Waco "the unlikley capital of home renovation" CBS News

[Mary lou L.]

CBS This Morning Chip and JoAnna Gaines

This morning on CBS News.

Interview with Chip and JoAnna Gaines.

[Jake Russell]

I can give some insight to waco , magnolia, and the investment opportunites. I am an agent/investor in waco and I happen to work for magnolia. I am also the hgtv consultant for fixer upper. Here is why Waco is killing it and why every investor should consider waco.

1. Waco has long term growth potential due to location and infrastructure.

      We have lake waco, brazos and bosque river for water supply and many deep aquifers.

      I35 is getting substantial upgrades and expansion which will make travel to dallas and austin even quicker. (dallas and austin are two of the fastest growing metroplexes and will both be accessible within 1:15 minutes)

2. Waco has great homes for amazing prices. I submitted an offer yesterday for a 2100 sq ft home 3/2/2 on 0.3 acres, in the best school district for 115k. I will find out today if I got it. There are 3400 sq ft commercial spaces in downtown for under 250k. Duplexes for under 125k. Do you like to do owner finance? There are tons of homes under 40k that could be fixed up and owner financed. 

3. There is space for development - Waco can grow east, south, and west. The city has focused the growth on downtown and to the south in Woodway and hewitt. There are massive opportunities to the east to buy 100's of acres within 20 mins of downtown.

4. Large companies are seeing the opportunity and moving in. Cabelas, gander mountain, 4 hotel chains, numerous restaurants, a dozen food trucks, and more have opened in the last little while. This does not count the numerous local joints that have opened. Go to google earth and look at the I35 and hwy 6 intersection, almost everything you see has opened in the last year. There are multiple other hotels under construction and the hilton downtown announced a huge renovation.

5. Strategic downtown growth. Downtown is near the river, I35 and Baylor. The city council and investors have been smart in laying a strong foundation for future growth.

6. Safety. Take a look at hewitt, or woodway and where they rank for safety and quality of life. Waco has seen huge improvements here and with the increase in tax revenue from tourism (magnolia) the government has even more money to spend on that.

7. Lack of competition. Waco is exciting and there are homes moving quickly but there are so many ideas which have not been implemented. Anybody want to start a nice beer garden with zero competition? come to waco. None of the real estate investors are doing incredible backyards/entertaining areas. A new candy store opened downtown on monday, I leased them the space, and there were 100 people in line when it opened. Wacoans want what other cities have and if you can do it well, we will spend our money.

8. Hospitals and airports - Incredible hospitals and 3 airports

9. Local labor - Baylor, mcc, and tstc are all graduating excellent students who are showing more interest in staying. Because the cost of living is so reasonable, the cost of great help is way lower than other markets.

10. The tourists may or may not stop coming in 5 years but waco is growing quickly on its own and has numerous reasons for its success that do not involve a tv show or a football program.

In my opinion the best reason is small and accessible government!! I ran for city council last year as a 25 year old and got almost 40% of the vote. When I was redoing a home I went and spoke directly with the inspectors and permit guys. I went and knocked on their door!! You are not a number here. City officials, chamber of commerce, media and influencers are all accessible and ready to support you.