All Forum Posts by: Katie Southard

@Bruce Woodruff want to buy the land now before it's all too expensive or sold... is the fear unrealistic?

Following as I'm interested in this market as well. Slightly less cash, but a home in CO with equity that i need to sell by July 2026 to avoid cap gains with roughly 200k equity (as of now at least).

About a year ago my husband and I went to see a gentleman. We know who owns 30 acres on a private self-sustaining farm in North Texas. We have long wanted to invest in North Texas. The farm is 30 acres, fully self-sustaining, working windmill, air compressors, and water collection tanks, and water purification. Totally off grid save for wifi. Storm cellar, small main cabin and three airbnb tiny homes that he used for family visits. Has a lake, room for goats, chickens, all my hope and dreams. 

the house is about the same price as our house in a suburb of Denver. We bought two years ago and we got a decent deal on an interest rate thanks to buying a new build but… we all know how new builds go.

We cannot move out of state until my 9yo stepson is older because of shared custody agreement with a very toxic coparent. But we still look at properties in North Texas because we wanted to buy, rent and potentially moved in eightish years.

there's a small chance we could get funding for a loan on this property, but it would be tight. probably a bit less than the 800k he wants. again I know the gentleman who is selling it and he is well off so I don't doubt that he would do something creative for us. But what?

we know quite a few people out there but not enough to ask favors really. Most stuff in North Texas is a handshake deal and it's all about who you know. Ideally we'd rent the main cabin cheap then have that person rent the 3 airbnbs but they likely wouldn't stay full all the time. We're talking north of McKinney on the way to OK. 

the dream is so real but the handcuffs of being stuck in Colorado until my husband can take his son (or his son is grown) is so real. We have another son, but we have him full-time, so we could go, save for this one thing. 

Not trying to be over dramatic, but do I let the dream die? I have a 750k home in Colorado with a 9000sqft lot for the same price as this homestead in TX on 30 acres with three income producing cabins. Not to mention rentable acreage. We have a rental in CO with about 200k equity, and a bit of cash stored, but it's a huge leap to take and i don't feel like my ducks will ever be in a row. When we visited, we were just checking out how the self-sustaining place worked but we didn't know that he would be selling so soon and then he kind of sprung it on and now it is up for sale. 

I'm full of creative ideas but now push comes to shove and im left feeling like a real dream is dying. I know there will be other opportunities, but we feel really good about North Texas and feel like it's one place where everything hasn't been scooped up yet. It's just not the price range we've been looking in, mostly looking at far less acreage and smaller properties to rent out until we can get there and rehab, add on, make our own. Anyone got any advice? Maybe i just need a therapy session. 

@Kyle Blackmon sorry for delay, thanks for the feedback! Managing a specialist team seems far more feasible at least to start, though GC sounds like a dream! I see a lot of roofing and siding simply due to the materials i work in, so that roadmap seems doable to me. Appreciate the feedback. Again, i think building your niche on your construction knowledge can help you build a client base that is smart enough to hire you which might make your job even easier- and specializing in new builds and common pitfalls/things to look out for/navigating builder pushback for your clients in my opinion makes you the #1 agent for folks buying a new build esp for the first time. I'd hire you in a heartbeat if I knew then what I know now about what kind of agent I actually NEEDED. As a marketer, i recommend marketing yourself with that niche! ;) 

@Jeb Durgin  is right and I've been following this post as that timeless person is me. And Texas feels like my second home and is of great interest to me. Granted it's scary to assume that project two will go off without a hitch, i don't know all details on owner finance- what happens if they default? So basically these folks want to "rent to own" and you're providing that opportunity? So they're paying what, like $800/mo for the next ten years? Accurate? And for project  2 you just want to do it again but sell it outright? How feasible is that? Cash only sale? Sorry for the questions. I work with trades pros in my career but on a national level and need good reliable contractors in Texas still. I have a few, but mostly out of Houston area, despite not liking that area. Partnering on a deal like this isn't out of the question but I'd really like to see the numbers more and see what the flip looked like etc. maybe we chat. I'm Colorado based. 

the added bonus here is that he is well known in the area and has a strong social media following and network, so IF he ended up having some influence on your job, he could probably spread the word far and wide. Kyle from RR buildings is his name- popularized on YT and IG. 

I work with high-influence trades professionals as part of my day job. I have someone in mind. While he may not be the cheapest, he's arguably the best in the area, and has all the connections you'd need. I can ask about Park Ridge, as I don't know what that is or what it means. But if you know specifically the type of contractor you need, my contact will definitely already know the best of the best in the area. I'd assume he has architectural contacts as well. He does mostly post frame buildings now, but I wouldn't doubt he has every contractor you'd need in his back pocket. He's based out of Sterling. 

Owner finance- does that mean you're the lender? I'm interested in learning more esp if this is in Texas. So you'll get paid back but like- not for a long time? Let me know. 

there is good amount of risk involved, but rate of return can be high, you need a good house manager first and foremost and they're difficult to find and trust in that space 

I've always been interested in this. I know someone who does them and I know a bit about them in Colorado