Mike Browning

Tag: north texas land

  • The Three People You Need

    The Three People You Need

    Finding the customer is only one of them.

    I was listening to something the other day that stuck with me, although I can’t remember who said it. To have a successful business, you only need three people:

    One to find the customers, one to take care of the customers, and one to keep the first two guys out of jail.

    Kind of said in jest, but pretty accurate if you think about it. It doesn’t actually have to be three different people, but there are three main functions. Sort of a three-legged stool.

    Sales/Marketing (find the customers), Management/Execution (take care of the customers), and Compliance (stay out of jail or court).

    They don’t have to be different people, and some of those jobs can be handled by outside professionals. But if you’re dealing with a company that overemphasizes one or ignores another, you’re asking for trouble.

    As a broker, I work on commission. Finding clients is the first step to that, but if I just tell people what I think they want to hear to get them in the door, I’ve got problems.

    If I tell you your property is worth $2M when it’s probably worth $700K just to get you to sign a listing, at the very least I’m going to have a hard time executing.

    And I’ve started the relationship by telling you something I didn’t believe myself.

    But people do similar things every day. It matters who you do business with.

    I can tell you how I try to operate, but you’re probably better off hearing it from people who’ve actually done business with me.

    “I’ve worked with Mike for over 20 years on land and lot deals. He’s a stand-up, trustworthy guy who is very knowledgeable about his market. He has strong relationships with landowners and a deep network in land development.

    He’s always willing to help with anything we need during due diligence, and he does a great job working with sellers, building relationships, and helping them understand what to expect throughout the process.”

    — Jack L., EVP Acquisitions, national homebuilder (publicly traded)

    “Mike Browning is a credit to the North Texas commercial real estate industry. His market knowledge, diligence, competency and attention to detail have been an asset to our family office for over two decades.

    We had owned the property for more than ten years and decided to sell after closing a partnership. Our main concern was maximizing market value. The transaction was handled with good stewardship from LOI through contract, due diligence and closing.

    If you are serious about selling, let Mike handle it.”

    — Amin B., Repeat Land Client (20+ years)

    Of course, none of that means you need a broker today.

    Even if you’re not considering selling, things change. Sometimes quickly.

    It’s better to have information and not need it rather than scrambling at the last minute. The MBR Land Reality Check gives you a clear-headed look at what’s happening around your property and what it might sell for today.

    No pressure to list, no obligation, and it’s free.

    Is it a bad idea to know where you stand?

    Check it out here.

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  • Yes, They Had TVs The Last Time The Cowboys Were In The Super Bowl

    Yes, They Had TVs The Last Time The Cowboys Were In The Super Bowl

    They were even color TVs. Just not HD.

    You have to be pretty old these days to remember it, but there was a time when the Dallas Cowboys were the unquestioned kings of the NFL.

    It can be kind of funny when younger people ask why older people continue to watch and pay so much attention when the team “never wins anything.”

    Habit, I guess.

    That and stubbornness, which is a superpower of mine. Not to mention we’re all sort of pot committed on the deal. We’ve been at it so long that really the only thing to do is keep going. Then on the off chance the team does win again, we can claim to have been behind them all along.

    We can hope anyway.

    I don’t know why it came to mind recently, but I was thinking about something I heard about those early 90s teams. About how, on defense especially, they noticed a market inefficiency which they exploited by prioritizing speed over size.

    Of course every team, including the Cowboys, wanted the athletic freaks. The guys who were huge while also having world-class speed.

    But there aren’t many of those.

    Once you got past them, most teams would look for big guys who might not be quite as fast. The Cowboys decided to go after really fast guys who might be a little undersized.

    Since fewer teams were looking there, they could find better players in that bucket. Not to mention they presented a different challenge than their opponents were used to.

    Or maybe it was just because they had Hall of Fame-level talent at all the key positions, and it didn’t matter so much who was on the back end.

    Either way, it was fun to watch.

    If you’re an investor, you’ve probably noticed it’s harder to find deals in the areas where everyone is already looking.

