#8 The Ranch

This past summer my girlfriend’s family bought a piece of property in Fayetteville county, TX. Her parent’s dream has been to own and develop a ranch house out in the country. After 6 months of scouting out properties, attaining soil samples and learning how to develop land they purchased a 26 acre ranch on Ellinger Rd outside of La Grange about 5 minutes from the Texas-famous Hruskas convenience store.

            Ted, her dad, is a man’s man who knows everything there is to know about guns, fishing, hunting, and tools. Every week he buys a new tool or tractor part to help him further develop the land. Over the past 2 months he has dug trenches for an irrigation system, consistently mowed the acreage, dug two ponds, refurbished an old well and put up fencing to keep the dogs and grandkids away from the future cattle.

            My favorite story is from this past summer. There was a massive dead tree near the old barn that needed to be cut down. After the tree was fallen my girlfriend’s family became the targets of an angry beehive in one of the dead branches. Within seconds, hundreds of bees swarmed the area as the family hunkered down in the truck. Later that week, they harvested all of the honey from the hive and we have gotten to enjoy it! The tree was over 700 years old.

            Nestled in the hill country between Houston and Austin the property is absolutely beautiful and will be a source of many sunsets, early morning fishing and 4^th of July’s. I am lucky to have the chance to work on and watch the progress of this amazing piece of property.

Blog #7 Normandy Beach

June 6^th, 2004 marked one of the most memorable experiences of my youth. My dad’s sister and her family lived in Brussels, Belgium so we had a great excuse to take a family vacation to Europe. We boarded a plane to Paris where we visited many historical sites, enjoyed the great food and toured the museums and famous churches in the city. After the time we spent in Paris we ventured north to Normandy, France to visit the historical battle of D-Day. Without planning it, we happened to show up on the 60^th anniversary of the American soldiers’ landing in France.

As a middle school student with a few years of history I understood the importance that day held in world history. I was struck by the sacrifice made by the thousands of Americans who died that day to preserve the freedom of a country not their own. Walking the cemetery was one of the most emotional experiences in my life. As we walked along the wall, I was imagining how the scene would have played out as our soldiers stormed the beachfront, not only dodging German fire but also battling the high ground and harsh incline of the beach. That day spent in Normandy, France will forever be part of me as a student of history and as a patriotic American.

Blog #6 Generation Y

Millenial Generation: Millenials are the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates when the generation starts and ends. Researchers and commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

 The Generation Y or Millenial generation is one of the largest consumers of a modern real estate market. The millenials are “moving the market, but not as homeowners” according to CBSNews. Sellers and marketers of real estate are increasingly aware and focused on appealing to this generation. Cities all over the country are growing, expanding and becoming new centers of innovation, youth and a sense of free spiritedness. Cities like Austin, Seattle, Cleveland, and Portland are the new hot spots. The millennial generation is paving the way for businesses and growth.  

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-10-real-estate-trends-for-2014/

Blog #5 Jerusalem

Growing up, my spiritual journey has always been a huge part of my life. My freshmen year of college I had a professor for a History or New Testament class, his name was Dr. Paul Shockley. The purpose of the class was to learn the historical account of early biblical times, with a  focus on Jesus’ ministry. Every summer the professor takes a group of 10 students from various seminaries to travel to Jerusalem and the greater area where Christianity began. After hearing his stories, visiting such a historical and spiritual area of the world has remained on my bucket list. It would be truly remarkable to visit areas throughout Israel and Egypt. To see the Sea of Galilee, Mt Sinai, the wailing wall, and to walk around where Jesus sat at the Garden of Gethsemane.

               Many religions and faiths have a sort of pilgrimage or Hajj. I would love to embark on a similar spiritually enriching journey through an area of the world that lead to Christianity. 

