My Favorite Piece of Real Estate

Growing up, I have been fortunate enough to live in a wonderful home in a great neighborhood.  Our house in Sugar Land has always been one of the most special places to me in the world, but for the sake of originality, I'd say our family's bayhouse is my favorite piece of land.

My family finished designing the house in 2004 and construction concluded in the summer of 2005.  We built the house on the coast of Cape Carancahua, a small inlet of Matagorda Bay near the Gulf of Mexico.  My father, who graduated from Texas A&M with a Master's degree in Real Estate, chose this area for several reasons, but primarily because his Aunt and Uncle had owned some property there for a few years prior to us building.  In order to build a large enough house to host large family gatherings, fishing tournaments, and getaway weekends for family and friends, we purchased to adjacent lots to build the house on.

Part of what makes this house so special is that almost the entire project was completed by the family. My father and grandfather designed the layout and drew the blueprints while also laying the concrete foundation and setting up all of the plumbing.  My uncle configured and installed all of the air conditioning and insulation for the house.  My mother designed the interior and furnished the living room and bedrooms.  We had a contractor build the dock that extended from the bulkhead but of course my father and grandfather couldn't help but intervene and carry much of the workload!  I honestly can say that this house, and the effort and passion I saw my dad and grandpa pour into building it, are what led my brother to graduate from the Master of Real Estate program here at Texas A&M and what inspired me to apply for the program as well.

Ever since the house was completed when I was 12 years old, this house has been a second home to me.  Countless weekend trips including numerous 4th of July's, New Year's Eve parties, fishing tournaments, hunting getaways, and simply casual, relaxing weekends were spent in this house.  The time I've spent out on the water skiing, tubing, wake-boarding and fishing are part of who I am today.  This house wasn't just a financial investment, it was an investment in family.  This bayhouse will always hold a special place in my heart, and the reasons above are why it's my favorite piece of real estate!


Thanks for reading and I'll be back to post again soon!

Introduction

Howdy!


My name is Austin Decell and I am a senior finance major from Sugar Land, Texas.  This semester I'll be posting updates on this blog to track my progress through my Real Estate course, FINC 371, and to keep up with current events in the economy and real estate market. Today I'd like to share a few things about myself to allow you to get to know me a little better!

As mentioned before, after being born in Chicago I grew up in Sugar Land my entire life, which is a suburb in the southwest Houston area.  During my free time I love playing football and basketball with friends, going to see movies and attending Texas A&M sporting events throughout the school year.  I currently work for the Texas A&M Athletic Department and have been employed by the department for almost 2 years now.  I will be graduating this Spring (May 2015) with a Bachelor's degree in Finance and after graduation I plan to enroll in the Master of Real Estate Program here at Texas A&M.  My graduate school plans are what directed me to taking this course this semester, as I hope this class will expand my knowledge of the sectors of the Real Estate market, specifically the commercial side.  I hope this course will allow me to become mare familiar with long term investment strategies that I can begin to utilize as I build my overall portfolio in the near future. As for long term goals, this class ideally will aid me in making wise financial decisions in the future when I prepare to become a first-time homeowner.

Outside of academics and real estate, I have a lot of things on my "bucket list" that I hope to see and experience in my life.  As a very devout Texas A&M sports fan, I want to visit every school in the SEC and attend a football game inside their home stadiums. So far, I'm almost halfway to achieving that goal with a few road trips planned for this upcoming fall.  I also want to spend a few months in Europe and experience a different culture for a while at some point before settling down and being married. Lastly, I want to be able to one day put enough money aside to fully pay for each of my kids' way to attend Texas A&M University and become third generation Aggies in the Decell family line.  If they choose to go anywhere else for school, they can pay their own way! Only kidding of course (maybe...).  A couple of my favorite websites include ESPN.com, TexAgs.com and online.WSJ.com. What's unique about me is that during my senior year of high school my retinas detached in both of my eyes and I required immediate reconstructive surgeries on both.  Thankfully, today my eyes are both healthy and stable, and a silicon ring (called a Scleral buckle for those interested in researching the procedure) now wraps around my right eye underneath the tissue in order to prevent future detachments.  I guess you could say I see things in a different perspective now (pun intended).

Well that's all I've got this time around. Stay tuned to my blog throughout the semester to follow my progress in the course and to stay up to date with what we are covering in class. I look forward to writing for you all over the next few months!


Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Austin Decell