    You’ve heard the saying about location, location, location.

    Location matters.

    So does basis.

    Everybody already knows where the hottest areas are. And when everybody knows, you tend to pay for it.

    Sometimes I’d rather own something bought right in an outlying area than something I had to overpay for just to be in the fairway.

    That’s part of the reason the Buyer’s Short List covers more than 20 counties in North Texas.

    I look for things that appear to be priced well relative to what’s around them, then start looking for the reason. Most don’t survive that second part.

    When one does, I let the List know.

    No spam. No schedule. Just when something looks worth a closer look.

    They won’t all be a fit for you.

    But is it a bad idea to have someone looking where everybody else isn’t?

    Check It Out Here.

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  • It Changes Faster Than You Think

    It Changes Faster Than You Think

    Stay on top of things, even when it seems pointless.

    It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years, but the 2008 financial crisis was really tough on the real estate business. Lending standards changed (rightly), values were down, and people were scared.

    As we started to climb out of it, there were plenty of available lots in outlying areas (which are booming suburbs today).

    The problem was that even at much lower lot prices than we see today, a deal wouldn’t work. Even if the lots were free, the house wouldn’t appraise high enough to make the necessary financing work.

    Along about 2011, a builder asked me to canvas the market in a town for them. There were about eight subdivisions with substantial available lots. Not a single house being built in any of them.

    The lot prices weren’t objectively terrible. The deals just wouldn’t work in the financing environment.

    So we moved on. Found some things in another town that fit their business model and, more importantly, would work for the buyers and lenders.

    But a few months later, I drove through those same subdivisions and there were building programs in every one of them. The market changed slightly in a couple of ways, and what was a non-starter just weeks before was a no-brainer.

    If you own land, it only makes sense to stay on top of the local market.

    Even if you’re not looking to sell, if someone shows up with a check for 30% above what you think it’s worth, you’d probably consider it.

    But what if they know something you don’t?

    About a new development. Utility capacity that’s coming. Something else happening nearby.

    And what you think is someone overpaying is really you selling too low?

    The MBR Land Reality Check helps with that.

    Current sales, what’s happening around the property, and other factors that could affect what a reasonable buyer might pay today.

    Useful information whether you’re in the market to sell today or not.

    No pressure to list, and no charge.

    Does it make sense to know where you stand?

    Check it out here.

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  • It’s a Short List

    It’s a Short List

    In more ways than one.

    Successful land investing isn’t complicated. You find something underpriced, verify what you’ve got, buy it at the right number, and let time do most of the work.

    Simple. Not easy.

    I recently ran a quick search. Drawing a 60-mile circle around DFW Airport, there were just under 5,000 land listings of one acre or more currently on the market.

    Most aren’t investment opportunities.

    Anyone who’s spent much time looking at land already knows that. Pretty quickly, most people start looking for a better way to sort through the noise.

    Which might lead to joining a few wholesaler text lists. I’m on some myself. I’ve never bought anything from them, but I did make the mistake of asking for more information a few times. It didn’t take long to realize the property wasn’t a fit. The follow-up calls lasted much longer.

    Makes you wish there was a better way.

    Guess what?

    There isn’t a perfect way, but I’ve built a process for filtering thousands of listings down to a handful that deserve a closer look.

    Most get rejected immediately because of something obvious. Floodplain. No access. Bad location. Unrealistic pricing. Some other issue that makes the property unsuitable as an investment.

    You don’t need to hear about those.

    Every so often, though, something survives the first pass. Not necessarily a deal, and not necessarily something I’d buy myself. But interesting enough to warrant a closer look.

    Those are the properties I pay attention to.

    When I find one, I prepare a short report explaining why it caught my eye, what nearby sales suggest, and what I think deserves further investigation. Then I share it with people who have asked to see them.

    No requirement to become an exclusive client. No incessant follow-up. I may check once to make sure you saw the information, but that’s about it.

    Because I’m not a salesman. I’m a filter.

