When I was a student, I learned about the job of developer through my professor, and I felt attracted to it, so I set a goal of developer. Luckily, I was able to work on the development business right away at the company I first entered. Due to the nature of the work, the range of knowledge required is so vast that the more I work, the more I learn, and I feel my own lack every time and strive to fill it.
Meeting NEOVALUE
Q. What kind of career did you have at NEOVALUE?
In 2018, I joined the development project team 2 as an experienced worker. I went through the development project team 1 due to the internal organization change, and now I work in the business development team that is united as one. I am in charge of discovering new businesses, raising funds, and reviewing business feasibility
Q. What made you join NEOVALUE?
My first job was Daemyung Leisure Industry (currently Sono Hotel & Resort). While working on the Sol Beach Jindo project, I gained practical experience such as licensing, rental, and business feasibility review. Then in 2018, I met Lee Young-jae, the current director of business development, at a related real estate meeting. After the meeting, I asked a lot about NEOVALUE, and I decided to change jobs because I thought it was an opportunity to take a step forward to the developer I thought.
Working as a lifestyle developer
Q. Please introduce what the team does.
Our team conducts overall project progress and management from the discovery of new sites → market research → business feasibility review → business restructuring → construction and sale → completion and settlement. We will focus on the important risks of each stage: securing ownership, licensing, selling, and leasing. The business development headquarters consists of one team from headquarters, and there are a total of seven members. One or two people are in charge of each project, and managers or higher review one or two new projects every week.
The projects currently in progress in the team are largely divided into three parts. First of all, it’s a residential and commercial complex development project. In addition to the Incheon residential and commercial complex development project (The Sharp Incheon Sky Tower / Allaway Incheon), there are Osan development project and Yongsan development project.
Second, as part of the town management project, four projects in Hongdae, Seongsu, Ikseon, and Hannam completed PF in the first half of 21 years and are currently under construction.
The third is the discovery of new projects. As it expands its area from the existing metropolitan area to major metropolitan cities, it is reviewing various data and aims to discover more than one blue-chip business site this year.
<Description of development steps>
The first step is to excavate a new site. Review land information from various routes to discover new sites. It is largely divided into public and private sectors, and first of all, the land supplied by the public is supplied by LH and SH. These sites usually announce an overview of the land to be supplied over the next one or two years, so they can be reviewed over time, and the advantage is that licensing is very easy. However, since it is often supplied by competitive bidding, it is very difficult to win a new bid as the bidding price often goes up to the ceiling in a situation where competition is intensifying these days.
Land supplied by the private sector can only be obtained through various networks such as consulting firms and brokerage firms. In most cases, there are multiple landowners to scale the business we want to do.
In this case, the landowner is almost an individual, so the transaction is often destroyed by changing his mind, or additional conditions are put forward at the end of the transaction, which is stressful. From the perspective of the operator, it is necessary to purchase all the land in the zone, but if some landowners do not intend to sell it, the project will be delayed or destroyed, so we will focus on securing ownership in advance and conduct close consultations.
The second step is market research and business feasibility review.
Based on the information on the new site in the previous step, review the licensing and product and size. After that, if you review the business feasibility of the project based on the surrounding market research and decide that you can achieve the target return, you will move on to the next step: business structure. However, I mentioned it earlierIn such an overheated market as these days, the market has yet to accept the pre-reflected land costs, so it is necessary to think a lot about how to resolve this. In the first and second stages, a lot of businesses are stopped. The business beyond this stage goes to the stage of structuring. If you review 2-300 units, it seems that one will move on to the next level. If you repeat such an infinite number of business reviews, it will naturally have the effect of embodying data such as land cost and sale price, which will speed up the review.
The third step is business restructuring.
The focus of recent business discovery is to maximize returns by increasing leverage.
It is necessary to carry out various projects with limited equity capital and maximize profits. Accordingly, through cooperation with various securities firms and management companies in the market, the financial structure is planned and business feasibility is improved based on it. At this stage, you will be able to convince the participating organizations based on the data created in the second stage, and once approved by the participating organizations, you will be able to review hundreds of pages of documents and reflect their opinions. The document you are working on is collectively referred to as the ‘bibble’. It is the work of coordinating and documenting our opinions with financial supervisors, law firms, and major participating organizations.
During these steps at the Business Development Headquarters, the Product Development Headquarters completes the approval while thinking more deeply about the product.
Once the license is completed, the project will be on track through construction and distribution. After construction, the product development team will be in charge of the construction management, and the business development team will be in charge of the sale. In detail, they will be in charge of selecting advertising companies for products, selecting and managing sales agencies, and managing model house operations. From this point on, work for distributors will be added, so it is common for a day to disappear in the second half of the construction to receive dozens of phone calls related to civil complaints. It is also a stage where mental stress becomes severe.