Blog #4 College Station Student Housing

The following blog is a summary and analysis of this article by the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/College-Station-follows-trend-with-growth-in-4651514.php#/0

Texas A&M is one of the largest universities in the United States, with over 50,000 students attending the College Station campus. One of the largest and consistently growing businesses in the area is student housing. Developers, realtors and apartment complexes battle for market share over students. Some student housing providers target niche markets of the student body. Callaway house tends to dominate the freshmen Greek students. Traditions, The Rise, and the Stack appeal to students who want to live closer to Northgate. Many students choose apartments based on price or convenience to campus. Others choose their place of living on criteria such as the best pool, amenities or reputation with little regard for price. With over 50,000 students and a growing student body the student housing market is ripe for growth but also rich with competition.

              "Texas A&M has been growing and is going to continue to grow. Land that has come available in close proximity to campus is desirable. There is a lot of competition with student housing, and to be competitive, everyone has to step up their game. Part of the allure of student housing is that it has rigidity to it," he said, referring to the reliable flow of students entering the market each year. Any major university is a perfect place for that type of development.” –Oldham Goodwin

            Oldham is referring to the transition from antiquated, cheap and outdated apartments of the past to the new, hotel style, amenity filled apartments being developed such as the Rise, and Northpoint Crossing. Places such as these come featuring workout facilities, pools, spas,  and even in-house movie theatres. Rents for these apartment complexes can range from $700 to over $1000 a month.

Blog #2/3 Rights, Public and Private issues

            Real estate is the physical land and appurtenances (buildings or improvements) that are affixed to the land. Real estate is immobile and tangible and includes attachments above and below the ground. Real property includes all interests, benefits and rights inherent in the ownership of physical real estate such as rights to use, sell lease, give away, and rights to gas or minerals, ect.

           

http://mattbruenig.com/2014/10/11/wonderful-property-rights-dispute-in-san-francisco/

Private restrictions on real estate are limitations on the fee simple ownership rights that generally run with the land. Private restrictions could be covenenats, liens, easements, profit a prendre, adverse possession or encroachments. Covenants limit the way a property owner can use the property. A lien is a claim on a property as either security for a debt or fulfillment of some monetary charge or obligation, can be categorized as voluntary or involuntary. An easement is a right given to one party by a landowner to use the land in a specified manner, could be appurtenant or in gross. An encroachment is an unauthorized invasion or intrusion of a fixture, building or other improvement onto another person’s property.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/336281/dsi-says-14-resorts-encroaching

Public restrictions are limitations on the property and rights that go with the land but are placed on by the government. The four main types are taxation, eminent domain, police power and escheat. Through taxation, the government taxes the land owned through an ad valorem tax which is levied as a % of value of the property, not on the income earned from property. Eminent Domain is the government’s way of acquiring property for public use. Compensaton for ED comes in the form of just compensation, condemnation proceeding and inverse condemnation. Police poers is the government’s right to have the power of regulation and to protect the public health, safety, morals and general welfare.

An unfortunate example of eminent domain in which the acquired site was vacant for 9 years after siezure:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/20/seized-property-sits-vacant-nine-years-after-landmark-eminent-domain-case/

Blog #2/3 Corner of Austin

Austin, Texas is one of the nation’s fastest growing cities with areas around Austin such as Cedar Park, San Marcos and Georgetown all ranking in the top 10 of the most rapidly growing cities with populations over 50,000. Austin has many attractions that draw people to move: University of Texas, state government, music, culture, festivals and the growing technology industry. Austin is also ranked the #1 city of millennials in terms of concentration.

Austin is experiencing important trends as its growth reaches new highs. Austin currently has no majority demographic and has become a majority-minority city with no demographic representing over 50% of the population. A trend that has many people concerned is the share of households within the city’s core made up of families with children is decreasing. This poses a major issue with many of the Austin schools in the core-zone closing down as families move into suburban areas of the city.

Austin has 13 commercial zoning districts, 4 industrial and 5 special purpose base districts as well as 13 combined districts that relate to particular zoning cases, often used to preserve historical areas of the city.

I believe that Austin could have multiple 100% intersections depending on what the intersection is based on; economic, commercial, or city-wide. If forced to pick one, I would pick W. 12^th street and Congress avenue. This is the intersection that leads to our state’s Capitol building. Austin is known for many things but the main attraction that makes Austin special is the capitol. 

