Fin Terra
Current Investment Opportunities
Fin Terra acquires raw Southern California land and drives it through entitlement — the most lucrative stage of the development cycle, and the one most investors never access. By the time a public builder breaks ground on the community, your capital has already returned. You were there first.
You can make money at every stage of the real estate life-cycle. Most investors only see the last few stages. Smart money knows the largest gains are made in the stage most never see or have access to — the entitlement phase. That's where Fin Terra invests.
How we run the play.
Fin Terra is a Southern California land acquisition, entitlement, and development firm headquartered in Encinitas. We acquire raw land, drive the entitlement process — Planning Group, City Council, and Coastal Commission where required — and exit to public builders, joint venture partners, or direct development. Principal John Finley leads every deal.
Senior advisor Mike Finley brings 60+ years of Southern California real estate experience. Together, the partnership represents 75 years of local market intelligence focused on a single specialization: turning dirt into entitled assets that builders compete to acquire.
A Note From The Principal
Two minutes on what makes Fin Terra different — and why this stage of the development cycle is where capital should be working.
Current Opportunity
An active raw-land entitlement project in north San Diego County. Below: the deal points, why this site, and how to get the full package.
Escondido Raw Land — Entitlement Opportunity
Escondido, California — bordering San Marcos
Site: 8–18 acres (range reflects active negotiations with adjacent landowners)
Acquisition price: $8,000,000 to $12,000,000 (Dependent on Total Acres acquired)
Investor tier: $100,000 minimum • Target return 12–16% (straight)
Partner tier: $350,000 minimum • 6–8% preferred return + 12–16% profit split
Hold period: 24–30 months typical
Exit strategy: 1) Sale to Public or regional builder 2) Joint Venture) 3) Hybrid: Sale, JV, Build out. Project structured to support sale to one builder or to be carved into multiple parcels for multiple builders
Why this site, why now.
Land scarcity in San Diego County is creating a specific dynamic: large public builders and mid-to-large regional builders are in a race to acquire shovel-ready inventory to keep production numbers flowing for Wall Street and their boards. Demand for entitled land outpaces supply.
We acquired this site after outbidding one of the largest national public builders in the country. Their interest validates what our own analysis already told us: location, scale, and zoning trajectory make this exactly the kind of asset builders are competing for. Once it's entitled and shovel-ready, the same builders who lost the raw acquisition — and others like them — will be back at the table.
The neighborhood proves the thesis.
4 miles from Cal State San Marcos. demand to be in San Marcos is pushing prices up creating a huge demand for San Marcos adjacent properties at more affordable pricing. This site fills that need.
5 miles from Lennar's "The Row," a 261-townhome development moving residents in 2026–2028. Lennar will need its next site precisely as we deliver entitled inventory.
5 miles from The Hill District, a 600–700-home master-planned community by Shea Homes and Lennar, completing late 2026. Two large builders finishing major projects nearby — both looking for what comes next.
Product positioning. Townhome configurations at price points attractive to buyers priced out of San Marcos and central San Diego — buyers otherwise looking at Temecula but who want to stay closer in. Multiple product types support a multi-builder exit.
Location. Timing. Product. When all three line up, the deal sells itself.
Want the full deal package?
Capital structure, full underwriting, timeline, risk considerations, and exit modeling.
Past Projects
Completed San Diego land entitlement projects by Fin Terra. Each one acquired raw, taken through approvals, and exited at the entitled stage - one of the best times for maximum value creation in the development cycle.
Lumen & Corallina at Pacific Highlands Ranch
Carmel Valley, San Diego County • 5.46 acres
The play. Acquired 5.46 acres of raw land in Pacific Highlands Ranch for $10,000,000. Drove entitlements through the Carmel Valley Community Planning Group and the San Diego City Council, securing approvals for 130 multi-family units and 30,000 sf of commercial space across two distinct components.
The exit — residential. Lumen, the residential component, was sold at entitlement to Shea Homes for $13,000,000. Shea delivered the project on its own.
The exit — commercial. Corallina, the commercial component, was structured as a Fin Terra joint venture. The 10,000 sf building was constructed for $2,380,466 and subsequently sold to a dental group for $8,839,210 — a 3.71x multiple on build cost.