The final stage is completion and settlement. After successful completion, we cooperate with banks in various ways to collect the balance of the distributors. The business will be completed normally only when the last balance is entered without any problems, so we cannot relax until the settlement is made. When the balance payment is on track, the repayment of the PF loan is completed, and when the construction cost is paid, one project is completed.
Q. What is your job?
My main projects are Osan, Yongsan, Hannam-dong, and new projects.
Please note that detailed work is being carried out in each project as mentioned earlier.
As a team leader, I still have a lot to learn, so I am growing by sharing information with my team members and continuing to learn.
Q. What are the pros and cons of working as a lifestyle developer?
I think there are two sides rather than unconditional advantages or disadvantages.
First of all, you’re valued in the marketplace. Players carrying out other development projects in the market can be considered to be compared. Because we compete in the market, we are always checking the movement of the market based on the idea that if we don’t make endless efforts, we will be eliminated. This stress is becoming a driving force for growth. When I was a beginner in society, work-life balance was important, but it is new to me when I look back on how I became a “work is life.”
Second, you can build a variety of networks. There are some parts that are made during the deal, but there are limitations. In the end, you have to make efforts and use your off-work hours to meet various experts. This allows for more accurate business reviews through collaboration as you build your network.
Currently, external meetings have decreased a lot due to the COVID-19 situation, but if there are two to three times a week, there are cases where it is physically burdensome because there are dinner appointments up to four times. In preparation for this, it would be helpful to take good care of your physical strength through self-management such as exercise since junior.
The third is that you are placed in a strong stress situation. Basically, we’re looking at projects that are going from tens of billions to hundreds of billions of dollars, so a single mistake can create an irreversible situation. I often lose sleep until the step-by-step closing because I think I should never make a mistake. However, by repeating being placed in a strong stress situation, it has the effect of strengthening your mind, becoming more meticulous, and accelerating your growth.
Q. What major/competencies do you need for work?
I think we need a wide range of capabilities.
In theory, we need to know the contents of architectural design, construction, city, real estate, tax, accounting, etc. at the level of quasi-experts so that we can communicate smoothly with our partners and develop our business.
Detailed competencies require resistance to stress (work and complaints), a desire for self-development, affinity and sociality to collaborate with various partners.
Q. How can I have that capability?
It really touches me when I see how people my age or my mentor work in the marketplace. If you look at your peers working in IB or PE around you, there are people who have a really scary workload and performance. Looking at those people, you should constantly get stimulated and try. Also, if you meet other players of your age through meetings or studies and build relationships with them, I think a good opportunity will come. Studying theory is also recommended for Tim Jr. and tells him to get a certificate to clarify his goals. Related certificates include licensed real estate agents and investment asset managers. If you get two certificates, you see the whole theory as acquired, and I think you can systematize a myriad of theoretical fragments in a short time by doing practice based on it.
Q. What kind of colleague do you want to work with?
I want to work with a person with a personality as well as ability. Competencies can be learned through work or through mentors. I think what’s more important than that is the attitude toward work and people. In the process of proceeding with the work, I prefer a colleague with an attitude of respecting and caring for the other person.
My lifestyle
Q. Please introduce your daily routine at NEOVALUE.
I have a lot of work to do, but I have limited time, so I tend to start the morning a little earlier than others.
I go to work at 8 o’clock when I have a project in progress. I have a lot of dinner appointments with outside guests in the evening, so I have to spend the morning well to get time to work.
When you go to work, you briefly check the main news, and check the checklist of projects in progress. In addition to routine tasks, there are many tasks to respond suddenly, but I am trying to read the flow in advance and update the data in advance.
Due to the nature of my work, I have to take the initiative, so I try to take care of my work efficiently and without omission. When closing is near, we often work late at night because we need partner-reviewed feedback to finalize it.
Q. What kind of lifestyle do you have?
From late 20s to early 30s, I rarely drank alcohol on weekdays and used to organize my thoughts and relieve stress by exercising after work. I only drank on weekends.
It’s the opposite these days. I have a lot of appointments on weekdays, so I drink a lot, but I don’t drink on weekends if possible. I try to do sports that I couldn’t do on weekdays.
The Future of the City We Draw
Q. What do you think a sustainable city is like?
I think a sustainable city should be a happy place for stayers. So I think that I can spend a long time with affection in the city, and I think that the local community develops by making various memories. We are considering the benefits of end-user from the initial planning stage because we need to make these products.
Lifestyle developers look for the client’s wants and need to propose the right thing.
We build various interests and try to connect them with what we do.
Real estate development
[Discovering new opportunities in the city]
– Review business feasibility by analyzing the development conditions of the new site.
– Review development directions and establish appropriate development strategies.
– We plan financial structures and raise business funds through cooperation with securities firms and management companies.
– We sell the developed product and manage the distributor until moving in.
– Establish and implement liquidity strategies such as selling assets.