Louis Monetllo is president of Regalia Beach Developers working in Miami.
Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their Short List, a collection of tips and recommendations on an essential topic in real estate. This week, we talked with Louis Montello, president of Regalia Beach Developers, who shared his tips for making the leap into real estate development.
5. Gain experience – Work for someone is involved in one or more aspects of development. For example: land acquisition, finance, construction or development.
4. Remember your purpose – The goal is to have a successful and profitable project. As a result, when identifying the site and conceiving the project, be objective and realistic with your assumptions and projections. Do not become overly enamored with the project or the deal.
3. Assemble a competent team – The key people around you will assist with the myriad of skills that are necessary to successfully develop a project: project executive, design staff, sales, marketing and finance. Properly vet the architect, engineers and general contractor.
2. Develop a business plan – Make sure it incorporates items 3 and 4 above, and be prepared to update and adjust your business plan as frequently as necessary in response to your experience during the development of the project.
1. Trust your gut – If your instinct is telling you something, it is usually correct.
Louis R. Montello is the President of Regalia Beach Developers, a South Florida-based real estate development company established in 2011. Regalia Beach Developers redefined the Sunny Isles Beach skyline with the 2015 completion of the developer’s flagship project, Regalia, a 46-story contemporary oceanfront masterpiece located at 19575 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. Mr. Montello has more than 25 years of experience as a transactional attorney and is the principal of Montello Law, a boutique law firm that represents high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs in a variety of areas including commercial and residential real estate closings; real estate development and construction; mergers and acquisitions; corporate and securities law; finance; maritime law, including yacht construction matters; and aviation law.