All Forum Posts by: William Bannister

soildata.tamu.edu/
here is a useful site i found about texas soil

Gregory land is really my first love even though I make more money at apt buildings tell me about your land a little.
What type of soil is this can we grow trees for timber or is it to dry in this part of Tx. Your north of Dallas so you must get at least 25 inches annually right? also is the soil a black dirt or a red clay?
Personally land is an active investment and if its not going to be developed I would sell it. How ever if you planned to work the land and get trees or an orchard or anything like that going and no big deal it might be worth keeping. It sounds like its not something your going to get a higher use out of if the metro area nearby is 1300 people.
I do orchards myself on small land plots I have but nothing i have is 40 acres. I think its probably not going to be something you can do because that part of Tx is more like prairie soils or red clay in my best guess. Afisols or mollisols are what I am talking about for soil.
Red clay I would not try doing much with personally but a mollisol you might be able to plant trees? Entisol is a good soil in that area that could exist but is not the norm does drain well and can be used in many agricultural formats. Texas north of dallas is dominated by these 3 soil types however this doesnt mean your land has this. I would explore your land and see what is has. Tx can grow a variety of things ranging from dates,to palm trees to cotton and u name it.
the other thing is make sure when you think about the use of this land no stone goes unturned. My mind always things in terms of geology and is there oil or mineral wealth and then I go back to tree farming and other things i can grow. I know this if I is me and I want dirt I am after good land I can use and would trade 40 acres in a flash for 5 acres that was located close to me that I could use. Maybe a trade for something you can develop close to home? Or sell this land and just repatriate the money into a better real estate deal near home.
Do you have a geo survey of the land? I might be inclined to spend the day up there and explore the area and learn about it before selling it. also driving around it might offer suggestions as to what you might do with it. the question is what are the neighbors doing with there land nearby? Also get with a broker and find out what its worth after you have collected other data for yourself.. maybe see what other 40's near there sell for. I used to cruise timberlands in my youth and still enjoy it on a weekend w my dog. It was a hobby of mine but today most of the deals I buy I have them sold before I every step foot on the land.

I like the numbers and even with all cash these are the numbers I look for getting in at 60% of arv makes me feel real cozy about the deal. when the property and fix and repair cost are under 70% or arv your in good shape. I have a tendency to focus on those properties valued between between 70k and 110k when they are complete and ready for market. I know exactly what your talking about + that market is probably not that different then where I am 550 miles north of you. I like a home that's a 3/2 its a perfect starter home fairly easy to market since the pmt should be under 600 to 700 per mo pmt. Most apts are over 600 a month so it fits 80% of buyers budgets. If buyer cant do 600 to 700 a mo pmt then they probably cant qualify to buy. this type of property fits a lot of lower middle income buyers.
The properties over 130k seems to attract better customers so you will have an easier time qualifying and closing. I like higher returns with smaller amounts of money at risk myself that is why I stay under 100k on most of my deals.
We have a riverwalk, historic district I look for deals in since the homes are classy and close to water. They make great rehabs some of these homes are over 150 years old and can be bought for 40k that will arv around 110 to 130k when complete.

What I really think is cool is I have had land flips I did where I only made 1k I bought a 1/4 acre lot for 20 bucks and sold it for 1000 bucks cash. Then I have had smaller apt buildings for example one I did 12 units bought at 184k sold 7 months later for 257k;)
Brian B has a big business and certainly sounds like the most active guy I see in this forum I bet he could entertain us with some great deals he has done. Its always a pleasure to be lucky enough to have company with people like him that you can learn from;)
When I was 21 I would have bought a guy lunch just to get 30 minutes of time with him if he had a business like that just to learn something new.

I couldn't even tell you exact numbers without seeing my tax returns, but I know I have bought and sold over 30 pieces of land every year for over 12 years now houses hard to tell but at least 1/3 the numbers as I do land. Houses and apts I have been hustling for almost 21 years. In the early years I might have only been doing 4 or 5 deals a year but by year 7 my number increased significantly.
Its dropped now though I have not been doing hardly any deals lately as I have been just doing income property. It means every deal I buy I keep in exception for an occasional piece of land I just cant help to flip.
Its easy to slow down when income needs have been met now I am focused on building a war chest for my 7 year old boy that he may attend any school in the nation he chooses when he turns 17. We also are adding land to our orchards and so a great deal of money is required to plant hundreds of trees on each lot we buy. Also I had decided owning gold and silver bullion is important as well, probably slowed my buying as many apts. Real Estate is only a portion of our portfolio we have oil I have invested into as well that has done well over the years.
If I could do it over I would have bought a Hotel in Florida. Its still a possibility since I am only 44. I think this will be a push for me in a few years once my boy is a little older maybe 11 or 12 years old. Or is there is a sudden crash of over 50% in real estate then I would be in the hunt right away.

I will do one party listing with them but thats always a separate deal and must be completely bifurcated from the management contract.
I have a tendency not to combine this activity of management and selling because its too intrusive to my style of ownership. Unless they are my employee;)

One thing I always cross off big X through, in the management contracts is they want a % if you sell building. I say Heck no if they want a % then they can get the listing from me first!
I go through with a fine tooth comb in the contract make sure you can cancel when you want to. Also make sure your not paying 30 bucks to screw in light bulbs in common areas and garbage fees like that.

I really need to get off my tail and exercise and do some gardening but its still 2 weeks 2 early.

Online Im studying prices of silver bullion I have this feeling its going to shoot upwards in a fireworks fashion here in less then 90 days;)
If I am wrong then Il keep buying like crazy if I am right I will sit on what I have and start buy another apt building.

We had a high of maybe 45. I spent time in a hot tub at the YMCA while I was reading a few books to include Diary of a Hedgehog by Barton biggs and another one by Eric Sprott on gold manipulation;)
I came home played with 7 year old boy then ate lunch Chicken Tika Masala bless my beautiful wife. Then walked my dog and spent rest of day online and did a few calls to friends.