Friend is waiting for a developer to sweep him off his dreamy feet

Hi, first-time poster with question.

A very good friend of the family bought a house in 2011. He does not own it free and clear yet, but he's close. He has done almost no work at all on it, but it has appreciated tremendously because of the city we live in (expensive West Coast bubble city).

The crux of the issue is that he is convinced that it is worth much more than (I think) it is, because it's zoned modestly for multifamily, and he thinks a developer is going to come along and pay him hundreds of thousands above market value for the land alone. He's the kind of guy to not let go of an idea, even if the people around him have their doubts. He's reaching retirement age with no real savings or assets except for this house, and he's not even renting it out, because he's scared of ending up with a nightmare of a tenant after a bad experience during the pandemic. It has also never been in good condition to rent at full or even close to market value, so he's not making any money at all on it.

My intention has been to help him do the repairs necessary to rent it out legally and safely, but I can't if I can't disabuse him of the notion that he's about to be a very rich man if he just waits long enough for someone to bulldoze it. His property, though valuable, is not in the kind of neighborhood where development is ceaseless. Unlike many parts of the city, it's been very slow to change. How do I go about convincing him that this isn't going to happen so we can move on and start providing him with a more solid and timely financial cushion?

I don't know anyone in the industry for him to take seriously. Would it be worth cold-calling/emailing a developer and ask for them to take five minutes to review his situation? That sounds crazy, but I don't have any other ideas.

submitted by /u/hannahrelf13
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/18tk53j/friend_is_waiting_for_a_developer_to_sweep_him/