All Forum Posts by: Mason Moreland

I think that is a bit of a unique situation. New Braunfels is essentially an ex-urban part of San Antonio's market. Draw largely relies on what is happening in San Antone and Austin. Also is a big tourist destination (mainly tubing and Schlitterbahn). IE that market doesn't compare the same to, say, Lufkin, TX.

Look for a farm credit ("FCS") institution nearby. Expect probably around 65% LTV, 10-20yr term, prime+1 or 2% as baseline terms.

Update!

Everything survived the freezes, frost, and hail very well! Great to see proof of concept on our methods. Older experimental block of high wire is hanging the fruit we projected and the new vines are ahead of schedule and should hang a decent little crop next year! Super excited for this vintage! Rusty's crew is out there shredding wheat and weeds in the rows now :)

Tempranillo from the oldest ("experimental") block of high wire trellising

Some of the new high wire Marsanne popping out of the shelters and ready to lay some cordons!

View of the central ~20% of the vineyard from on top of the truck. It really is incredibly flat out here.

Who knows? Buy great deals, stay the course like @Jackson Campbell said (in what may be the finest first post I've ever seen I might add), and diversify.

We started adding other real asset classes to our portfolio and finding areas with less competition. Now I'm syndicating and developing wine grape vineyards. Life is weird, fun, and full of opportunity.

^this. Haven't dealt with title in Ward yet, sorry. That is good advice for this area, however.

One thing most people don't think about is property taxes in Texas. What looks like a great cash-flowing deal can get nuked by insane property taxes, so be sure you verify the total rate in your location yourself and factor it in when underwriting.

We invest in Midland, Lubbock, and DFW. If I had to choose one, I'd go with Lubbock. It is growing and appreciating fast, is an "oasis" in a vast area that covers Eastern New Mexico, West Texas, and the southern half of the Panhandle. It is the hub for education, medical services, agriculture, and business for that area. Texas Tech is enormous and a big economic driver bringing in 30k+ students plus faculty each year, tons of sports fans for STRs, along with the dual top-flight medical centers at both Covenant and TTU HSC. Shameless plug for the RE niche I work in, but the area between Lubbock and Midland also produces between 70-80% of the winegrapes produced each year in TX with more being planted each year. Not very scenic though!

SFR long-term rentals and our one Air BnB STR have done exceedingly well there for us, especially through the pandemic. Deals can still be found and it has a great "small town" feel despite how huge it has become.

So typically there's a couple of things that need to be met to build in a flood zone, but first and foremost, you NEED to contact the local jurisdiction to see if the exact location can be built on and you need to confirm their conclusions based on looking at their ordinances (city if it is incorporated or county if it is unincorporated, in most cases; some places the state-level). Don't trust their yay or nay 100% in any case.

First key to building in a flood plain (and getting a building permit in a floodplain) is freeboard. This is the minimum elevation above the Base Flood Elevation ("BFE") that the lowest occupied floor must be. Typically this is 1'-5' above the BFE listed in the FEMA Flood Hazard Map, depending on the local code.

If the building is designed to meet freeboard requirements, the next requirement is typically that the building be engineered to adequately withstand the anticipated loads placed on the structure during a flood event. So yes, typically you will need all plans signed off on by a P.E.

The third common component is a study showing that the additional fill placed in the flood zone by your planned building will not significantly decrease the water holding volume of the floodplain (in addition with other permitted or built fills in the same basin). There is usually a cap on the amount of fill a particular basin. This is more impactful in floodways (vs floodplains) and with built-up foundations (vs. stilts/piers which have less volume).

You will also need to consider potable water and wastewater issues. Many areas do not allow water wells in floodplains or require certain design features in them, the reason being that they are very susceptible to intake of floodwaters which often cause contamination. Sewer is often not available in floodplain areas and many areas do not allow septic to be installed in floodplains, or require specific design features.

Sounds like you may have a good bit of due diligence that hasn't been done yet to really be able to make a decision on if you can even develop this property. I'd suggest hiring a professional or really digging into this yourself.

My background: over 8 years in environmental consulting (13-present), 6-7 yrs doing floodplain development permitting across the country for telecommunications, commercial real estate, and oil & gas.

@Stephen Cucc, glad you are looking at TX! Lubbock is one of our main markets for investing and we have loved it. It proved to be very resilient during C19 and things stayed steady or improved for rents, occupancy, and demand for SFRs/STRs.

Lubbock is a great place to invest outside of the major metroplexes as it is "on an island" and supports the medical, economic, legal, education, and social center of an enormous geographic area covering parts of NM as well. Texas Tech is enormous, growing super fast, and the physically largest university in the US if I remember correctly. 30k+ students. Like literally every other town in the world, there are bad parts. Petty crime can be pretty bad (theft, vandalism, etc) on the east side of town. Growth direction is generally to the southwest moving towards Wolfforth and strongest areas tend to be west of University and South of Texas Tech Campus/4th St.

Where I'd be careful is being aware of property taxes if you are investing solo/individually. They are pretty insane here and Lubbock can be pretty aggressive about trying to jack up your valuations (something like 30% this year, YEAH RIGHT!!!) and the rates are high in good school districts.

Good contact would be @Account Closed is a MF/commercial agent out there who knows every nook and cranny of the area, but full disclosure, he is my brother (but he does rock at what he does!)

Fair point, if it's sewer, life is good!!

One issue you may face with the MHP/RV Park in a floodplain is that most jurisdictions here will not permit septic/leach field systems in a floodplain. Definitely something you will have to check. Sometimes depends on if it's in the 100yr flood hazard zone vs floodway as well. Floodways will typically be more restrictive.