Agent Training Guide

What is Develander?

Develander is a land development company focused on Georgetown, Texas — one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. We identify raw land parcels with development potential, partner with landowners, and handle the entire entitlement process (rezoning, engineering, permitting) to increase land value before selling to homebuilders.

The entitlement process transforms raw acreage into shovel-ready residential lots. This includes rezoning applications, site engineering, utility extensions, environmental surveys, and city approvals. It typically takes 12 to 18 months and costs $200,000 to $500,000 — resources most individual landowners do not have.

Our Business Model — Partnership Option

Instead of buying land outright, we offer landowners a Partnership Option. This is the single most important concept you need to understand and communicate clearly.

How It Works

• The landowner keeps ownership of their land throughout the process.
• We pay them a guaranteed 5% annual return on the agreed land value (e.g., $1M land = $4,167/month).
• We invest our own capital ($200K–$500K) to entitle the land — engineering, surveys, legal, city approvals.
• After entitlement is complete (12–18 months), the land is worth significantly more.
• Profits above the agreed value are split 50/50 between us and the landowner.
• If the project fails, the landowner keeps all payments received AND their land. Zero risk to them.

Why This Is Attractive to Landowners

These are your primary selling points. Memorize them and adapt the framing to each landowner's priorities.

1. Passive Income — $4,167/month with zero effort, versus $0/month just holding the land. Land that generates nothing today starts paying immediately.
2. No Risk — They keep their land AND all payments received, even if the project fails entirely. The option agreement is structured to protect the landowner first.
3. No Cost — We pay for everything: engineering, legal counsel, city fees, utility extensions, surveys. The landowner invests nothing.
4. AG Exemption Stays — The agricultural tax exemption is maintained during the entitlement process, so the landowner's property tax burden does not change.
5. Upside Potential — 50% of any value increase above the agreed price. On a property where entitled value exceeds the base by $200K, that is an additional $100K to the landowner.
6. Better Than Selling Outright — Why take $1M once when you can earn income, keep the land, and share in the upside?
7. Better Than Bank Deposits — 5% guaranteed versus 3.5–4.2% from banks, PLUS upside potential that no savings account offers.
8. Proven Precedent — NOVA 368, a 434-apartment development, was just approved on Shell Road. This proves the city is actively approving development in the area.

Pipeline Stages

Every deal moves through five stages. Understanding these stages and your role at each one is critical.

The Dashboard

The Deal Room at develander.com/deals is your command center. Here is how to use every feature.

Kanban Board

The main view shows all deals organized by pipeline stage as draggable cards in a column layout. Each column represents one of the five stages described above. You can visually track where every deal stands at a glance.

Deal Cards

Each card displays the owner name, parcel ID, acreage, unit count, and the key financial comparison: market value to entitled value. The card gives you enough information to prioritize without opening the full detail view.

Detail Panel

Click any card to open the full detail panel. This includes the complete economic analysis, all generated documents, activity notes, and stage controls. This is where you will spend most of your time preparing for landowner conversations.

Key Features

• Priority Stars — Rate deals from 1 to 5 stars for urgency. Use this to organize your daily call list.
• Stage Controls — Move deals forward or backward through the pipeline as their status changes.
• Density Override — Adjust the density assumptions (units per acre) to recalculate the entire economic model in real time.
• Recalculate — Change the agreed value or the annual rate to see updated monthly payments and projections instantly.

Documents

Four document types are auto-generated for each deal. You generate them from the deal detail panel and can regenerate them whenever the deal terms change.

1. One-Pager

A single-page summary designed for the landowner. It includes property facts, a side-by-side comparison table (Sell Today vs. Partner With Develander), and our contact information. This is what you email to landowners after your initial call.

2. Term Sheet

A legal-style document outlining the partnership terms: agreed land value, payment schedule, profit split, conditions, and termination provisions. This is used during the Negotiation stage as the basis for the formal option agreement.

3. Comp Package

An evidence package that builds credibility. It includes nearby developments (especially NOVA 368), building permit data, comparable sales, and market data proving that development potential is real and imminent in the area.

4. Presentation

A 7-slide deck designed for video calls or in-person meetings. The flow is carefully designed to address landowner concerns in a logical sequence:

Key Questions to Ask Landowners

These questions are designed to open the conversation, qualify interest, and shift the landowner's thinking from "sell now" to "partner for more." Use them in this order during your initial calls.

• "If your land was generating income every month, would you still want to sell right now?"

  This reframes the conversation from a one-time sale to ongoing value. Most landowners have never considered that their idle land could produce monthly cash flow.

• "What's more important to you — getting cash immediately, or earning more over time without doing any work?"

  This question identifies the landowner's priority. If they need cash immediately due to financial pressure, the partnership model may not be the right fit. If they have flexibility, it opens the door.

• "Would you be open to learning about what development potential your property has?"

  A low-pressure invitation. You are not asking them to commit to anything — just to learn. Most people say yes to learning.

• "What are your concerns about working with a development partner?"

  This surfaces objections early, giving you the opportunity to address them directly. See the Handling Objections section below.

Handling Objections

You will hear the same objections repeatedly. Here are the most common ones and exactly how to respond. Practice these until they are second nature.

Georgetown Market Context

Understanding the Georgetown market gives you credibility and confidence when speaking with landowners. These are the key facts you should know.

Why Georgetown?

Georgetown sits at the northern edge of the Austin metro area along the I-35 corridor. Population growth has been explosive, driven by corporate relocations, remote workers, and families seeking affordable alternatives to Austin proper. The city has responded by designating development corridors and streamlining the approval process for residential projects.

The NOVA 368 Precedent

NOVA 368 is a 434-apartment project that was approved by the city in April 2026, located directly on Shell Road. This is the single most important data point in your conversations with Shell Road landowners. It proves that:

• The city is actively approving high-density development on Shell Road.
• Major developers see enough demand to invest in large-scale projects in this area.
• Infrastructure improvements (roads, utilities) are being planned to support this growth.
• Adjacent landowners stand to benefit significantly from the corridor's transformation.

The Value Transformation

Raw land in the Georgetown area trades at approximately $80,000 per acre. After entitlement — when the land is subdivided into buildable lots with approved plans and utility connections — individual lots sell to homebuilders at $16,000 or more per lot. On a properly zoned parcel yielding 4 to 6 lots per acre, entitled land can be worth $64,000 to $96,000 per acre to builders. That is the value gap Develander captures.

Next Steps After This Guide

Now that you understand the Develander system, here is your onboarding checklist. Complete these steps before making your first landowner call.

1. Review the Deal Room dashboard at develander.com/deals. Familiarize yourself with the Kanban layout, stage columns, and how to navigate between deals.
2. Open Deal #1 (Kirt Shell) to see a real example with complete analysis, economics, and generated documents. This is your reference deal.
3. Generate and review all 4 documents for Deal #1 (one-pager, term sheet, comp package, presentation). Read each one carefully so you understand what the landowner will see.
4. Practice the presentation flow by walking through all 7 slides. Know the story arc: current situation, opportunity, risk protection, partnership mechanics, comparison, timeline, next steps.
5. Familiarize yourself with the one-pager format. This is the document you will email to landowners after every initial call. It should feel like your most natural tool.