All Forum Posts by: David Renfro

@Greg Dickerson I agree with you on the leverage. An impending “correction” will definitely cause me to be more conservative on the first one.

@Don Gouge thanks for your input.

@Chris Martin great questions. I agree w/ your idea of pursuing SFH subdivisions, and that's my ultimate goal. We currently build the utilities for a few subdivision developers in Austin and we're learning a lot about that process.

@Rene Simon I’ll be the guinea pig. I think there’s a ton of opportunity in Texas for this. There’s a national real estate holding company (https://www.rhp-properties.com) that specifically builds these types of “higher-end” parks w/ asphalt streets, community pools, etc. I think that type of community will become very high in demand as housing prices continue to skyrocket in Texas.

@John Jacobus that sounds fantastic. We’re very familiar with the ground conditions in San Antonio. I would love to discuss more about this with you.

@Derek Faller great points. Thanks for your input.

I'm currently looking for my first real estate investment. I originally pursued SFH's, but I happen to own a utility construction company that installs underground utilities for commercial projects (all wet and all dry). We're also capable of performing concrete and asphalt work in-house. With that in mind, one of my real estate investor friends is strongly pushing me to build a trailer and/or RV park instead of pursuing SFH's since I have the ability to build all of the infrastructure myself.

So I’m curious as to whether anyone has any advice on the best way to structure an investment like that. I have cash to utilize, substantial equity in my personal home to take advantage of (if needed), as well as an eager banker who is willing to make any necessary loans. I assume that the best structure would be a mixture of cash and loans, but would love advice.

I need to find/purchase raw land (currently looking around 10-50 miles outside Austin City Limits), build out the infrastructure with my construction company, and ideally purchase/own all of the trailers I rent out at a monthly rate.

Questions:

1) How much of my own money should I use (20%, 50%, as much or little as possible)?

2) Do you think it’s a good idea to own the trailers, or let tenants bring in their own?

3) How does depreciation work on the trailers?

4) Should I ever waste my time with RV stalls (travel trailers), or just focus on residential trailers? I feel like trying to combine the 2 might be a headache due to managing 2 different types of customers.

5) Are there any fundamentals I should be aware of? (Land value vs trailer values, standard rental set-ups for trailer tenants, etc.)