Briggs Ranch??

[kevcrawford]

Honestly, nothing. I know they had a big rush on lots when they first opened, but that's because of the way the development company sells during the opening weekend. They send out "special invites" to people to get them out there with all the other "buyers" and create a mass hysteria that all the lots are being snatched up while you're there, so you have to move on one. You'll be sitting in a truck with a sales rep and the CB Radio is going off like crazy saying "Lot 14 is sold", "Lot 34 and 35 are sold", etc, etc...They create a ton of competition and everyone thinks they have to "get in on this awesome opportunity now"! It's never the great investment they make it out to be. Not necessarily a bad one, but it's not one you're going to turn for 50% markup in a few years. They end up selling a ton of lots, but then they have a lot of cancellations after that when people get home and think about it.

I'm not saying that it's going to be a bad community, because it's too early to know. I know it's not as successful as they'll lead you to believe, but that's the case for all developments. They want you to think it's going to be the next super-community.

They've got great views in Terramont, but they've also got a lot of topo. I didn't see a ton of building sites in there that wouldn't require some more expensive slab costs. From what I know, they only have one home started in there. They had some trouble getting utilities in there, but I believe they've worked past that and they're ready to roll on building.

The location is good, as it's pretty near medical and accessible to 1604, but it's just way too early to get a good idea of what it'll be. I'm definitely keeping an eye on it, because if it starts to look like a solid community, I'll definitely start taking clients out that direction.

It's just too early to know though. I've seen too many communities that are "going to be the next big thing" fail early on. (Waterstone in Boerne, Wild Wind in Garden Ridge, etc). I'm always a bit skeptical until I see it start to take off. When people look at spending that type of money for dirt, I always like to make sure we've moved past the speculation phase and know what the neighborhood will be.

[01Snake]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

Honestly, nothing. I know they had a big rush on lots when they first opened, but that's because of the way the development company sells during the opening weekend. They send out "special invites" to people to get them out there with all the other "buyers" and create a mass hysteria that all the lots are being snatched up while you're there, so you have to move on one. You'll be sitting in a truck with a sales rep and the CB Radio is going off like crazy saying "Lot 14 is sold", "Lot 34 and 35 are sold", etc, etc...They create a ton of competition and everyone thinks they have to "get in on this awesome opportunity now"! It's never the great investment they make it out to be. Not necessarily a bad one, but it's not one you're going to turn for 50% markup in a few years. They end up selling a ton of lots, but then they have a lot of cancellations after that when people get home and think about it.

You definitely got that part correct...100%! Thats exactly what happened when we bought our lot on the opening day.

With all the rains we has last year, I think they are still a bit behind schedule. Like you, I am anxious to see how things turn out with the development. We searched for over a year for a lot with city views but they are hard to come by. We found a lot there with nice views and decided to go for it. I'm hoping the development lives up to the hype but like you said, its still too early to tell.

[kevcrawford]

That's how Southerland and a lot of other developers get their communities pre-sold so quickly, but again, there are a lot of cancellations.

Over time, it'll probably be OK. The build costs are just going to be a bit higher than most thought, because of that topo. That'll scare off a few people that were planning on building, but it shouldn't really affect it that much. The key is finding a good builder. Builders in that market run the gamut. There are some great ones, and some that have no business building. I won't go into it here, but if you ever have any questions about one, you can PM or email me.

[01Snake]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

That's how Southerland and a lot of other developers get their communities pre-sold so quickly, but again, there are a lot of cancellations.

Over time, it'll probably be OK. The build costs are just going to be a bit higher than most thought, because of that topo. That'll scare off a few people that were planning on building, but it shouldn't really affect it that much. The key is finding a good builder. Builders in that market run the gamut. There are some great ones, and some that have no business building. I won't go into it here, but if you ever have any questions about one, you can PM or email me.

Thanks for the insight Kevin. I'll definitely be sending you a PM soon regarding builders you may be able to recommend. We are still about a year away from actually getting the ball rolling and speaking with an architect but I'd love to have some builders lined up once we are ready to break ground.