    Be In The Know

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  • It’s Probably Not Time Today

    It’s Probably Not Time Today

    Or maybe it is, but the smart thing to do today is the same.

    From what I’ve seen, the land market around here has been moving mostly sideways for about three years now.

    With acreage it’s hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison because every tract is different. But I’ve seen it with custom home lots, where the exact same lot has sold more than once over the past few years.

    From 2020-2022, rapid appreciation. Since then, basically the same prices, But much less activity overall.

    The usual explanation is that interest rates are higher and that’s slowing down development and investment. Or uncertainty about wars and geopolitics.

    Those are both probably part of it, but I think there’s sort of a musical-chairs aspect to it as well.

    There was a growing subset of land investors who would buy tracts, sell at a profit when new investors came along, buy something else, rinse and repeat.

    Until the new guys stopped showing up.

    Some of them are now trying to sell things they may have overpaid for, and so far they haven’t been willing to bite the bullet.

    Some of that probably needs to work its way through the system before things really start moving again.

    And with agricultural valuation, debt-free land can be relatively inexpensive to carry. So owners who don’t need to sell can, and probably will, wait out the market.

    So it’s probably not time to sell today.

    That doesn’t mean it’s not time to know where you stand.

    Things can change fast, and getting your ducks in a row now pays off. You’re not scrambling at the last minute.

    The MBR Land Reality Check gives you a clear-headed review of where things stand for you today, with actual sold comps and other information that puts you ahead of the game.

    You’re not deciding to sell and there’s no pressure. You’re just giving yourself permission to look.

    You can do that below.

    Of course, you could be someone who needs to sell sooner. Loan coming due, estate issues, you found a better opportunity, or whatever.

    If that’s you, the course of action is the same.

    Get the MBR Land Reality Check and go from there.

    Get it here

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  • No Calculator Required

    No Calculator Required

    I can wade through 90% of it before you even pick up a pencil. Sound interesting?

    There’s a saying you’ll hear a lot in real estate investing: if you need a calculator to determine if something is a deal, it’s not a deal.

    Obviously you need to run financial projections and all that.

    But the point is that a truly good deal will sort of jump off the page at you. It’s clearly priced in a way that makes it appear to be below market, without requiring a spreadsheet.

    Of course, it doesn’t take long being in this business to learn that if something is really cheap, there’s usually a reason.

    Something’s wrong.

    It’s almost totally in the floodplain. It’s got pipeline easements on it that make it look like a spiderweb. It has no road frontage. Or any number of things.

    A lot of times what catches my eye turns out to be something that wouldn’t really be worth owning if they gave it to you. At least not from an investment perspective.

    But not always.

    Every so often I run across something that’s priced low and doesn’t appear to have the usual problems. The sort of thing that makes me stop and look harder.

    And if it’s in an area where I already know someone who would be interested, I usually know who to call. But sometimes it’s in an area where I don’t have someone looking.

    That’s what the Buyer’s Short List is for.

    Covering 21 counties in North Texas, I have a screen that flags newly available or reduced-price listings that are priced low relative to what’s been selling around them.

    Most of them aren’t deals, for the reasons discussed above.

    But every once in a while, one makes it through the first screen and still looks interesting after I dig into it.

    If you’re on the Short List, when that happens you get an email and a chance to see more.

    No schedule. No spam. Just when something makes it through.

    Is it a bad idea to minimize the time you spend looking at bad deals?

    Learn More Here

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  • If It Sounds Too Good To Be True

    If It Sounds Too Good To Be True

    It probably is. Except when it isn’t.

    It’s happened to most of us.

    You’re in the used car market and see something online that looks like a really great deal. You’re skeptical that it’s just a scam to get your info, but it turns out to be a real person. So you get excited, only to find out it has a salvage title. Or it’s been in three accidents. Or something. The seller wasn’t lying exactly. He just wasn’t volunteering.

    We’ve all heard the saying and mostly believe it. If something sounds too good, be skeptical. Knowing that and acting on it in the moment are two different skills, and the second one is a lot harder than it sounds when you’re the one standing next to something you need and want.

