Howdy, Aggies. Sorry for the long post.

I am class of 2006. My wife and I are building a home in the Texas Hill Country and currently have a house in South College Station that we would like to sell, pending certain conditions. I have done a sale-by-owner before and it works just fine. My lawyer is Cully Lipsey and he is very good at making sure everything is taken care of properly.

TexAgs gives us Aggies a fantastic opportunity to communicate with each other and right now I would like to extend an invitation to anyone with an Ag Tag that might be interested in my house. While I have an excellent realtor, I wish to try and conduct this myself. Aggies help Aggies, so I hope it works out.

I have made a special email just for this that I will contact people through. Please read the general information below and if you are seriously interested then I will contact you directly via my email and we can discuss any questions that you have, along with pictures of the house. I will update this post if I go under contract with anyone or if/as the situation changes.

Will be asking $699,900 plus the move-out date per my description. Prefer cash or an approved lender with no contingencies. Inspection will be ok, I would always encourage anyone to get that. To my knowledge the house is in tip-top shape and very clean. Title policy paid by the buyer. Other deal specifics will be worked out with a buyer. This is just a starting point for now.

-Located in Castlegate II.
- Our build is scheduled for a summer 2023 completion. Looking to retain our house until 1 month after closing of our build officially closes. Hoping for April-August 2023 as a probable goal. Our builder says 10-12 months, but you never really know.
- I will be able to show the house in later November until December 20th range. I will send pictures anytime before then.
- Built in 2019 by Blackstone. Like-new condition as I travel a lot for work. Currently have family keeping an eye on everything.
- 3612 square feet.
- Houses sell very fast on our street. A house right next to ours is pending contract now for $725,000 and it is about 3700 square feet. That one sold quickly.
- 4 bedroom (with a 23x12 secondary "master bedroom" or "theater" sized room), 4 full baths with second story. Private office with built-in shelving and closet. Extra living room upstairs. Extra storage room next to laundry room.

Please list your interest and emails below (please type them in a way to avoid bots) and then I will email you and open up the communication. We can discuss all relevant detains in private. If we touch base and you end up wanting to offer, please bring your best offer. Right now my wife and I are in no rush because we plan to officially list this next spring (2023). We just thought we would give other Ags a chance first and early and see if there is an offer that works. I got the lots for my build by luck after contacting the seller directly (they were not on the market). This was after I could not win any bidding wars (some of the offers in the current market are crazy with the Californians and out-of-state people coming in). So we understand firsthand the stress of what is going on out there.

EDIT: HOUSE PICTURES LOCATED HERE

Hope to hear from y'all.

Please post those emails below if you are interested and I will reach out shortly. Thanks and Gig 'Em.

Good luck! I'm sure that you will have no trouble selling that property, in that location. We have also done FSBO transactions very smoothly, and I think you're definitely going the right route.
We have also used flat fee MLS listing services to reach a wider audience; I think I paid around $300 and provided the photos, descriptions, etc. If you don't find a TexAgs buyer, you might consider this for more exposure.
Congrats on the new house, and good luck with the sale of the old one! Sounds like it will make a great home for a lucky family.

Thank you, my friend. Appreciate the great advice and kind comments! I edited my link above for pictures of the house. It is a mix of pictures but I wanted people to get the best idea of what it looks like from different angles. I always think things look nicer in person than pictures, but this should help with the floor plan and giving folks the general idea of what it entails.

Nice looking place. Maybe some pictures of the back porch/ outside area?

I believe the back porch is shown in picture 2857 and then the back and side yard pics are the last couple of pictures in the batch. The back is a 10-foot ceiling height.

Quite a have your cake situation. The fact people actually are lining up for this already tells the story on what a seller's market we are in.

