Barndominium as an investment

[Carlo C.]

Anyone who had experience living and investing in one of those "barndominium" which is usually in an airpark (mostly in Texas)? How energy efficient are they? How good can they keep their values (regardless of location)?

[Joe Funari]

@Carlo C. I am working with some clients looking for acreage to build a Short Term Rental (STR) property. We looked into companies that advertise X number of acres and a bardonminium. Usually out in the country that would make for a great AirBNB or VRBO. But buyer beware. The bardominum is just a shell and you have to work with the contractor that installs them separately form the company your acquiring the land from to coordinating building it. Plus, in most cases you will still have to run electricity to your property from the nearest source (not cheap by the way), install a septic system for the property, and most importantly pay to have a water well dug and installed (you guessed it, not cheap). In fact, my clients put a contract in on one of these X number of acres + a bardomium shell. But the quote to drill thru a lot of bedrock to get to water was $35K! Also, you better check to make sure the company selling the lots if they have any covenants or restrictions regarding discharging firearms or rentals. Note, in Texas outside the city limits you have to have a minimum 10 acres in order to discharge a weapon and hunt (Yes, we hunt year round here in Texas and own firearms). If you want to own a STR out in the "country" in Texas I would recommend you make sure it is 10 acres minimum. Hope this info helps.