Brownsville Oil refinery news
Evan GrantPro Member
Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 4 votesBrownsville Oil refinery news
Most Popular Reply
Eric FernwoodBusiness Member
Realtor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2014 · 997 posts · 1k+ votesHello @Evan Grant,
The proposed oil refinery in Brownsville will likely bring many people to the area; the question is whether these people will rent or buy. That depends on their income and local home prices. An example may help.
Our target demographic in Las Vegas earns between $60,000 and $85,000 per year, while single-family homes cost about $380,000 or more. People in this income range either cannot or choose not to buy homes, so they remain (almost) lifetime renters.
Once income exceeds about $90,000 per year, most people are home buyers, not renters. So if most of the people moving to Las Vegas earned $90,000 or more, they would likely buy homes instead of renting. Thus, there would be little impact on rent rates.
You need to understand the demographics of long-term renters in your area. Then, determine if a significant number of the jobs created by the oil refinery will be renters or home buyers.
Everything Depends on Your Goals
If your goal is long term financial independence, your rental income must meet several requirements.
- Rents must grow faster than inflation. You need rent growth to outpace rising prices.
- Personal incomes must grow faster than inflation. Rent cannot rise faster than inflation unless personal incomes are also rising faster than inflation.
- Rental income must continue for decades. This requires tenants to remain employed at similar or higher wages. That means investing in a city that continues to attract companies and create new jobs throughout your lifetime.
Where Should You Invest?
The investment city determines long term rental income performance. The expression, “Live where you like, but invest where you can make money,” reflects this reality.
Most investors do not live in a city that meets the rental income requirements I stated, so they invest remotely. For example, out of our 170+ clients, fewer than 10 were local. The rest live in other states or countries. They invest remotely because the cities where they live do not offer the same long term opportunities.
Remote Investing Requirement
The most important requirement for remote investing is an experienced local investment team. Everything you learn from books, seminars, podcasts, and websites is general information. In practice, you will invest in a specific city, buy a specific property, and deal with local rules and regulations. You will also need reliable local resources. The only place to get that knowledge is from an experienced local investment team.
Evan, I hope this helped.
FERNWOOD Team, KW VIP Realty520 Reviews
3 Replies
- 7moNicholas L.Pro MemberFlipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
i'm not sure specifically what you're asking. do large events impact markets? Yes. should you base your whole strategy around them? probably not.
where do you live? if at all possible i'd invest either where you live or within a couple of hours.
OOS is more difficult than advertised.
hope this helps
- 7moJimmy LieuBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Quote from @Evan Grant:
Greetings community!
I'm a new investor, leaning towards out of state investing, building my knowledge, stuck on deciding which markets seem to offer desirable rent to price ratios, and forgiving entry points for purchasing my first property.
Are there opportunities in seemingly large government-based announcements, with regard to home prices, rents, job growth, etc? Is it unwise to consider such markets, especially as a new investor? I am certain that the answer is yes, but I'm keen to hear the thoughts of experienced community members. This Brownsville announcement seems worthy of discussion, if nothing else.
- EvanHi Evan, that’s actually a really good question and something a lot of new investors wrestle with. Big announcements can definitely be exciting, but I’d be careful about making them the main reason you choose a market. A lot of projects sound promising in the news but take years to actually materialize, and some never fully happen the way they were originally described. That’s why I usually treat big announcements as a bonus signal rather than the foundation of my investment strategy. What tends to matter more is whether the fundamentals are already there today: steady job growth, population growth, diversified employers, and rents that actually support the numbers. If the deal works today based on current rents and demand, any large upcoming project becomes upside rather than something you’re relying on. As a newer investor especially, focusing on markets where the rent-to-price ratio already makes sense and where there’s consistent economic activity tends to reduce risk and keeps you from chasing hype cycles.
Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9120 Reviews - 7moEric FernwoodBusiness MemberRealtor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2014 · 997 posts · 1k+ votes
Hello @Evan Grant,
The proposed oil refinery in Brownsville will likely bring many people to the area; the question is whether these people will rent or buy. That depends on their income and local home prices. An example may help.
Our target demographic in Las Vegas earns between $60,000 and $85,000 per year, while single-family homes cost about $380,000 or more. People in this income range either cannot or choose not to buy homes, so they remain (almost) lifetime renters.
Once income exceeds about $90,000 per year, most people are home buyers, not renters. So if most of the people moving to Las Vegas earned $90,000 or more, they would likely buy homes instead of renting. Thus, there would be little impact on rent rates.
You need to understand the demographics of long-term renters in your area. Then, determine if a significant number of the jobs created by the oil refinery will be renters or home buyers.
Everything Depends on Your Goals
If your goal is long term financial independence, your rental income must meet several requirements.
- Rents must grow faster than inflation. You need rent growth to outpace rising prices.
- Personal incomes must grow faster than inflation. Rent cannot rise faster than inflation unless personal incomes are also rising faster than inflation.
- Rental income must continue for decades. This requires tenants to remain employed at similar or higher wages. That means investing in a city that continues to attract companies and create new jobs throughout your lifetime.
Where Should You Invest?
The investment city determines long term rental income performance. The expression, “Live where you like, but invest where you can make money,” reflects this reality.
Most investors do not live in a city that meets the rental income requirements I stated, so they invest remotely. For example, out of our 170+ clients, fewer than 10 were local. The rest live in other states or countries. They invest remotely because the cities where they live do not offer the same long term opportunities.
Remote Investing Requirement
The most important requirement for remote investing is an experienced local investment team. Everything you learn from books, seminars, podcasts, and websites is general information. In practice, you will invest in a specific city, buy a specific property, and deal with local rules and regulations. You will also need reliable local resources. The only place to get that knowledge is from an experienced local investment team.
Evan, I hope this helped.
FERNWOOD Team, KW VIP Realty520 Reviews
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