Reid's Pine Update and Closing Deals
Trevor provides a business update on his real estate development operations, focusing on acreage lot subdivisions in the Houston market. He discusses closing a large 1200-acre deal, progress on a 26-lot subdivision near Hempstead, and explains why he's positioning himself in the 'Goldilocks' market segment between small mom-and-pop investors and large builders.
Summary
Trevor opens by sharing he recently returned from a family vacation in the Dominican Republic and is now providing an update on his real estate development business. He highlights closing a large 1200-acre subdivision that took longer than expected but delivered strong returns. His current major project is a 26-lot acreage subdivision outside Hempstead, Texas, developed in partnership with a family office from Houston. The project has completed power company engineering and is moving into the cut and fill phase for road engineering. They expect to need only one detention pond, which will result in losing part of one lot. He's awaiting road construction quotes before accelerating the project timeline. An LOI exists for all 26 lots from a builder interested in a two-year takedown, which Trevor notes is longer than preferred and remains under discussion. Trevor emphasizes his focus on 1 to 1.5-acre lot subdivisions near Houston, despite being five hours away, due to market opportunities and his network of people on the ground. He acknowledges that development is complex and challenging, and that he's focusing on boutique subdivisions of 20-60 lots that can be completed in one to two years rather than pursuing high-density development with MUDs, TIPs, and other complex structures. He explains the advantages of operating outside ETJs and city limits, working directly with counties that are receptive to quality acreage lot products. County approval processes typically take 4-6 months and involve extensive specifications and nitpicking. He notes this market is too large for typical mom-and-pop investors but too small for major builders like Lennar and KB Homes, making it ideal for his business model. Trevor mentions building significant equity through the planning and road construction process. Additional projects include potential owner-financed subdivisions with mobile homes on 1.5-acre lots to address affordability, and spec home builds in the $800,000 to $1 million range once lots are acquired. He acknowledges growth is mentally and emotionally challenging despite having a good team, and plans to expand podcast content. He'll be in Houston for the next three days working on the subdivision project.
About this episode
<p>Today we are talking about our project in Hempstead, and what the closings have looked like for the past few weeks. </p>
Key Insights
- Trevor argues that acreage lot subdivisions in the 20-60 lot range represent an optimal market position because the cost and complexity barrier prevents mom-and-pop investors from competing while the lot density remains too low to attract major national builders.
- Trevor claims that county governments outside of city limits and ETJs are highly receptive to quality acreage lot products of 1-1.5 acres per lot, viewing them favorably compared to high-density developments they normally handle from major municipalities.
- Trevor contends that planning and road construction in subdivision development creates substantial equity building during the development process itself, before any lots are sold.
- Trevor experienced that engineering coordination with power companies for right-of-ways and utility easements must be completed before advancing to road construction and cut-and-fill engineering phases.
- Trevor observed that growth in real estate development is mentally and emotionally taxing even with a strong team in place, as managing multiple complex projects creates worry about doing right by various stakeholders.
Topics
Transcript
Hey guys, this is Trevor. It is June, July 26, 2026. Just got back from a week with the family out in the Dominican Republic, stayed at the Hard Rock Resort there. It was a lot of fun. Had some seaweed that didn't work real good, but the pina coladas were good. And that's really all that matters and spending time with family. So anyway, I'm gonna send everybody kind of an update what we've been working on, good, bad, ugly. Last month or so, we've closed a large deal that we had out in this neck of the woods, a 1200 acre subdivide that took us longer we wanted to but the rate returns were still very very good…
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