All Forum Posts by: Mason Moreland

@Andrew Kiefer Love it, I'm out in West TX. I do a lot of work on utility scale solar and wind dev. for my W2, but focus on syndicated large vineyard development and operation on the real estate side. Previously done residential RE. We've been kicking around doing some master planned communities (600-1300 acres, SF, MF, and CRE) with a functional commercial vineyard built into it. Renewables would be a plus. I'll drop you a line on LI as well. More active there.

Best of luck, network like crazy!

Like where you're going on costs except for land/site prep. That will likely be higher due to needing to pave with aggregate to keep mud/dust down.

On the power, it may be just as cost effective to connect to the grid and much more reliable for the tenants. Could still add a BESS and PV array as well later to offset power costs and increase reliability.

What do you think would bring the highest returns, a remodel and retain current usage, or tear down and re-develop or sell as a ready-to-build lot? If it's in Seattle I'd assume there's some regulatory hair on it either way that would require an experienced team to get it done in a timely fashion.

Finding capital for either probably wouldn't be difficult with the right plan and team, the time capital is being held as cash is very low right now. No one wants to hold onto it for long. I do think finding capital for the latter option (tear down, build multi family or commercial) might be a bit easier than retaining its use as an SFR though.

What does the housing capacity look like in the area currently vs. the anticipated new jobs brought to the area?

12 miles isn’t too far for single family homes. I don’t know this for sure but my gut says that I would worry a little more about convenience factors though for multifamily or higher density housing. If apartments are the price range that would will be needed, I’m not sure they’d be as willing to live 10-15mi from gas station, grocery, shopping, etc. If you can figure what the typical income range is for the new jobs you can tell what type of housing they will be looking at. I’ll caveat this with **I’m not a residential developer**, I develop vineyards haha… though we’ve had success with buying new build housing in new development areas here in TX.

Those are questions for the listing agent.

There are often mistakes in listings for rural/Ag property, so trust but verify what the agent says as far as ownership and acreage with the local County Appraisal Office online (if they have it) parcel mapper. We have had a case where two numbers got transposed (a “1” and a “5” were swapped) which made a 40+ acre swing!! A lot of rural listing are done using stats from the owners memory, which often isn’t perfect. 

I agree with the above sentiments, some really good replies. I’d look to FCS rural property loans, USDA rural home loans, then the more “commercial” loans after those (USDA B&I, SBA, traditional commercial bank, etc). That ranks in order of ease to acquire financing as well as amount of hair on the process.

Best of luck! Glad to see more people wanting to get into agriculture.

Sounds like y’all don’t have a clear vision of what you are going to do and how it will generate income. Not usually a good way to start off a new business venture or to pitch a loan officer, so take that into account and think about narrowing down and coming up with a real plan so you know what you’re looking for and how you will execute it (broadly).

If you ever have questions on Ag RE/investing, financing, etc feel free to DM me!

So the FCS system banks will lend on both agribusiness and and agricultural land purchases. Typically terms are 65% LTV, 4-6% INT, 10-15yr amortization.


USDA has a program called “B&I” (business and industrial) that lends money through certain banks to businesses in rural communities that bring a certain number of jobs or whatnot. Similar to an SBA 504 loan. SBA would also be an option for you to look into as well. For both USDA and SBA loans, add about 45-60 days on top of whatever you’d expect for normal financing (30-45 days) because there’s some paperwork and general hair of them.

^Incredible answer.

Doesn’t matter particularly if you add other components (operation, tax benefits, development/construction,  etc) or what type of real estate asset you do it on. Heck, I syndicate vineyard developments in Texas! 

TL;DR: syndication in the real estate space raise capital from investors. You can add other responsibilities on top of that (many/most do).

What @Steve Vaughan said (COOL NAME, dude! Please tell me your middle name is Ray).

If you are looking at financing something else long-term, do a cash-out mortgage. If you need a "cash" fund for opportunities, do a HELOC. Don't do a HELOC for long term just to have the tenant pay it off, that loses the advantages of HELOCs -fast cash, available any time, but floating/higher interest rates- Also, most won't give you a HELOC on a non-owner-occupied home. So if you do want a HELOC get it before you move out.

HELOC - Pros: Fast cash, easy access, flexible; Cons: Floating rates or higher rates, less available equity as cash, short AMMO; use to take advantage of opportunities quickly then find long-term financing later, best to pay of quickly due to increased expense over other financing options

Cash Out Refi Mortgage - Pros: Excellent terms (low INT, long AMMO, higher LTV=more cash), stable/low INT rates; Con: SLOOOWWW to take out compared to HELOC, slower to reorganize/restructure or close out; generally these are good for financing other deals that are longer term and stabilized in nature.

Look up family offices and the Rockefellers. You'll be like Jasmine and the trusts will be a magic carpet showing you a whole new world.

No affiliation with Bridger. He just has a nice way of explaining things and good delivery.

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