the market is hot. With things slowing down at the moment, however, more sellers might be more willing to listen to cautious buyers who want to do the permitting before purchasing the land.