All Forum Posts by: Arkadiy Iliyayev

This is by no means meant to be a political discussion. I also dont think people are so sensitive that they cant have a legitimate conversation about how new border plans can effect real estate investments along the border. 

Bump

I am in the middle of closing on a mid-sized apartment deal in Mcallen, Texas. Now that Trump won the election, I wanted to get a discussion going about what potential impact this could have on towns along the Rio Grande Valley like McAllen, and Brownsville, Texas.

The population growth in these towns has been great over the years making it a worthwhile investment. However, given that Trump is very big on "sealing" the border, could it impact the steady population growth these towns are having. This would then negatively impact multifamily and residential housing values?  

 I've heard two sides of the argument:
  
1. There will be decreased population growth because fewer people will be able to come across the border, negatively impacting rent prices, increasing vacancy etc.  

2. There will be much more government spending and jobs created in Mcallen to secure the border, leading to continued population growth. As part of this point I was told, while Trump was president for 4 years in his last term the area just continued experiencing steady population growth despite the fact that he made efforts to secure the border. 

I understand nobody has a crystal ball, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

I originally bought this 40 unit apartment complex in 2021 in Nw huntsville, Alabama and since then we've maintained a sub 10% vacancy rate year over year. It wasnt until this year that people that moved out seemed to become impossible to fill. Right now we are at a 30% vacancy rate which is crazy. I currently work with Ace Management and Reality and have worked with them for 3 years now. Theyve done a great job with our units in the past but currently we are unable to rent almost any 1 bedroom units. They just cant seem to fill the units. These are 1 bedroom/1bath units, 650sq ft, priced under $700 a month so I dont think its competition from the newer buildings that cant afford to price rent so low.

We maintain the units very well and have recently renovated a bunch of them with lvp flooring, new cabinets, etc. So I dont see that being the problem.

Any advice would be appreciated. Please feel free to also send referrals for other property management companies in the area with a solid track record of filling these kind of units. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks A lot @Jake F.

@Jake F. Just a follow up question if you were to take Brownsville an divide it in four ways what parts would you say are the best parts of town and which parts are the worst? 

I heard that Los Elbanos Is a great location. I found the road Los Elbanos Blvd, but I'm not sure if that's referring to the neighborhood or just the road:
 

And I would assume anything close to the port is going to benefit from the job growth due to the LPG facility. 

Thanks for the reply Jake, I really appreciate it

I'm looking into a couple large apartment complexes in Brownsville and just sent out an Loi for one of them. This is for a long term hold for at least the next 10 years. There is an 18billion dollar gas plant that is being built in Brownsville on the Port and is expected to bring in 5k new jobs. https://gcaptain.com/nextdecade-finalizes-18-billion-investm...

I'm also told that Rio grande valley is booming in growth around areas like Mcallen and brownsville. 

Am I not calculating certain risk from being so close to the border with all the political/migration issues going on around there?

Just wondering what other people here think of the area and if you would invest in Brownsville. 
 

I am seeking a property manager for a couple of student rental house that I have on the College Avenue campus around Hamilton St. Does anyone know any good property managers in the area that can help me get these rented out?