Colony Ridge Developer Tells His Side...

Gator92

1:57p, 10/12/23

Trey Harris was interviewed this morning and gave some candid answers to some hard questions. You can listen to the podcast below.

TLDL: He's doing nothing illegal, has obtained all necessary permits, and has no TCEQ violations. Claims that all customers have TXDL and most are relocating from Harris Co. Lends money to a market that can't get a conventional loan. Got a charter school built.

He came off as a simple small business owner. He built a affable, American Dream narrative and pointed out haters as racists.

Genius...

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-the-michael-berry-show-27764850/episode/mb-talked-to-the-developer-of-125572061/

TxSquarebody

2:09p, 10/12/23

Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.

aggiez03

2:34p, 10/12/23

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

The Collective

2:49p, 10/12/23

I've heard about this before - do the school kids go to Cleveland ISD schools?

Pookers

2:52p, 10/12/23

In reply to TxSquarebody

TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.

Conservatives have no answer to this. Muh private business and all.

aggiez03

2:53p, 10/12/23

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.

aggiez03

3:50p, 10/12/23

I read the Google reviews online for Colony Ridge.

It is about what you expect.

No restrictions, shanties and old trailers, loose dogs running through the neighborhood.

Another review said that they charge 12.9% interest and you cannot refinance.

Basically they are taking advantage of people who can't get credit elsewhere and don't know any better than to buy property at an extremely high interest rate. I would like to know what the default rate is on those loans and how many times they re-sell the same property.

EDIT: 97% of Liberty county Foreclosures are in Colony Ridge.
In 2020, 13% of the properties sold (2900 lots) were foreclosed on

Trey Harris and his brother are Billionaires. I have never even heard of the guy.

SockStilkings

3:59p, 10/12/23

In reply to aggiez03

aggiez03 said:
I read the Google reviews online for Colony Ridge.

It is about what you expect.

No restrictions, shanties and old trailers, loose dogs running through the neighborhood.

Another review said that they charge 12.9% interest and you cannot refinance.

Basically they are taking advantage of people who can't get credit elsewhere and don't know any better than to buy property at an extremely high interest rate. I would like to know what the default rate is on those loans and how many times they re-sell the same property.

I don't agree with it but if they are abiding by the law then they are simply meeting a market.

I had an opportunity to interview with Rent-a-Center years ago. Resume wise I lined up well for the roll and I was really needing to change jobs, but I just could not see working for a company that essentially takes advantage of people who have not been good with their money or their circumstances led to money / credit problems.

For those hating on this, what is your solution to house these folks?

And Obra Homes led a more "polished" version of this same scheme in the RGV back in the early aughts. I was there to review loans they were packaging to sell to servicers. Most I say was a house selling 4 times in one year but 3 was not uncommon and many, many sold at least twice in a years time.

It would surprise me if there are NOT a dozen or more Colony Ridges in Texas right now.

CDUB98

4:03p, 10/12/23

In reply to TxSquarebody

TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.

BCG Disciple

4:24p, 10/12/23

In reply to aggiez03

aggiez03 said:
I read the Google reviews online for Colony Ridge.

It is about what you expect.

No restrictions, shanties and old trailers, loose dogs running through the neighborhood.

Another review said that they charge 12.9% interest and you cannot refinance.

Basically they are taking advantage of people who can't get credit elsewhere and don't know any better than to buy property at an extremely high interest rate. I would like to know what the default rate is on those loans and how many times they re-sell the same property.

Taking advantage of people for charging 12.9%? Prime is almost 9%. I would argue that 4% over prime does not adequately cover risk, especially when there are no closing costs (closing costs are essentially wrapped into the interest rate).

CDUB98

4:26p, 10/12/23

In reply to BCG Disciple

BCG Disciple said:
aggiez03 said:
I read the Google reviews online for Colony Ridge.

It is about what you expect.

No restrictions, shanties and old trailers, loose dogs running through the neighborhood.

Another review said that they charge 12.9% interest and you cannot refinance.

Basically they are taking advantage of people who can't get credit elsewhere and don't know any better than to buy property at an extremely high interest rate. I would like to know what the default rate is on those loans and how many times they re-sell the same property.

Taking advantage of people for charging 12.9%? Prime is almost 9%. I would argue that 4% over prime does not adequately cover risk, especially when there are no closing costs (closing costs are essentially wrapped into the interest rate).

Is that 12.9% now, or back when prime was running in the 2-3 range?

Funky Winkerbean

4:31p, 10/12/23

In reply to aggiez03

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

A libertarian dream..

Hagen95

4:34p, 10/12/23

Is he forcing them to sign these loans?

