All Forum Posts by: Mason Moreland

Not sure as far as finding properties. I would guess it might be easier during a downturn (like now) when folks are more hard-up to move away or get out from under a property. I was sent a property from a wholesaler not long ago and have some friends who do fix-and-flips consistently, so there must be some deal flow! There almost always are deals to be had in any market, the effort:results ratio just changes.

Which side of wholesale? Buying properties from wholesalers or finding properties to wholesale?

The general RE market here is cyclical in the sense that it is strongly tied to the amount of work happening in the oilfield. It still chugs along regardless though, more or less. Prices fluctuate a lot.  The rental type demand also shifts with oil commodity prices, I've seen a demand shift from SFRs to STRs in the last year or so.

Residential on site or not? Typically, I'd look to a bank in the Farm Credit Service (FCS) system. Should be multiple in your area. They will be able to steer you down potential paths. Look into USDA loans as well. No financing for down payments that I know of but I've been surprised a million times before.

 All of this!!!

That's true. Abilene, El Paso (not really small, but often overlooked), Tyler, San Angelo, Amarillo, Kileen/Temple, Nacogdoches, Lufkin, Huntsville, Beaumont/Port Arthur, and the list goes on and on.

One other good point @Tim Herman brought up is rangeland carrying capacity. It varies wildly depending on where you are in Texas. Out where I'm at without supplemental feed, you are talking 1 animal per 100+ acres. Out in East Texas in improved pasture? Sometimes more like 1 per 5 acres. Don't get duped by someone underwriting a deal for you saying they can run way more cattle than is reasonable.

I'd check around with some of the realtors in Lubbock that have investors lists looking for portfolios.

Look into the KW MVP team there, they specialize in investment RE and have great buyer lists. Full disclosure, Matt is my brother. 

@Matt Moreland and @Brittany Warner and Lisa Victor

I can back all the above up. My family ranches cows (specialize in beef longhorns and crosses), but it is a retirement hobby more than anything. Every few years they make good money when it hits right. They have enough properties nearby each other to hold on to beef until the market picks up, too. 

I don't know that I would trust someone else to run a beef operation for me, especially remotely. If I was local to it and could verify things frequently with my own eyes I'd consider an arrangement like that. There is more fraud, theft/rustling, poor husbandry, liars and cheats, and other issues than you'd imagine in such a culturally important industry. A less risky avenue might be to buy rangeland or improved/irrigated pasture that you can cashflow with grazing leases. Less risk, allows you to be exposed to "rent" in the cattle market, invest in land that might appreciate, et cetera et cetera. The potential risks would be things like lessors over grazing/putting more cattle than allowed on the property, wildfire/natural disasters, still having exposure to cattle prices IE lease prices drop, things like that. Eliminates you having direct exposure to the cattle market and a manager themselves though.

This is purely anecdotal, so take it for what it is, but from my perspective the beef market here has "niched down" more recently. Lots more folks doing 100% grassfed/finished, certified organic, wagyu/wagyu crosses, longhorns/longhorn crosses, bison, farm-to-table supply, et cetera than in years past. Bison while similar to cows are, quite literally, a whole other animal though haha! 

@Matt Moreland what rent:price ratios is your team seeing in Lubbock lately?

@Aater Suleman that sounds like a good conservative course of action. Best of luck on your deal, looks like a neat property. I'm jealous of that barn!