There
are lots of things happening these days so I thought it would be wise to give
you all an update on the progress made and thoughts on the directions we plan
on going. I resigned my position as manager of A-1 Office Furniture effective the
last day of April. This will free me up to focus on the needs of the Oasis
project.
There
are two aspects of this project. One is to create a place of ministry and the
other is to create a business that will address many needs that exist in this
area. Having two separate goals might cause some concern with those involved or
considering becoming involved with the Oasis Project. There are some who say
you should not mix business with religion so it will be important to make sure
things are clear regarding this.
I am
not “mixing” religion and business, these will be operated as separate entities.
But you have to understand I graduated from Bible college and was ordained into
the ministry in 1980. A precept I try to live by says “Whatever you do, in
words or deeds, do all to the glory of God”. God is first and foremost in my
life. Does that mean I can’t be a successful businessman? Of course not. God
has blessed many in the Bible with great wealth and success but with that comes
equally great responsibility, along with a danger. That danger has pride at its
core and with pride comes many problems. Jesus said to “Seek first the Kingdom
of God, and all these other things will be added to you” regarding material
things.
Let
me explain what I have in mind when it comes to ministry. There is a great need
in Martin County for a bible based alcohol and drug recovery group, kind of
like AA. I hope to use part of the Oasis store building to hold these weekly
meetings in. Then there will be the spiritual needs of the hundreds of people
coming to the area and using our facilities for housing. For them I hope to
hold bible studies, provide a pathway to God, and help them get involved in
local churches. There are always times
when people need some spiritual counseling or just someone to talk to and that
is ministry. That’s it. That is what I am thinking when I use the term “ministry”.
No big fancy plans, just helping people out. What may eventually grow from that
I can’t say and won’t worry about. This is God’s project.
Now
we will talk about the business end of things and I will outline a basic plan
of action. The application for being registered as a limited liability company
has been filled out and sent in to Austin. I have no idea how long it takes for
that to be approved and sent back so we are waiting now. When it does get
approved then we can apply for a federal ID number, resale certificate, and
then open a bank account in the LLC’s name. The official name we applied for is
Martin County Oasis. When I checked that name was still available. Once we are
a legal entity with the proper documentation we can start getting serious. We
will need to create and establish credit for the Oasis that will be needed to
purchase material and commodities required to build the business. Some of that
credit can be established based on the credit history of the owners and
investors of the LLC.
The
current assets of The Oasis consists of the property on I-20, which includes
nearly a half acre of land and an 1800 sq. foot brick building, a 2004 Ford
F150 pickup I purchased at auction, some tools bought for refurbishing the
building, and about $13,000 in cash. Future assets can include up to fifty
acres of my land to be developed. I have had several people contact me about
the possibility of investing in this project and will carefully consider that
after consultation with the current investors. The type of LLC we are
registering is called a Series LLC. We did this with future investors in mind. With
a Series LLC the Martin County Oasis LLC will be the parent company under which
we can create as many other LLCs as we need. With this arrangement we will be
able to segregate an investor or group of investors to the particular area they
are interested in. For instance a group of investors may only be interested in
financing the cost of putting in ten cabins. We will establish an LLC
specifically for that group and those ten cabins will be their project. There
are other advantages to this arrangement that I can cover at a later time.
There
will be two types of investors, long term and short term. The short term investors
will have a set amount of cash and desire a quick turn around time for their
investment, something like five or so years where they get their investment
back with a profit. The long term investors are more interested in providing a
source of income for the years to come, where their investment sits intact and
they reap the benefits through dividends paid as long as the funds remain in
the investment vehicle. We intend to be able to facilitate both types of
investors.
Here
is the plan. First we want to prepare the half acre store site for cabins
and/or RV spaces. This will require leveling out the area and to do that right
I need to rent or find a backhoe but till then I will use a back blade on my
farm tractor. There is a spot where a house used to be that has the remnants of
the old cesspool that is caving in. This will take some work as it is concrete
and won’t be easy to break up. Hopefully a backhoe can do the job.
Once
leveled then I need to dig trenches for water, sewage, and electric lines. Much
of that may need to be done by hand because of the underground fiber optic
cable that runs near the fence line. Then we will install the water, sewage and
electric lines with access points for each of the ten spaces where they can be
hooked up to the cabins or RVs. The septic tank needs to be pulled out of the
ground and moved to a new spot at the corner of the property farthest from the
water well. Another job for a backhoe or some serious use of muscle. I think we
would be wise to but a catch tank at the top corner of the property to hold the
sewage from the five spaces on the back fence line. It will then be directed to
the relocated septic tank.
When
all that is done then we can hook up the electricity and put on the correct
connections. We are hoping to bring in caliche to create a good surface for
vehicles to drive on and RVs or cabins to rest on. Right now the best price I’ve
found is about ten grand but I am sure we can find a better price and do a lot
of the leveling and compacting ourselves. We have ordered a bigger transformer
to be installed that will be capable of supplying the electricity needs of
these cabins, RVs, and the store. Our desire is to be able to have cabins
and/or RVs on the property as soon as possible for that will start generating
cash flow.