Yesterday

4:35p, 10/12/23

There isn't a business in existence that doesn't take advantage of its customer in some shape or form. That's why they're there. If he is defrauding or scamming people then that is one thing. If it's perfectly legal and he's not breaking the law then I have nothing to say.

Are there more honest professions out there?! Absolutely but these people are going to live somewhere. Maybe they prefer to pay out the butt for a trailer on an acre over an apartment.

Teslag

4:37p, 10/12/23

In reply to Pookers

Pookers said:
TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.
Conservatives have no answer to this. Muh private business and all.

What law would you pass against a private property owner to stop it?

AlaskanAg99

4:40p, 10/12/23

I'm assuming unincorporated county. So this is a stare issue as counties are mostly bound by state law.

Is this all well and septic?

aTmAg

4:43p, 10/12/23

In reply to TxSquarebody

TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.

If you find yourself arguing for less liberty, then you are probably 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, the TENANTS 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.

Mas89

4:54p, 10/12/23

In reply to AlaskanAg99

AlaskanAg99 said:
I'm assuming unincorporated county. So this is a stare issue as counties are mostly bound by state law.

Is this all well and septic?

No, water and sewer are provided to the entire subdivision for a connection fee and a monthly bill paid by the residents. One of the many gripes by the old locals is that many residents have makeshift or no septic systems instead of paying for sewer service. So when it floods, raw sewer goes into the drainage ditches to Lake Houston. Harris said 33,000 acres which is 51 square miles if it was square. The all concrete roads, water and sewer were built by the developers own crews. I've heard the concrete roads have no rebar, some type of fiber instead.
The entire colony ridge subdivision runoff and treated/ untreated sewage drains into Lake Houston via the East fork of the SanJacinto river and Luce Bayou. Houston's drinking water comes primarily from Lake Houston.

Funky Winkerbean

4:57p, 10/12/23

In reply to Teslag

Teslag said:
Pookers said:
TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.
Conservatives have no answer to this. Muh private business and all.

What law would you pass against a private property owner to stop it?

Not advocating, but to answer your question, require them to have an HOA.

Old May Banker

5:02p, 10/12/23

Meh... it's his property. I don't agree with it, but I'm sure he'd sell it to f16 under the same terms.

Mas89

5:06p, 10/12/23

In reply to Funky Winkerbean

Harris said they have an HOA and it pays a million a year to the local sheriffs and constables deputies to provide extra off duty security…

Mas89

5:08p, 10/12/23

In reply to Old May Banker

Old May Banker said:
Meh... it's his property. I don't agree with it, but I'm sure he'd sell it to f16 under the same terms.

90,000 1/3 acre lots at $40,000 each. 3,600,000,000 plus all the interest on the financed lots.
3.6 Billion could buy plenty of local and state politicians.

AlaskanAg99

5:11p, 10/12/23

In reply to Mas89

Untreated sewage is a TCEQ violation.

The state could do something IF they wanted to.

TxSquarebody

5:19p, 10/12/23

In reply to Pookers

Pookers said:
TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.
Conservatives have no answer to this. Muh private business and all.

You're correct. The flip side is also true. Right isn't always legal. Good people, bad things, let's get to it!

oldcrow91

5:26p, 10/12/23

In reply to Mas89

Mas89 said:
AlaskanAg99 said:
I'm assuming unincorporated county. So this is a stare issue as counties are mostly bound by state law.

Is this all well and septic?
No, water and sewer are provided to the entire subdivision for a connection fee and a monthly bill paid by the residents. One of the many gripes by the old locals is that many residents have makeshift or no septic systems instead of paying for sewer service. So when it floods, raw sewer goes into the drainage ditches to Lake Houston. Harris said 33,000 acres which is 51 square miles if it was square. The all concrete roads, water and sewer were built by the developers own crews. I've heard the concrete roads have no rebar, some type of fiber instead.
The entire colony ridge subdivision runoff and treated/ untreated sewage drains into Lake Houston via the East fork of the SanJacinto river and Luce Bayou. Houston's drinking water comes primarily from Lake Houston.

Septic is usually a county thing. Hard to believe county would be letting this go unless there are great kickbacks.

ETA or complacency.

Belton Ag

5:27p, 10/12/23

This place is going to be an absolute nightmare when the infrastructure starts breaking down. Who is going to pay to fix sewer and water lines when they break? What about road maintenance, runoff, storm sewers?

one safe place

5:27p, 10/12/23

In reply to Yesterday

Yesterday said:
There isn't a business in existence that doesn't take advantage of its customer in some shape or form. That's why they're there. If he is defrauding or scamming people then that is one thing. If it's perfectly legal and he's not breaking the law then I have nothing to say.