Yes, I figured it wouldn't hurt to see if this could be a beneficial situation for both parties with interest rates expected to head north over the next year. I will be locking in a 12-month rate this summer to avoid that as best I can on my new build. I was not planning on selling until next spring, so I am in absolutely no rush. I think what I am asking for is a niche market but it helps Aggies, avoids bidding wars (which have been BRUTAL), could save the buyers a lot on rates, and I save with avoiding realtors, and just quite a few other benefits that I prefer to discuss with any serious buyers. But you are right, I have never seen a market like this.

Also, given the CS market is predicted to rise another 10% by this time next year (maybe more in this area), that is good for a buyer. I also get to lower my LTV ratio and not worry about moving into a storage room later, I hate moving twice int he Texas summer.

I was watching a YouTube interview with an Texas realtor a few months ago and they were asked "what is the craziest deal you have seen made?" He said that he had a client that was offered for their next house to be paid for by the buyer (out of California) if they sold them their home. I cannot even imagine getting offered that deal, that sounds life-changing.

There are certainly a range of prices in the entire area. The street and side of the subdivision that I live on has houses that are easily going for that price point. They are newer and typically larger square footage with values expected to rise. Thanks for the compliments on the house, I do love it.

12thAngryMan said:

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Wow, I had no clue houses in Castlegate were going for $700+. This market is nuts and I'm apparently more lolpoor than I thought. Nice house though and best of luck with your sale/move.

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Right there with ya. Owning a home at this point is a pipedream.

There is a solid range of homes in B/CS. I am seeing nice homes in this price range fly off the market in the area when listed publicly in the MLS. By listing this deal here I thought I would extend a friendly hand to fellow Aggies by locking out the vast market of people. My offer is certainly not for everyone, but maybe someone. Either scenario works for me. House right next to me flew off the market at $725,000 in a few days.

Wow almost $200 a sq ft. But like you said if people are willing to pay that much the price is right.

Floorplan looks weird to me at least for a buy that has 2-3 kids. If you only had one kid they could occupy the one upstairs bedroom. Having a bedroom right by the front door for a kid seems weird. Also the 2nd master suite concept seems weird but maybe good for couples that don't sleep in the same bed due to snoring so I can see that selling point. At least it is only a semi garage home and they put the entrance of the garage to the side. I can't stand looking at houses that have the garage door flush with the front of the house. So few people park in the garage these days and the neighborhood looks like a parking lot when you look down the street.

Good luck!

Well the floor plan has worked really well for our family. The front bedroom is an office, the wife has her craft room with the built-in white shelving, the upstairs is our guest area for when family visits (great because it provides a separate living space and bedroom/bathroom for privacy), the second master provides a huge bedroom or media room where you could mount a movie screen and have plenty of space with private bath. We really love it. But you do you.

They don't. I stated that I was looking for a possible buyer to buy the house this summer and allow us to remain in the house until a month after the build is completed, like a lease-back. It provides a buyer to get the rate in now before they go up again and then provides us an easier moving solution because I do not want to have to put my stuff in storage if I do not have to. I would be able to have 30 days to move from my current house to the other house, which I would really like to do. I am not asking anyone to get under contract for 15 months, I am asking if they would like to buy the house now and make those arrangements, or something similar. This is not a typical deal and I do not have to sell it at all right now or in the near future. I was just throwing a deal out there in case someone thought it was right for them and they could take advantage of the rising rates, avoiding crazy bidding wars going on right now, and rapid home appreciation. It is all explained up in my description. I am trying to give Aggies a bit of an edge on the market, even if the deal is a bit outside of the box from the norm.

This particular deal isn't for an actual leaseback, I stated it was "like" a leaseback. It is a work-around situation and for a niche buyer. However, I did not know that information you gave me and I do love learning about new things in real estate. So I appreciate that information. That is good to know.

When we get further into a our build, I will plan to offer this house (adjusted for the market at that time) via TexAgs for a bit of time as a regular sale before I list with my realtor. Of course listing with my realtor will have to list at a higher price for their commission fees and I think if I can find a buyer here later then it would be a great situation for everyone involved.

I completely understand. I might be wrong here, but based on your description of the house you bid on, I think I know what house it was. If I am right, it was a really cool place. I check the listings everyday to stay current with the market and have had that hobby for years. If it is the house I think it was, it has a pool and little separate storage garage with beautiful oaks in front of the house and the sun setting in the front of the house. But, I could be wrong and it is another house.

Losing a home with a crazy higher offer (your offer was really good) always stings. We went through those bidding wars over a dozen times and that is one of the reasons I would rather just try the TexAgs method. I still believe in Aggies helping Aggies, even though I might not agree with much of what the current university does sometimes. I wish you the absolute best in your search for a new home. It is brutal out there.

TheHoneybadger said:

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I completely understand. I might be wrong here, but based on your description of the house you bid on, I think I know what house it was. If I am right, it was a really cool place. I check the listings everyday to stay current with the market and have had that hobby for years. If it is the house I think it was, it has a pool and little separate storage garage with beautiful oaks in front of the house and the sun setting in the front of the house. But, I could be wrong and it is another house.

Losing a home with a crazy higher offer (your offer was really good) always stings. We went through those bidding wars over a dozen times and that is one of the reasons I would rather just try the TexAgs method. I still believe in Aggies helping Aggies, even though I might not agree with much of what the current university does sometimes. I wish you the absolute best in your search for a new home. It is brutal out there.

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The house you describe is indeed the one we made the offer on. It was perfect, and we could have avoided the building process. Our current home is about 10 houses from this one. Appreciate the kind words! In the scheme of things it's honestly caviar problems. We are blessed.

while i think the OP's offer here is a bit ridiculous, the answer to your question is yes. $700K plus home sales are very robust in BCS.

you live next to Mike Elko's old place?

mwp02ag said:

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Just and FYI in case you are not aware but the max lease back for a conventional mortgage to 60 or 90 days I believe. Anything longer and lenders consider it an investment property.

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This is what I was getting at, I understand what you are trying to do but you won't get anyone to be able to lock in a rate. You are essentially asking for someone to pay cash for a year or so without any roi

So a few years ago I saw a piece of land in Iola that had a beautiful pond and over ten acres. There was a couple living there in the little home that sat on the property. I contacted the couple and offered to buy the property with several incentives that I thought made the deal quite enticing for them. One part of my offer was to allow them to live in the home for 1-2 years rent free in order to get their things in order for moving out. I knew I was not in a rush to acquire the property, I just wanted the property and I was willing to wait. I did not care about the rent, but I knew I could lock in the interest rate and that the property would increase in value, which I was really right about. In the end, they almost sold to me but then told me that their son wanted to move onto the property with them. So it did not work out, but it got very close.

Anyone involved with the current market knows how insane it is and I know the vast majority of people would not be in a position for this particular deal, but it is on the off-chance that there could be. I know if I wanted to get into a house in South College Station now with a current rate lock, and also knowing it will likely appreciate a lot over the next year alone, my wife and I would not mind buying it and then renting an apartment until the time came to move in. But only if someone likes this type of house and it is what they were looking for. It is next to brand new condition and will stay that way.

I'm in town with two hours to kill. Can I see the house?

Email me here and I'll see if I can set something up depending on when:

soco house 2022 (all in one word with no spaces) at gmail dot com

Just reference your username here on Texags so I'll know. Thanks.

Maybe, unless you're a cash buyer. Plenty of those out there right now.

That's correct. I'm explaining that there are other types of buyers other than those who would need to lock in a rate. Cash buyers would be the type of buyer more interested in the overall price of the home before it appreciates another year and they could purchase it without fighting the competition in the market right now. So yes, there are multiple types of buyers with different needs and goals out there.

Furlock Bones said:

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while i think the OP's offer here is a bit ridiculous, the answer to your question is yes. $700K plus home sales are very robust in BCS.

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Where do people work that pay for a house like that? Do university jobs pay that well?

There's lots of business in BCS now not just the University. Add in retirees and remote workers.