How are these landowners paying property taxes? Why doesn't the county foreclose? To me it seems there are easy ways to shut this down. Politicians on both sides are bought and won't do anything about it.
aggiez03 said:
Yes, the kids are in Cleveland schools. The school district can't get a school bond to pass, and it sounds as if these land buyers are not providing any tax base to provide money to the district like a normal high growth area would.
suburban cowboy said:
Honestly, kudos to the guy. He took advantage of a Federal & State government allowing a wide open border for the past decade plus. Without that Colony Ridge never happens.
agz win said:
A lot of Houston has moved out there. It's a 45 mile commute to center downtown.
Does said landowner finance piss poor politicians? Do they create (or avoid stopping) piss poor policy?Old May Banker said:
a landowner taking advantage of a piss poor immigration policy has nothing to do with the creation of that policy.
Should Home Depot also not sell to them?
aggiez03 said:
Listening to this now...
Guy is basically a legal slum lord on 55 square miles.
Bought cheap property, selling the land at 12% interest rate, with 40K residence today, 100K residence by 2035, and 200K residences by 2040s.
This will be an anchor on Liberty county for 100 years.
Apparently, there are no restrictions in the neighborhood at all, so nothing to keep this from being slums.
He says if he did it again, he would still no put restrictions at all.
He basically doesn't give a damn about any existing neighbors.
500 Million in Land Sales Annually @ 12% Interest PER YEAR = $60 Million per Year in Interest Payments Alone
I am pretty sure he doesn't care if they have to foreclose. They are getting the lots back, clean them up, and sell them to the next sucker who comes along.fightingfarmer09 said:aggiez03 said:
Listening to this now...
Guy is basically a legal slum lord on 55 square miles.
Bought cheap property, selling the land at 12% interest rate, with 40K residence today, 100K residence by 2035, and 200K residences by 2040s.
This will be an anchor on Liberty county for 100 years.
Apparently, there are no restrictions in the neighborhood at all, so nothing to keep this from being slums.
He says if he did it again, he would still no put restrictions at all.
He basically doesn't give a damn about any existing neighbors.
500 Million in Land Sales Annually @ 12% Interest PER YEAR = $60 Million per Year in Interest Payments Alone
One thing I learned working in Latin America is nothing matters if you can't collect the money from them.
AlaskanAg99 said:
Untreated sewage is a TCEQ violation.
The state could do something IF they wanted to.
The Liberty County Sheriff's office estimates that there are between 75-100k people there currently.aggiez03 said:
Listening to this now...
Guy is basically a legal slum lord on 55 square miles.
Bought cheap property, selling the land at 12% interest rate, with 40K residence today, 100K residence by 2035, and 200K residences by 2040s.
This will be an anchor on Liberty county for 100 years.
Apparently, there are no restrictions in the neighborhood at all, so nothing to keep this from being slums.
He says if he did it again, he would still no put restrictions at all.
He basically doesn't give a damn about any existing neighbors.
500 Million in Land Sales Annually @ 12% Interest PER YEAR = $60 Million per Year in Interest Payments Alone
murphyag said:AlaskanAg99 said:
Untreated sewage is a TCEQ violation.
The state could do something IF they wanted to.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this guy is donating big $$$ to Abbott, Patrick, etc.
There are plenty of ways to legally close this place down and to stop this guy from developing land like this. He has paid the politicians on both sides enough that they look the other way. Start beating down Abbott's door and make enough noise you might slowly see something happen.aggiez03 said:murphyag said:AlaskanAg99 said:
Untreated sewage is a TCEQ violation.
The state could do something IF they wanted to.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this guy is donating big $$$ to Abbott, Patrick, etc.
Has given 1.5 million to Abbott in 300K chunks. Also paid Morgan Lutrell and has two lobbyists on his payroll full time.
cevans_40 said:
If my Grandfather hadn't sold all of our family land, this is what I would have done with any of it that I inherited
Maybe... but the HEBs/McDonald's of the world don't turn a whole county into a ****hole.Old May Banker said:
This guy selling land to these vagrants doesn't amount to fly **** in the pepper in the grand scheme of how much money is flowing thru there... I'm not sure if it's jealousy, anti-private property rights, or what.... but the take that this guy is wrong while every other business in Texas capitalizes off of their presence seems short sighted.
He didn't let them cross... but just like HEB, McDonald's, Home Depot, etc, he'll take their money.
Your statement of "landlords looking to make a buck off them.." shows that you have fallen for liberal propaganda. Both sides are providing a service to each other. If there weren't landlords willing to rent to desperate tenants, then those desperate tenants would be screwed and far more desperate. Such landlords are HELPING their fellow man, not screwing them over. The people who are screwing them over are nanny government types who forbid such trades from taking place in the first place. The idea that these landlords should give away their housing for a loss so that 3rd party nanny types can virtue signal is simple minded.ABATTBQ11 said:aTmAg said:If you find yourself arguing for less liberty, then you are probably wrong.TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.
Thomas Sowell had a chapter/essay regarding "slum lords" in NY during the industrial revolution. Basically the story was that some do-good reporter did an expose on slum lords reporting that tenants were living 6-8 to a room with only one bathroom per floor. People were shocked and the local government reacted by passing a law that required "basic standards" like a bathroom, only a few people per room, and crap like that.
Some of them refused to comply out of principle. So when the police were dispatched to shut these places down, the landlords were armed and ready to defend their property against tyranny. In addition, the TENANTS WERE ARMED RIGHT ALONG SIDE OF THEIR LANDLORDS. You see the tenants desperately NEEDED to live in a place with damn low rent. In many cases, they were fathers of foreign families who immigrated here alone. They were working to save up money to bring the rest of their family over. They didn't care about a bathroom in their room, they wanted to earn as much as possible to bring their families over ASAP. So when the government shut their landlords down, THEY got screwed more than anybody. In many cases they could no longer afford to live here, and so they spent their saved money going back to their home country since they didn't want to wait 15 years to bring their families over.
The lesson to learn out of this, is that liberalism always screws people over. No matter how good it sounds.
That may be all well and good for the desperate tenants and the landlords looking to make a buck off them, but that kind of stuff comes with consequences for the surrounding community when it comes to things like health and sanitation that modern cities are built on. That kind of setup is perfect breeding outbreaks of disease that spill over to other surrounding areas. Think having a house with high grass and junk all over the yard being a breeding grind for mosquitoes, rats, snakes, mice, and other pests that spill over to neighbors. No one lives in a vacuum, and your neighbors absolutely have a say on what you can and can't do when it's going to impact them.
aggiez03 said:
Listening to this now...
Guy is basically a legal slum lord on 55 square miles.
Bought cheap property, selling the land at 12% interest rate, with 40K residence today, 100K residence by 2035, and 200K residences by 2040s.
This will be an anchor on Liberty county for 100 years.
Apparently, there are no restrictions in the neighborhood at all, so nothing to keep this from being slums.
He says if he did it again, he would still no put restrictions at all.
He basically doesn't give a damn about any existing neighbors.
500 Million in Land Sales Annually @ 12% Interest PER YEAR = $60 Million per Year in Interest Payments Alone
Sounds great until that neighborhood is built in your backyard. Imagine having family land that you retire to and live on your last 30 years of your life only to find out that this development is backing up to your property and their dogs are running on your property, there sh*t is running on to your property.aTmAg said:Your statement of "landlords looking to make a buck off them.." shows that you have fallen for liberal propaganda. Both sides are providing a service to each other. If there weren't landlords willing to rent to desperate tenants, then those desperate tenants would be screwed and far more desperate. Such landlords are HELPING their fellow man, not screwing them over. The people who are screwing them over are nanny government types who forbid such trades from taking place in the first place. The idea that these landlords should give away their housing for a loss so that 3rd party nanny types can virtue signal is simple minded.ABATTBQ11 said:aTmAg said:If you find yourself arguing for less liberty, then you are probably wrong.TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.
Thomas Sowell had a chapter/essay regarding "slum lords" in NY during the industrial revolution. Basically the story was that some do-good reporter did an expose on slum lords reporting that tenants were living 6-8 to a room with only one bathroom per floor. People were shocked and the local government reacted by passing a law that required "basic standards" like a bathroom, only a few people per room, and crap like that.
Some of them refused to comply out of principle. So when the police were dispatched to shut these places down, the landlords were armed and ready to defend their property against tyranny. In addition, the TENANTS WERE ARMED RIGHT ALONG SIDE OF THEIR LANDLORDS. You see the tenants desperately NEEDED to live in a place with damn low rent. In many cases, they were fathers of foreign families who immigrated here alone. They were working to save up money to bring the rest of their family over. They didn't care about a bathroom in their room, they wanted to earn as much as possible to bring their families over ASAP. So when the government shut their landlords down, THEY got screwed more than anybody. In many cases they could no longer afford to live here, and so they spent their saved money going back to their home country since they didn't want to wait 15 years to bring their families over.
The lesson to learn out of this, is that liberalism always screws people over. No matter how good it sounds.
That may be all well and good for the desperate tenants and the landlords looking to make a buck off them, but that kind of stuff comes with consequences for the surrounding community when it comes to things like health and sanitation that modern cities are built on. That kind of setup is perfect breeding outbreaks of disease that spill over to other surrounding areas. Think having a house with high grass and junk all over the yard being a breeding grind for mosquitoes, rats, snakes, mice, and other pests that spill over to neighbors. No one lives in a vacuum, and your neighbors absolutely have a say on what you can and can't do when it's going to impact them.
And if you want to live in a place that forces cut grass, then find a neighborhood with a pre-established HOA. Don't force it at a city or state level. Let people decide the pros and cons of their decisions for themselves. If I want to risk living near somebody with "rats, snakes, and mice" in exchange for no-HOA then I should be able to chose that. If you don't, then fine.
Sure, here you go...Catag94 said:
Can someone send a link or some backstory here?
StandUpforAmerica said:Maybe... but the HEBs/McDonald's of the world don't turn a whole county into a ****hole.Old May Banker said:
This guy selling land to these vagrants doesn't amount to fly **** in the pepper in the grand scheme of how much money is flowing thru there... I'm not sure if it's jealousy, anti-private property rights, or what.... but the take that this guy is wrong while every other business in Texas capitalizes off of their presence seems short sighted.
He didn't let them cross... but just like HEB, McDonald's, Home Depot, etc, he'll take their money.
Ever seen a Fiesta grocery store?StandUpforAmerica said:Maybe... but the HEBs/McDonald's of the world don't turn a whole county into a ****hole.Old May Banker said:
This guy selling land to these vagrants doesn't amount to fly **** in the pepper in the grand scheme of how much money is flowing thru there... I'm not sure if it's jealousy, anti-private property rights, or what.... but the take that this guy is wrong while every other business in Texas capitalizes off of their presence seems short sighted.
He didn't let them cross... but just like HEB, McDonald's, Home Depot, etc, he'll take their money.
Odds are he has control over enough of the county that this isn't happening.Old May Banker said:StandUpforAmerica said:Maybe... but the HEBs/McDonald's of the world don't turn a whole county into a ****hole.Old May Banker said:
This guy selling land to these vagrants doesn't amount to fly **** in the pepper in the grand scheme of how much money is flowing thru there... I'm not sure if it's jealousy, anti-private property rights, or what.... but the take that this guy is wrong while every other business in Texas capitalizes off of their presence seems short sighted.
He didn't let them cross... but just like HEB, McDonald's, Home Depot, etc, he'll take their money.
No disagreement... so buy his property, change the county restrictions, etc... but private property rights are absolutely paramount IMHO... even if I disagree with their outcome.
Is it determined if they are septic v sewer? I would find it difficult to think that with any density that septic would be an option. If its septic, there is no way its permitted and meets any of the TCEQ standards.schmellba99 said:
A few things:
1. Quadvest is the water purveyor there, no MUD district. They are a private water operator that has a few wells and the distribution system. The owner is also a really good friend with the developer.
2. Sewer is supposed to be septic, but I'd venture that there are a significant percentage of the properties that don't ahve a septic system that meets TCEQ standards, whether conventional or aerobic. That does cause problems, especially if it is spread over a large area with enough properties contributing.
3. The mechanism, while technically legal, that the developer is using is sketch as hell. Basically he takes illegals that can't get financing anywhere else and offers them a high rate for their property, of which most will never actually pay off the loan. And the firs time they are even a day late...he forecloses on their property, kicks them off and then resells it. Legal? Sure. Ethical? No.
4. The county is never going to keep up with the costs associated with the number of people there versus what they take in on property taxes - ever. Especially if the roads are crap and the county eventually assumes ownership of them and has to repair them constantly. It's overall a net loss for the taxpayers.
5. These types of "developments" are ultimately why HOA's exist, are the impetus for creation of new state laws that are aimed at one particular place but are blanket laws that screw everybody over and are a magnet that draws in unskilled and, generally speaking, undesirable people. Crime always shoots up in the surrounding areas and ultimately it is the surrounding actual citizens that end up paying for it in every way imaginable.
schmellba99 said:
A few things:
1. Quadvest is the water purveyor there, no MUD district. They are a private water operator that has a few wells and the distribution system. The owner is also a really good friend with the developer.
2. Sewer is supposed to be septic, but I'd venture that there are a significant percentage of the properties that don't ahve a septic system that meets TCEQ standards, whether conventional or aerobic. That does cause problems, especially if it is spread over a large area with enough properties contributing.
3. The mechanism, while technically legal, that the developer is using is sketch as hell. Basically he takes illegals that can't get financing anywhere else and offers them a high rate for their property, of which most will never actually pay off the loan. And the firs time they are even a day late...he forecloses on their property, kicks them off and then resells it. Legal? Sure. Ethical? No.
4. The county is never going to keep up with the costs associated with the number of people there versus what they take in on property taxes - ever. Especially if the roads are crap and the county eventually assumes ownership of them and has to repair them constantly. It's overall a net loss for the taxpayers.
5. These types of "developments" are ultimately why HOA's exist, are the impetus for creation of new state laws that are aimed at one particular place but are blanket laws that screw everybody over and are a magnet that draws in unskilled and, generally speaking, undesirable people. Crime always shoots up in the surrounding areas and ultimately it is the surrounding actual citizens that end up paying for it in every way imaginable.