You
notice I say cabins and/or RVs a lot. My research clearly shows that cabins
will generate a much higher revenue stream than RVs. We visited an RV park and
man camp Sunday. It is only a month old under the new owners. The man camp is
in the process of being built now with about eight mobile homes visible.
Despite only being open a month all 150 RV spots were full with a waiting list.
This park is getting $500 a month for each RV spot if contracted for three
months. The monthly rental is $600. That means they are generating $75,000
every month and that works out to $900,000 a year. Not bad cash flow.
But
how does that compare to cabins? Right down the interstate from the store, just
a few miles on the way to Midland, is a new enterprise called “Horseshoe Lodge”.
It currently has 34 small cabins, that look like storage sheds and are only 300
sq feet each. They are set up as hotel rooms with a bed, bathroom, and a
kitchenette. His sign says the rooms rent for $99 a night but what I heard is
that he rents monthly at $89 a night. That works out to $2670 a month and with
34 units $90,780 a month or 1,089,360 a year. Over a million a year is not bad
for 34 cabins.
What
I plan on doing is to get cabins twice the size of those little sheds down the
road. We have been doing a lot of research and have found several possible
options. One of the best values we found is Hawk Buildings out of Clyde Texas
(near Abilene) and a 16 x 38 steel cabin will run around $23,000. We need to
get good mattresses, a television, and other amenities. I am a long term
planner and what we know is that there is a huge building surge as companies
rush to meet the needs of this oil boom. Hotels are flying up as quick as they
can be built along with RV Parks, apartments, and houses. What will eventually
happen is that there will be a saturation point where there will be more
housing available than needed. When that occurs these people, who are making
good money, will have more options, choices, and can be pickier regarding where
they stay. That is why I want to invest now in higher quality structures that
will help us stand out in the crowd.
The
cabins that will be placed at the interstate property will be highly visible
and a form of advertising to the 30 plus thousand people who will drive past daily. It will be
important to make a good impression there. Understand that the interstate
property is just the start, the seed if you will, of our long term development
plans. I have 50 acres that I plan to make available for this. We can easily
fit 100 cabins and 150 RV spaces on that property, along with a community
center, supply store, restaurant, swimming pool, and recreation facility in
that area. And we can do it in a way that is roomier and not at all crowded
like many of the facilities I have seen. The initial need is for worker housing
but what will happen is that as these people come here from all parts of the
nation and find the jobs they seek they will start bringing family here. Then
they will be looking for better housing and a community they can fit in with.
We will keep that in mind and as the Lord wills and makes possible we hope to
be able to meet those needs too. 100 cabins renting at $2000 a month will bring
in 2.4 million dollars a year. That is a price lower than current rates. I don’t
desire to gouge and would rather offer prices that are lower and fairer than
the competition. Greed is not a good thing and flexibility is advisable.
Now
to the store building. By itself the potential of that store is tremendous. Its
placement at exit 151 on the interstate makes it a prime real estate property
simply because of the traffic flow. We can sell ice, water, soft drinks, and
candy and do good. But we can do much better with a little work. There is a lot
of work to do to bring it up to speed. Right now it is a brick building with a
steel roof that needs a lot. The windows in the front were boarded up decades
ago and some of the wood sills are rotted. The exposed wood surfaces on the
roof are also in bad shape and need to be replaced or repaired. Inside there is
a lot of cosmetic repair work to be done. Plaster walls to be patched and holes
in drywall to be fixed. The wiring is old and not up to our plans so that must
be attended to. Both bathrooms need updating. Currently the building is plumbed
for propane. I personally am inclined to go all electric but it may be smart to
retain some of the propane for a possible commercial kitchen or winter heat. I
don’t know enough about that to decide so am welcoming suggestions and ideas regarding
this. For that matter I would greatly appreciate any feedback regarding any
aspect of this venture because I am just smart enough to know I don’t know as
much as I would like.
We
want to make the front room the convenience store area, with coolers, shelves,
and all that kind of stuff. The room behind it will be a place to sit down and
eat a sandwich or burrito but also where we will hold recovery group meetings
and bible studies. The third room at the back of the building is where the
kitchen will be. In addition there is a side area that was a porch that has
been roughly enclosed. This area is where we plan to put the washers and dryers
that we will have available for the renters of cabins or RV spots. Eventually
we plan to have a commercial kitchen that can provide food to go for the many
workers in the area. I see supplying worker needs as a huge market and foresee
a line of trucks stocking up for the day early every morning, getting ice,
water, food, and lots of hot coffee. And they will hear about Jesus in the
process too.
So
that’s where we are at today. This is something I have prayed years about and
we can see the hand of God as things happen we thought could not. I have been
called a fool and laughed at for dreaming big. We appreciate your prayers and
invite all who feel inclined to consider getting involved. Thanks for the
encouragement and prayers.
Bob and Cherie Westbrook
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