No fluff. No textbook tone. Just 30 years of building, screwing up, learning the hard way, and figuring out what actually makes money in development. Written the way developers really talk.
Get the Book — $33The Problem
The best-selling books in this space run 400+ pages of academic language. They'll teach you theory. They won't tell you that waiting six months for utilities to show up on site will bleed you dry in interest payments while your loan ticks like a meter on a cab stuck in traffic. DirtFirst is the book that fills that gap.
"I had multiple projects come to a dead stop. Six months waiting for utilities. The interest payments alone destroyed the profit margin. Nobody warns you about that in the textbooks."
Christian Silvestri, Silvco Builders, 30+ years in development
What's Inside
The Real Cost of Getting Started
What nobody tells you about the gap between "great idea" and "shovel in the ground." Land costs, soft costs, and the surprises that eat your budget before you pour a single foundation.
Financing Without Losing Your Shirt
Construction loans, bridge financing, interest accrual, and why the clock starts ticking the second you close. How to structure deals that don't murder your margins.
Utilities: The Silent Profit Killer
The chapter the industry needs. How to verify utility availability before you commit, what happens when you don't, and the real-dollar cost of six months sitting idle with a construction loan burning a hole in your returns.
Permits, Politics & Patience
Navigating the bureaucratic maze of zoning boards, building departments, and neighborhood opposition. The stuff that makes or breaks your timeline.
Managing the Build (Without Losing Your Mind)
Subs, schedules, scope creep, and the art of keeping a project moving when everything conspires to stop it. From a guy who's managed $110M+ in projects.
The Mistakes That Cost Real Money
Honest stories about the projects that went sideways and what they taught. No ego, just lessons paid for in dollars and gray hairs.
Get the Book
Three ways in. All of them beat learning $200K lessons the hard way.
The E-Book
The no-BS guide to real estate development.
$33
one-time purchase
Builder's Kit
Everything you need to evaluate your next deal.
$49
one-time purchase
Only $16 more than the book alone
Buy NowThe Full Deal
Book + tools + pick a veteran's brain for 30 minutes.
$79
$111 — save $32 vs. buying separately
Instant delivery. E-book and tools delivered immediately after purchase. Consult scheduled via email within 48 hours.
Real talk from a real builder. The kind of advice you'd get if you bought a veteran developer a beer and said "tell me everything." That's DirtFirst.
Get DirtFirst