Blog # 1 Continued -- Most Interesting Real Estate

             For nearly 40 years, my dad’s family has owned a beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama. In 1976, my grandpa, Thomas Howard paid $80,000 in cash for the lot and house. My dad and his family lived in Georgia at the time and they went down to the beach house every couple of weeks for the first few years working on the house, making renovations and enjoying the beach front propery. We have always been a family that enjoyed fishing so the 50 yard walk down to the water always made for good fishing adventures.

            When my dad was in college the entire Howard clan migrated to Dallas, TX for my grandpa’s work. But they kept the beach house 12 hours away in Gulf Shores and transitioned it to more of a rental property. The house and lot is managed by Kaiser Realty, one of the two major property management companies in GS. Gulf Shores is somewhat of a second home for me. I have been every year of my life and hold fond memories of my time there with family.

            When my grandpa purchased the house it was the last house on the road. Since the 80’s the area has grown tremendously and there are now 3 more miles of houses past ours. Before Hurricane Ivan there was an extreme shortage of available houses and lots in the area which caused the prices to spike upwards. The value rose to 2.5million. It was the first time in 25 years my grandpa considered selling the house. He chose not to and within months there were over 60 available lots and the price was down to $600,000 in a matter of months after a brutal hurricane season.

            Gulf Shores is one of the most interesting places for real estate because of how volatile the market is. In Gulf Shores there are two main types of real estate: Beach Front and Lagoon front. The beach front is valued at 2-3x as much as the lagoon front and it is only a 30 ft walk across the street. The actualy aesthetics of the beach is what makes Gulf Shores such an attractive place for owning beach realty. The sand beaches, great water, fishing and the lack of a tourist-town feel make Gulf Shores such an amazing place.

Blog # 1--Introduction

Howdy! My name is Richmond Howard. I am a senior Finance major from Austin, Tx and am scheduled to graduate this December. Over the past few years most of my free time has been spent being involved in organizations on campus. I have served as President of a fraternity, a Director for an All Greek Leadership Conference, an exec on Build Command Team and as a Student Senator for the Mays Business School. I have also been involved with Abbott Leadership Conference, Student Body President campaigns, and have been on 3 university committees. In the time I don’t spend doing organization activities I enjoy reading, working out, spending time with friends, A&M sporting events and church.

After my senior year of high school on a mission trip in Atlanta, Georgia God called me into a lifeof vocational ministry. The last three summers I have further developed and refined that calling to a focus on high school youth ministry. In the short-term I want to work in high school ministry and eventually be the director of a youth ministry spanning middle school to high school. Long-term, I hope to be the executive or administrative pastor of a church with a focus on leadership development within the church staff. Even though my career plans are to work in a church, I want to learn more about Real Estate because it plays such a pervasive role in our economy and day-to-day lives. I want to learn how to make financially smart real estate decisions for personal living as well as investment and equity opportunities. My dad works in commercial construction and my extended family owns 3 beach houses and a lakehouse. Real Estate is a part of our family.

One of the most embarrassingly-unique things about me is that I was ranked 4^th in the world in a video game when I was in middle school. I am an introvert but I consider myself a “trained extrovert”. I love to read. Last year on a cruise I read 8 books, 4000+ pages, in 6 days. I have read nearly every book by John Grisham, Vince flynn, David Baldacci, Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy.

My Bucket List items:

·      Compete and total “Elite” in a powerlifting meet

·      Graduate from Seminary

·      Write a book

·      Travel to Australia

·      Travel to the Middle East

·      Teach a seminary course

·      Become friends with a U.S. President

·      Raise 3 kids to be spiritually mature

·      Serve on the A&M Board of Directors

·      Work in some form of Higher Education

Favorite Links and Resources:

·      http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/

·      http://www.artofmanliness.com/

·      http://seekingalpha.com/

·      http://www.denisonforum.org/