    Nobody falls for the Nigerian prince anymore. We’ve all had that training by now. It’s the smaller version that still gets people. The retirement account with a “guaranteed” return. The stock tip from a brother in law who heard it from a guy at work. The story about a politician you already don’t like, one that fits exactly what you expected to hear about him, so you share it before you check it.

    There’s always somebody out there advertising a screaming deal on rural acreage, half the going rate or less. The honest question isn’t whether you can afford it. It’s why a deal that good needs to be advertised at all.

    Most of the time it’s cheap for a reason you haven’t found yet. Floodplain. An easement running through the middle of it. Something next door nobody wants to look at from their porch. Maybe the listing agent knows. There’s a pretty good chance the neighbor who’s farmed next to it for thirty years does.

    And by the time an obvious screaming deal reaches somebody two counties away with no history in the area, it’s worth asking why somebody closer to it hasn’t already grabbed it.

    There’s a difference between a deal nobody’s found yet and a deal everybody already turned down.

    Every so often, the real thing does show up. An estate that needs to close fast. An out of town agent who priced it off the wrong comps. An owner who’s been sitting on it since 2004 and never bothered updating his number. Those exist. They’re just a lot rarer than the other kind, and the little jump in your pulse feels exactly the same either way. That’s the part that gets people.

    Whether you check first or get excited first is on you.

    That’s why I run a screen through thousands of available tracts looking for the ones priced under what’s around them. And that’s only the first pass.

    Most of what survives it turns out to be fool’s gold once I actually dig into it. Every once in a while, one doesn’t.

    Usually I already know who the right buyer is for it. Depending on the area, the size, the timing, sometimes I don’t, and I end up sitting on something worth a look with nobody in mind for it yet.

    That’s what the Buyer’s Short List is for.

    When something actually clears the screen, I send a short note to a small list of people who asked to see them. No spam, no newsletter, nothing on a schedule.

    They won’t all be a fit for you. And something being on the list doesn’t mean you should buy it.

    It means I’ve looked for the reason it was too good to be true and haven’t found it yet.

    [Add me to the list.]

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  • What Do You Expect For Nothing?

    What Do You Expect For Nothing?

    Sometimes quite a bit.

    Free has a reputation.

    Usually it means automated. Generic. A teaser designed to get your phone number so somebody can call you and start selling.

    So I understand if that’s what you expect when I tell you the MBR Land Reality Check is free.

    It’s not.

    Each one is prepared manually. I look at the property, recent comparable sales, what’s currently happening in the surrounding market, and the things that could affect what a reasonable buyer might actually pay today.

    Then I put it together as a Broker Opinion of Value so you can see the information behind my opinion, not just the number itself.

    Could I charge for that? Probably.

    I’ve had people tell me I’m crazy not to.

    Maybe I will eventually.

    But I don’t today.

    You’re probably not ready to sell. And that’s great.

    But if you look at most of the land on the market, many of those sellers were saying the same thing not long ago.

    Things change. Sometimes quickly.

    Getting a handle on where you stand doesn’t mean you’re going to sell. It’s just being ahead of the game.

    And you’ll get no pressure from me. I only want to work with people who are ready. If I have to talk you into it, it’s not a fit. For either of us.

    Is it a bad idea to have current information?

    It’s still free. For now, anyway.

    Check it out here.

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  • Take The Win

    Take The Win

    You don’t also have to announce it.

    Celina’s city council recently approved some incentives to land a second Walmart. I won’t break it down here, but it could be pretty substantial. And probably a smart move, I’d say. Sales tax is one of the few revenue levers a city actually controls, and a big box store just inside your line pulls shoppers in from both sides while the tax dollars only land on yours. So far, so good.

    Then the mayor opened his mouth.

    Ryan Tubbs told the room they were going to build the best Walmart they could “so every resident of Pilot Point comes and visits Celina and shops at Walmart… so that we cause sales tax leakage for our lovely neighbors.”