Acquisition price
Site
Entitled
Residential exit
Commercial JV exit
Equity raise (entitlement)
Investor profit
Multiple on equity
Return on capital
$10,000,000
5.46 acres
130 multi-family units + 30,000 sf commercial
Sold to Shea Homes — $13,000,000
Built $2,380,466 / sold $8,839,210 (3.71x on build cost)
$1,186,000
$1,424,000
2.20x
~120%
Altura Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley, San Diego County • 6 acres • Acquired as Creekside
The play. Six acres against a canyon ridge in Carmel Valley. Acquired raw under the original "Creekside" name. Drove entitlements for 126 multi-family units through the Carmel Valley Community Planning Group, the San Diego City Council, and the California Coastal Commission — a path most developers avoid because Coastal adds time, complexity, and uncertainty.
The exit. Sold at entitlement to a top San Diego apartment builder/operator. The buyer paid for entitled, shovel-ready land — exactly the value Fin Terra had created.
Acquisition price
Site
Entitled
Approval path
Exit
Equity raise
Investor profit
Multiple on equity
Return on capital
$6,000,000
6 acres
126 multi-family units
CV Planning Group → SD City Council → CA Coastal Commission
Sold to top San Diego apartment builder/operator — $12,000,000
$3,200,000
$1,850,000
1.58x
~58%
Murrieta Ca, Riverside County
Murrieta Ca, Riverside County • 18 acres • Acquired as Riverside
The play. 18 acres of raw farmland in Murrieta. Acquired raw land, drove entitlements Murrieta community Planning Group and the City Council, securing approvals for 82 entitled single family residential lots
The exit. Sold at entitlement to Lennar who paid for shovel ready land
Acquisition price
Site
Entitled
Approval path
Exit
Equity raise
Investor profit
Multiple on equity
Return on capital
$1,980,000
18 acres
82 Single Family residential lots
Murrieta Community Planning Group, Murrieta City Council
Sold to Lennar for $18,000,000
$1,875,000
-
2.92x
192%
The Principal
When you invest with Fin Terra, you invest with a person — not a fund manager, not a deal team, not a quarterly land committee. You invest with the principal directly. He underwrites the deal. He runs the entitlements. He answers the call.
John Finley
Principal, Fin Terra
John leads every Fin Terra deal — sourcing, underwriting, entitlement strategy, capital structure, and exit. His career in Southern California real estate spans residential brokerage, transactional practice across the region, and direct development experience. He brings to investors what large equity firms structurally cannot: a single point of accountability, decisions made in days rather than quarters, and a personal stake in every project that bears the firm's name. He operates out of Encinitas and is reachable directly.
Mike Finley
Senior Advisor, Fin Terra
Mike has spent more than 60 years in Southern California real estate. He has watched the region grow from agricultural fringes to one of the most sophisticated land markets in the country, and he has been an active participant in that transformation. As senior advisor to Fin Terra, he brings half a century of land relationships, market memory, and entitlement instinct to every deal the firm pursues. The combined Finley experience — father and principal — represents 75 years of Southern California land intelligence.
Reach us directly • (760) 815-2266 • [email protected]
Investment Structure
Two ways to participate. Specific terms are deal-specific and disclosed in the full deal package, but the structural shape is consistent across opportunities.
Investor Tier
Straight Return
$100,000
Minimum
24–30 months typical
Hold
12–18% APR (deal-specific)
Target return
A fixed-return participation. Investors receive a defined annual rate of return paid at exit. Designed for capital that wants exposure to entitlement-stage upside without the variability of an equity profit split.
Partner Tier
Preferred Return + Profit Split
$350,000
Minimum
6–8%
Hold
12–16%
Profit split
24–30 months
Hold
A fixed-return participation. Investors receive a defined annual rate of return paid at exit. Designed for capital that wants exposure to entitlement-stage upside without the variability of an equity profit split.
Specific terms vary by deal. Each opportunity is structured with the underwriting that fits the project — acquisition cost, entitlement complexity, projected exit value. Detailed terms are provided in the full deal package, sent on confirmed interest below.
Request the Full Deal Package
Tell us how to reach you and what you'd like next. We'll respond within one business day.
Fin Terra
Southern California land acquisition, entitlement, and development.
Contact • (760) 815-2266 • [email protected] • Encinitas, California
DISCLAIMER — final language to be supplied by securities counsel
This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any such offer or solicitation will be made only by means of formal offering documents, which include detailed information about risks and other material terms. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investments involve risk including potential loss of principal. Fin Terra is not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer.
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