All Forum Posts by: Jake F.

If you cut Brownsville in four pieces using the interstate to divide east and west and Ruben Torres to divide north and south, you'd be safe buying basically anything north of Ruben Torres with the notable exception of Cameron Park. All of the new builds will be north of Ruben Torres and up towards Olmito and Rancho Viejo. 

It's not that you can't find a nice house here or there south of say Coffeeville Road or even Price, but it's pretty rare. I'd stay far away from south end, especially anything around downtown or Southmost. That is all  class D at best, and you would need to have boots on the ground and speak fluent Spanish to have any hope of success.

As far as multi-family goes. There are some bigger complexes around Los Ebanos boulevard that you mentioned, but it's a street not a neighborhood. I wouldn't consider it particularly nice. I associate it with 1,000 sf houses on blocks with no garages and an illegal trailer dropped in the backyard. Class C type stuff maybe.

The complexes in the part of town dedicated to multifamily can be a mixed bag. Some look to be pretty nice while others are in a state of disrepair. That area would be around Los Ebanos, Paredes Line, and Price. There are some multi-family buildings in Cameron Park and Southmost, but as previously mentioned I wouldn't even consider those. 

Anything near Space X or the Port of Brownsville won't be nice. And the LPG plant is nearer to the town of Port Isabel. PI is a quiet town more geared toward tourism on South Padre Island, but will likely frow due to LPG.

There are definitely some opportunities down here in the Rio Grande Valley for people who know how to operate, but one challenge you will encounter will be that it's very hard fine good employees. People down here operate at a different speed, and everyone who comes from out of the area is aghast at how poor the customer service is. I'm sure it can be done, but you will definitely have to hire from the local talent pool which is awfully shallow. 

Another issue specific to multifamily in Brownsville is that eventually someone will definitely be using your units to stash illegal substances or illegal people. It's just 100% going to happen. Also, and they are. Right now and what happens in those member, it's entirely possible that some of your tenants run into immigration issues and disappear. It's just a fact of life down here. On top of that, expect the same thing to happen with all of your contractors. I've had a contractor calle 30 minutes after cutting him a check telling me he was arrested by border patrol at the bank.

I'm not I'm definitely not trying to scare you out there and deals. I like it down here and have found investing here to be lucrative. Just speaking from experience after close to a decade in the Rio Grande valley.

@Arkadiy Iliyayev

I live and invest in the area, although not in multi family. I am in Brownsville and by the LPG port every single day.

The LPG port is absolutely enormous and will bring a lot of jobs to the area. It's under construction now and is staggering how big it is. Most people focus on Space X when they talk about Brownsville, but I think LPG will have a larger effect.

The bad part is that Brownsville itself isn't great. A good deal of corruption and other issues that come with being a border town. Transportation industry is huge with lots of goods going across the border, so in theory trade deals could cause waves here for better or for worse.

Things are definitely growing down here. It will be interesting to see if Brownsville can keep pace with McAllen with the new development happening nearby.

 October 2-4 in San Diego.

I know the house you're buying. Looks very nice. About five blocks from where I live. 

The SPI PM guys seem like decent folks. But the 20-30% that STR management companies charge is just outrageous. Figure out how to do it remotely and keep that money for your next property.

Welcome to the neighborhood! It's been crazy down here as far as prices go. Texas Week is starting, so make sure you are screening your guests!

We run credit and criminal history on everyone. Also had to have solid work history,  good landlord references, and earn three times rent. We have to look at a lot more applicants than most, but good tenants are out there. If you take the first people who apply you will regret it.

I expect flippers to do a poor job, which is why I don't buy flipped houses. But I do like to look at them on the MLS, and what drives me crazy is how none of them put in appliances, upper cabinets, bathroom mirrors, or shower glass.

 Florida man.