Mississippi Gulf Coast

... A Top Market for Investors

© 2006 by Justin Ryan& Wendy Patton of Investing Tours, Inc

We have been real estate investors for our entire adult lives. For the most successful real estate investors, the search for "the next profitable deal" never ends. Over the years, we have performed this analysis on just about every type of investment under the sun, and within the vast majority of markets in our country.

With all the years of "constant searching", we have analyzed a boat-load of investments. This amount of experience makes you very sensitive to the investment that is a "slam dunk deal".

The set of unique circumstances that exist right now on the Mississippi gulf coast are like none we have ever seen. As investors, we look high and low for these type of circumstances.

The fact of the matter is, we can't find these circumstances all the time. We've never been interested in making a mediocre real estate investments. The type of investment that gets us excited - and the one that we always strive for - is the one that contains so many powerful factors that we literally have no choice but to do it. Because not doing it would mean too much lost opportunity. This level of uniqueness exists in only ONE place right now in our country. All of us know what happened to the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005...Hurricane Katrina. Katrina caused a horrific level of destruction to the Mississippi gulf coast.

90% of Biloxi, Mississippi - Completely Destroyed

When we hear the word "Katrina", most people think New Orleans - not Biloxi. The reason for this is because New Orleans got hit much harder than Biloxi, it is larger in population, and it received the majority of media coverage. New Orleans is WAY behind Biloxi in rebuilding...and it is far too early to invest in.

Biloxi, however, is a different story. The city is being completely and totally re-built, and the re-building is moving very quickly. Why is Biloxi moving so much faster? One big reason...casinos. Which we'll talk about in a moment.

Fifty-five thousand homes need to be rebuilt in the Biloxi market. Less than 10,000 of them are complete right now, leaving 45,000 to go. We are on the very front-end of the re-build. Right now we have a situation where there is a huge amount of DEMAND in the market with a very limited amount of SUPPLY. This has created a circumstance where there are not nearly enough homes available to live in. Homes are renting in just days on market at 10-20% above market rent.

This has created a unique situation for the real estate investor, and it is like none we have ever seen before. This is an opportunity to help a community get re-built, and also make a powerful profit for doing so. Never in our nation's history has there been this level of destruction on a prime, waterfront piece of land. As a result of the destruction, the entire community is being re-built. Which means that when things are complete - everything will be brand new. A brand new community that is also on the water is something that does not exist right now in America. All of the water-front communities were developed a long time ago. Five years from now the Biloxi market is going to be like nothing we have ever seen before.

We are at the very beginning of the re-build cycle in Biloxi. The total re-building process will be up to 10 years in length.

There is also a $51 Million Airport Expansion happening in Biloxi. The airport expansion has historically proven to GROW a real estate market. Ft. Myers, Florida is just one example of this phenomena...back in the early 1980's that area was vacant Florida territory. Then in 1983, Ft. Myers opened its international airport. That event caused Ft. Myers to see record levels of growth and appreciation. Biloxi is undergoing the same sort of airport expansion, which will be completed in 2007. This is yet another reason that Biloxi has climbed to the top of our radar screen.

Biloxi receives 10 million annual visitors. The biggest reason for that of course...casino gambling. Prior to the hurricane, there were 12 casinos in operation in Biloxi. For many months, all of them were closed down in order to repair and re-build. Just 4 months ago, only 3 casinos were open. Right now...8 casinos are open. By the time we get to the end of the year, 10 casinos will be re-open.

You can tell what is happening. It is now 1 year after the storm...and the casinos have had a year to rebuild. The re-build has reached critical mass, and over the next 3 months one casino after another will begin re-opening.

Every time a casino re-opens a series of events unfold. Thousands of workers come back to work. Those workers need somewhere to live. Thousands of tourists come back to visit the casino. Those tourists need somewhere to stay.

This creates a new influx of DEMAND for real estate in the market. And you know what happens to real estate prices as the demand pounds into the market...higher real estate values.

The short term vision in Biloxi is very exciting, but the long term vision is even more exciting. There is a 5-year proposal to put 22 casinos in the Biloxi market. MGM, Harrah's, Steve Wynn, HardRock, and Donald Trump himself will be building a $1.3 Billion casino in Biloxi.

It takes between 1,000 - 3,500 employees to run a casino. 60% of these employees rent the piece of real estate that they live in. This provides an on-going stream of residents for properties.

The timing literally could not be better to invest in Biloxi...and now you know why. And there is something we haven't even talked about yet.

There is also an additional incentive that exists in this emerging market...which, for many of us will be the biggest reason of all to invest there.

In this particular market, the IRS has made it possible for the real estate professional to write-off 50% of the value of the property the very FIRST year it's owned. 50 PERCENT WRITE-OFF in year 1 alone. This is BONUS depreciation which is in addition to the depreciation you already get to claim on your income tax return for your rental properties. It is by far the most phenomenal tax incentive we have seen in our nation's history. This act is called the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act. It is also called the GOZONE act. It was passed by the IRS on December 21, 2005. It has a limited window of opportunity. Now you know why we do as much investing as we can in the Biloxi area.

The bottom-line is...Biloxi is a PHENOMENAL market to invest in. Possibly the very best market in the United States. The re-birth of the casinos and the incredible growth in the market, combined with the tax incentive absolutely push this market over the top. Five years from now Biloxi is going to look like a miniature Las Vegas. And the investors who entered at the beginning are the ones who will make all of the profit.

Because we have been doing so much investing in Biloxi, our phones have been ringing off the hook. As you would guess, our fellow investors want to know how they can also get involved in this level of opportunity. We take groups of investors with us to tour the Biloxi area. We have found that it adds even more power to our investing when we have a group of folks with us. This adds a ton of negotiation power with developers. You are welcome to contact us to find out if any space remains. Happy investing!

Contact Justin and Wendy at 248-394-0821 to learn more about emerging market investment opportunities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast