Developing small community,

[Ismael Reyes]

Hello all,

Location: Houston, TX

We’ve been thinking about purchasing and developing a piece of land to build small 1-2 bedroom single unit homes coming to a total of 5-10 per community, roughly 500-1,000sqft each, out of shipping container or standard, considering cost comes out to almost about the same.
Once developed and completed they are to be rented out through Airbnb or directly. Has anyone ever done this? If so, what’re some tips? And how has it been going? Pros, cons?  Thanks!

[Jamie Hora]

Hi Ismael!  I dont have direct experience with AirBnB, but I am a Civil Engineer that works for developers.  My first bit of advice here is becoming familiar with the zoning & restrictions for the land you are looking at.  I have not done much work in Houston Proper, but lots in a bunch of other Texas cities.  You'll want to make sure that the zoning will allow the density (number of lots/acre) that you desire as well as meeting the requirements for front/side/rear setbacks and street frontage.  Maybe not the exact advice you're looking for, but I figured I'd offer my semi-relevant knowledge.