All Forum Posts by: Aater Suleman

 Thanks. By the way, you seem to have really gotten far with Williamson Count. I can't even get them to answer my call this quickly. May I know how you got this good information so quickly? What process did you follow? 

This is a property I can purchase but unable to decide if I should or not. Its a farm house on a 17-acre lot. I have found everything to be positive: 17 acre flat lot, 1100 ft county road frontage, future highway expansion running close, good quality house and many improvements like RV parking, an oversized barn, many small sheds, a guest quarter, etc. Light to No deed restrictions. City water available. City sewer about 2 miles away but expanding this was rapidly. 

Given all of this, my plan  live here for 5-7 years and once sewer and the highway arrive, develop or sell. I expect good returns if this plan works out. 

Now the bad part: The property is NOT in a FEMA flood plain however, close to the North eastern corner of the property, there is a wetland that flows flows when it rains heavily. See attached picture. It seems about 70 ft wide and 1-2 ft deep. According to the owner he only sees water there once every few years. They are not required to buy flood insurance but they keep it and pay $300/year.

I do not know how to change my analysis of the market value to reflect this wetland issue what real impact will it have on my plan to subdivide 7 years from now. This is my first project of this magnitude and I am loosing sleep over it. Any guidance will be much appreciated.

In real estate, money is often made at the time of purchase. So, finding a good deal, which is not easy at all in this market, is another way to increase your return. It’s hard to find deals in standard SF housing but When buying land or farms, comps are much harder to find so the markets aren’t efficient. Anomalies are not uncommon where a motivated or misinformed seller/agent may list something below market.

To actually win though, you will need to be looking relentlessly, have your mental model tuned to spot a good one very quickly, analysis tools ready to validate, and have the paperwork and confidence ready to bid immediately. 

In our fast market, I typically don’t even bother looking at properties that have been in the market for over 2 days because they are either not interesting or undergoing an auction. not useful for me  

All my best deals in this market have been when I was the first bidder, typically the same day it’s listed and out ran my competition. I have been able to buy 5-8% below market a few times. By buying cheap, you immediately put yourself in a position of some minimal profit and can outdo the market returns.