May be insane, but I’m working out the plans for a new MHP development on 20 acres of ag land I own in a hot county in Texas. New SFR dev. around us but our property’s not city, so it should be doable. I’ve seen the opinions about uphill battles with new developments in city limits. I’ll have to design septic that will work for the park. Property has a beautiful 2.5 acre lake in the center, so I may do a mix of RV product as well.
I’ll keep you guys posted on details as I steer through it.
Every county in Texas can have different septic requirements. I remember I was looking at a development in Montgomery County and they have a requirement that you can only have one septic system per acre, and as a result when you develop you have the size the septic to comply with that requirement.
It’s not a real problem, per se, but there are still hoops to jump through. Keep us posted - it’s great to see the economics for development becoming more common.
Thanks for the response. Once I have some more specific information on the septic requirements, I’ll be happy to share. I’m curious to know at this moment if a larger, commercial septic system will be approved by the city or if it’s not feasible for a project like this.
You can have a septic designer in the county give you an idea of your options for < $500 based on the soil, and water usage for your development.
Have you considered a sewage package plant instead of septic?
I haven’t. I’m looking into that right now. I’m seeing ranges of $300K-1M on those so far, so it’s going to depend heavily on which side of the spectrum that falls on. Will update on any findings regarding that.
Excited to hear about this - very unicorn of a project 
Thank you very much for promising to keep us in the loop. As it happens, I am also investigating a development in Texas at this moment. We are coming to the end of our due diligence. And it looks like the cost per developed lot will be in excess of $50k, NOT INCLUDING LAND.
Is this crazy? We also have to extend municipal water 3/4 mile. Which will add at least $500k closer to $750k I’m told.
Anyone have comment or comparison? I’m going to get more precise numbers next week I’m hoping but this deal is not penciling out without some other kicker.
We’re coming in at about $25k hard costs per pad for development in New Mexico. Though I’m coming to find that the scope of work in these estimates can vary quite a bit, when you factor in amortization of utilities and things like that.
$50K per lot without land is pretty high for SFR in most areas of Texas, let alone MHP, in my opinion.
I’d put in two water wells until the city pays to extend service. Can still recover costs as a utility, but granted compliance with EPA requirements and treatment equipment may be problematic. Check water quality from neighbors with deep wells to see if they can give you an indication if that’s a viable option.
Other than roads and pads what is driving that cost up so high? Is this including cost of bringing the home in too? Electric service can come back really high if you’re getting quotes from a bunch of master electricians in a rural market.
I will summarize and get back to you. I too am curious what costs so much. Cement roads for one thing (recommended for high quality long term).
Colton, what are you estimating your total price to be per lot all-in?
Colton
How did your project come out, I am planning a similar project in Lufkin, TX
Hey Colton any updates on this?
-Michelle
There are so many variables that will determine development costs. I’m currently adding 9 lots to an existing park I own. The lots front the park’s road so there will be no need for road construction. The city owned main water line runs parallel to the park’s road so no cost to bring water into the community, but there is still a cost to install nine taps into the main water line with service lines and meters to each lot. I had to clear trees and haul away, could not burn due to proximity to existing homes. Property was low and lots of dirt needed to be brought in for fill. Sewer lines with two manholes need to be installed and linked to existing sewerage line(all gravity flow into city sewerage system). All in including land purchase of 1.6 acres, permitting, survey, engineering, utilities, subsurface and open ditch drainage , street lights, fire hydrant, etc will be $30,000 to $35,000 per lot.
Every single circumstance is different depending on local regulatory requirements, cost of land, prep of land, whether or not road exists or needs to be built and type of road built, type of utilities that need to be built or expanded.
Good luck with the project! I am interested in seeing how things go.