Are there more honest professions out there?! Absolutely but these people are going to live somewhere. Maybe they prefer to pay out the butt for a trailer on an acre over an apartment.

He may or may not be taking advantage of his customer or bringing them any harm. Plenty of others have been, and will be, impacted by what he is doing. I am not sure what anyone expected to hear from him when he was on with Michael Berry, he certainly wasn't going to admit to anything being amiss.

Still wonder where all the missing soil analysis and drainage reports are, guess those haven't been found. Still.

ABATTBQ11

5:31p, 10/12/23

In reply to aggiez03

This is the unfettered capitalism many libertarians cream themselves over

one safe place

5:32p, 10/12/23

In reply to Mas89

Mas89 said:
AlaskanAg99 said:
I'm assuming unincorporated county. So this is a stare issue as counties are mostly bound by state law.

Is this all well and septic?
No, water and sewer are provided to the entire subdivision for a connection fee and a monthly bill paid by the residents. One of the many gripes by the old locals is that many residents have makeshift or no septic systems instead of paying for sewer service. So when it floods, raw sewer goes into the drainage ditches to Lake Houston. Harris said 33,000 acres which is 51 square miles if it was square. The all concrete roads, water and sewer were built by the developers own crews. I've heard the concrete roads have no rebar, some type of fiber instead.
The entire colony ridge subdivision runoff and treated/ untreated sewage drains into Lake Houston via the East fork of the SanJacinto river and Luce Bayou. Houston's drinking water comes primarily from Lake Houston.

It is my understanding those were built by a company owned by Randy Ellis who is a cousin of state representative Earnest Bailes. Donations made to politicians of course.

one safe place

5:34p, 10/12/23

In reply to Mas89

Mas89 said:
Old May Banker said:
Meh... it's his property. I don't agree with it, but I'm sure he'd sell it to f16 under the same terms.
90,000 1/3 acre lots at $40,000 each. 3,600,000,000 plus all the interest on the financed lots.
3.6 Billion could buy plenty of local and state politicians.

Harris and his wife have donated $1.5 million to Abbott. Perhaps he is generous but I wonder what he contributed prior to Colony Ridge?

The Kraken

5:39p, 10/12/23

In reply to Belton Ag

Belton Ag said:
This place is going to be an absolute nightmare when the infrastructure starts breaking down. Who is going to pay to fix sewer and water lines when they break? What about road maintenance, runoff, storm sewers?

I'm not on the land development side but I work with enough to have a basic knowledge (I may get the details wrong, someone in development can correct me). In unincorporated areas the county assumes control and maintenance of the streets after a certain amount of time or once each section nears completion with houses. The water, storm and sanitary sewer lines are the responsibility of the MUD. I'm curious how the MUD will operate when it's optional to connect and how this development got county approval.

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

ABATTBQ11

5:43p, 10/12/23

In reply to aTmAg

aTmAg said:
TxSquarebody said:
Doesn't have to be illegal to be wrong.
If you find yourself arguing for less liberty, then you are probably 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.

MouthBQ98

6:12p, 10/12/23

Slum lord that greased all the right palms already, avoiding the scrutiny that most residential developers get, particularly concerning flooding, utilities, etc.

YouBet

7:08p, 10/12/23

Sounds like Colony Ridge on its way to being the world's largest open air prison.

#amiright?

Belton Ag

7:24p, 10/12/23

In reply to The Kraken

The Kraken said:
Belton Ag said:
This place is going to be an absolute nightmare when the infrastructure starts breaking down. Who is going to pay to fix sewer and water lines when they break? What about road maintenance, runoff, storm sewers?

I'm not on the land development side but I work with enough to have a basic knowledge (I may get the details wrong, someone in development can correct me). In unincorporated areas the county assumes control and maintenance of the streets after a certain amount of time or once each section nears completion with houses. The water, storm and sanitary sewer lines are the responsibility of the MUD. I'm curious how the MUD will operate when it's optional to connect and how this development got county approval.

I'm in development but not rural like this. The stuff I do is smaller but in my projects I'm often putting in storm sewers, sanitary sewers, public sidewalks and parking areas. It's expensive and subject to pretty stringent inspections and specs with the city engineering department. I'm familiar with MUDs but not intimately so.

There is a theory developing in the real estate and development industry that in the future, subdivisions like this and others in suburban areas subject to MUDs will become like downtowns became towards the end of the last century. As the infrastructure begins to age and becomes more and more expensive to maintain, property values will drop and tax revenues will decline.