    He’s not wrong, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Pilot Point residents will drive to the closer store, and Celina banks the tax revenue while Pilot Point’s roads absorb the traffic that got them there.

    But saying it out loud like that is a low status move. It’s also not smart business.

    There’s about a 100% chance Tubbs sits across a table from somebody in Pilot Point again before too long. A road project, a shared utility line, some regional thing nobody can avoid. And now he’s the guy who stood up and gloated about it on the record. Doesn’t matter that he was right. That’s not a great position to negotiate from the next time he needs something from them.

    Win the deal. Then keep your mouth shut about it. Be gracious.

    If you’re a land investor you know this.

    You make your money when you buy, not when you sell. Old idea, still true every time.

    When somebody’s willing to sell below market today, there’s almost always a reason behind it. A health scare, a divorce, a job that’s moving them, an estate nobody in the family wants to deal with, a note coming due next month.

    You didn’t create the situation. You just showed up with a solution when they needed one, and the price reflected the circumstances.

    The deal closes. You’re very happy with the deal. That doesn’t mean you explain to the seller how much you saved, or mention it to their neighbor, or bring it up again down the road when the tract’s worth double.

    You say thank you and you mean it.

    And that you hope your paths cross again, because in this business they usually do, and you want to still be the guy they’d sell to next time.

    Gloating doesn’t get you anything the win didn’t already get you. It just costs you the next deal, or the next referral, or the next seller who was on the fence and heard how you talk about the last one.

    Most of the good deals I’ve gotten over the years came from somebody who trusted me enough to call again.

    People have long memories when you make them feel like the loser.

    PS- If you’d rather hear about a deal before it goes anywhere else, I keep a short list for that. Nothing fancy about it. When something worth a second look clears my screen, the people on the list hear first. No spam, no newsletter, nothing on a schedule.

    [Add me to the list.]

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  • Only Two Problems

    Only Two Problems

    Most people only solve one.

    There’s a line that’s been passed around for years, usually credited to Jim Rohn, who said he got it from Neil Armstrong.

    Going to the moon only involves two problems. How to get there, and how to get back.

    The key is you don’t leave until you’ve solved both.

    Rural land investment is pretty similar, although a lot of people ignore one of the problems.

    First problem is pretty straightforward. You find something underpriced in an area where you expect values to grow. Then you run all the traps, and if it checks out you have something worth buying.

    What a lot of people forget is the second problem. What’s the plan for unwinding it on the back end?

    Then they buy it anyway.

    Ask how they get back out and you’ll usually get a shrug. Something about how land always goes up.

    There are only so many ways out of a piece of ground, and they’re all worth knowing before you own it. Hold it and sell it whole to somebody who wants what you wanted. Split it into smaller tracts, since smaller acreage generally brings more per acre. Develop it, if the location and the money and your patience all happen to line up. Put a building on it and collect rent. Farm it or lease it and let it carry itself while you wait.

    None of those is the right answer. The point is knowing which one you’re betting on.

    You don’t want to be rigid about it. Things change. Sometimes a better exit shows up than the one you planned on. A road gets built, a neighbor decides he’d rather be your buyer than your neighbor. Someone shows up with a plan you never considered and offers you a price you didn’t expect.

    When that happens you don’t turn it down, and you don’t fret about being “wrong” about how you would exit.

    But there’s a difference between changing your plan and never having one.

    And there’s a difference between a deal that looks good going in and a deal you know how to get out of.

    A land deal needs to work today, on today’s numbers. It also needs a believable way back out before you write the check. Both, not one.

    Miss the first one and you overpaid. That stings, and you find out about it fairly quick.

    Miss the second one and you didn’t buy an investment. You bought a place to keep your money where you can’t reach it.

    That one’s quieter. Nobody finds out for years.

    Then they need the money.

    P.S. Most of what crosses my screen doesn’t survive the first problem, let alone the second. When something clears both — priced right today, with a way back out I can actually explain — I send a short note to a small list of people who asked to see them.

    No spam, no newsletter, nothing on a schedule. Just a note when there’s something worth looking at.

    Check it out here

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