All Forum Posts by: Campbell Key

Hi @Kenneth Bell - my best friend recently moved to Charlotte so I visited for the first time last year. I really like the market and would love to have more connections over there. He plans to move back to Texas in the next couple years but I keep telling him he needs to buy a home he can turn into a rental property when he leaves!

Have you ever looked into development in Texas? I'm a land development civil engineer in the Austin area and love it over here. Currently working on a couple small deals myself and would be happy to share experiences if you're ever interested.

Hey @Matthew McKiddie, I'm a land development civil engineer here in Austin and have done quite a few projects in this size range all throughout Austin and the suburbs. Subdivisions, RV parks, resort-style developments/venues, storage, warehouses, small office, etc. I'd love to hop on a call sometime and see if I can provide any helpful input. Shoot me a DM if you'd like to talk!

Hi @Account Closed - you seem to be in a good position with the 2 roommates willing to move and rent from you. I would recommend you look in south Austin (78745/78748). There are several cool bars/hangouts along Manchaca with a couple larger planned mixed developments in the works. You can find properties in the $350k-$400k range. I'm currently under contract on a property near Manchaca and Slaughter that I plan to househack myself - i think long term its a great place to invest in a primary residence/househack. I was looking for duplexes too but at $500k+ its hard to justify it and hard to afford it, even with the rental income from the other side. You dont cash flow and SFH's generally appreciate more anyway - if a good duplex deal comes up and its in your range of affordability then its a no-brainer though. You'll need to talk with lenders (if you havent already) to see what you can afford. I have a really good one I can put you in touch with if interested. I'm also a realtor and have bought a few homes in the Austin area for myself - I'd be happy to get in touch and help you with your search - feel free to DM me if you'd like!

Welcome @Julian Dixon. Austin to San Antonio is my area - happy to connect and talk Real Estate any time!

Sounds like an interesting opportunity. I haven't personally been involved in a deal like this but I know many developers offering creative financing like this. It sounds legit if you have a good exit strategy.

My RE Attorney is Zeeshan Malik. He's awesome. Very sharp/knowledgeable and been working in land development for years. He's located in the Austin Area but I bet he'd help you out.

https://www.maliklegalgroup.com/

I can corroborate the statement that Austin is difficult to permit in. I'm a civil engineer over here and have been working in land development for the last 5 years. It seems like everyday one of the various councils or committees finds a creative way to add red tape to an already overly-bureaucratic process. I can appreciate a lot of the regulations related to safety/the public good and overall planning for growth, but some of the additional oversight can get ridiculous. That being said, it is a genuinely FUN field to be in. As others have mentioned, it is a high-risk, high-reward industry.

As I learn more about the real estate side of things I have begun to create a list of many questions of my own - a lot of them related to the finance side of land development. It seems like the main way people afford deals is by having investor-connections. I am on a mission to make connections and learn as much as I can about that side of the industry so I can put my land development/civil engineering skills to use on my own developments. I'm tired of just being a consultant for the guys making huge returns.

If anyone has specific questions on any projects in central Texas am happy to provide insight from an engineering/development perspective in exchange for a good connection. Please feel free to reach out any time!

Hi @Darren Maloney - I'm a civil engineer and have worked on several Austin subdivisions. Currently working on one in SW Austin that sounds very similar to this (about 2 acres, cutting it up into 12 duplex-size lots). I'd like to hear why you've been told it would be uneconomic to subdivide this particular piece of land.  Subdividing in Austin has become crazy expensive over the last couple of years, but you can still make crazy good returns. Its hard to provide exact timeframe and cost without knowing the specific location of the tract or any info about it except size, but as a rough estimate, you're probably looking at about a year in processing and upwards of $100k in city fees, if not more. This would include project assessment application fees (probably necessary), subdivision application fees, parkland dedication, fee-in-lieu of water quality controls (if applicable), etc. The exact timeframe and amount can vary drastically based on the specific tract/situation though. 

I'd be happy to share more and see if I can help - feel free to shoot me a dm if you'd like to connect!

Hi @Keely McBrayer 

Congrats on wrapping up at UT! I graduated in 2018 and wish I would've known all the benefits of real estate back then. If I did, I would've purchased my first primary residence and house hacked as soon as I had enough $ for a 3%-5% down payment, especially since I was already living with a friend at the time. House hacking is such a powerful strategy but you dont really see the benefits of it until you've done it for a little while. Do your best to find a place that would be cash flow positive if you rent the entire house later (may have to get creative), but ultimately just take action on your first primary residence as soon as you can afford it - you'll learn so much just by getting started with that. All the money you save by having roomies pay your mortgage can be put towards your first STR purchase, which could come along a lot quicker than you realize.

If you haven't already, read "Set for Life" by Scott Trench - he talks extensively about the benefits of house hacking as well as the basics of real estate in general. 

Of course "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is a must-read too.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you'd like to ask any specific questions about my perspective - like many people on here, I love making connections and talking real estate!

@David Maldonado I've worked on a few RV parks for clients as a civil engineer. The biggest factor is the jurisdiction(s) you submit to - they're all a little bit different and have specific ways of handling RVs and/or Manufactured Homes, so its hard to fully answer your question without knowing a specific area. In general, you will need to either be in a specific multi-family zoning where manufactured homes and/or RV's are allowed per the code, or in no zoning at all. I've seen RV parks are more commonly permitted outside of city limits where you're only subject to a county, since Counties dont regulate zoning (they're not supposed to, anyway). Often all you need in those cases is a plan set showing the site plan, a utility plan, a drainage/grading plan and details/notes etc. 

From the ones I've done, there's no distinction between a fifth wheel and an RV, but there is often a distinction between RV's/fifth wheels and Manufactured Homes. Basically if you take the wheels off and its going to be a more permanent structure there are implications to that. Some small cities near Austin where I live require "building plans" to be submitted for Manufactured Homes (basically just the spec sheets for the units) after the site plan is approved, whereas all you need for an RV park is the pad sites with utility hook-ups. 

@Prashant Sheth

You may already be familiar with it, but if not here is a link to a pretty useful tool:

https://maps.austintexas.gov/GIS/PropertyProfile/

You can put in any Austin address and turn on map layers for current zoning as well as future land use. If it looks like future land uses near your property are gearing more towards higher density, you can use that as a strong case for re-zoning now and would be in a better position to get approved. If you see all the land around your property is remaining SF-3, I'd say you have a very low chance of the City even considering rezoning. Wouldn't want to waste your time. As Jordan mentioned above, it doesn't hurt to reach out to the City. It's not always easy to get straight answers though so if you check future use and it looks doable, you might just have to make your case and submit a zoning application if you really want to get an answer.

Feel free to reach out if you get to that point and have questions - I've done a couple re-zonings.