Real Estate Investments — Lake Charles, LA
We Buy Homes and Land Across Louisiana
We love real estate and we have been investing in it for more than 25 years. If you have property you would like to sell — or property you think we should buy — we would like to hear about it.
This page is for sellers, not buyers
Most of the site is about work we do for customers. This part is different: here we are the buyer. Upward Development started in real estate and timber before it became a construction company, and acquisitions are still an active part of what we do rather than a sideline.
What that means practically is that you are not being routed to a lead form that gets sold to somebody else. You are talking to the people who would actually be buying the property, which is why the conversation can be short and the answer can be direct.
We buy homes in any condition
We have been in the real estate business for more than 25 years and we are currently looking for acquisition opportunities. We buy homes in any condition — including the ones that would not survive a traditional listing.
Storm damage, deferred maintenance, a house that needs more work than the seller wants to take on, an inherited property nobody local can manage, a rental that has run its course. Because we are a construction company, the repairs are not a mystery to us and they do not need to be a mystery to you either. Please contact us if you have property you would like to sell, or that you think we should purchase.
We invest in income-producing property
We love income-producing properties as well. We have bought and built single-family rentals, RV parks and short-term rentals, and we are looking for more.
That includes land with a use behind it — a tract that could carry rentals, an RV park site, or acreage worth holding. Being a contractor as well as a buyer means we can see what a property could be rather than only what it currently is, and we can price the difference ourselves instead of waiting on somebody else's estimate.
What we look at
If you are wondering whether your property is something we would be interested in, these are the things that actually matter to us:
- Homes in any condition, anywhere in Louisiana — condition is not a disqualifier and neither is a house that would not pass an inspection
- Raw land and acreage, with or without road frontage and with or without a clear use already in mind
- Existing single-family rentals, including ones that are not currently performing
- RV park sites and short-term rental property
- Inherited or estate property, including situations where the family is out of state and cannot manage it
- Land that needs clearing, drainage or a pad before it is worth anything — that is our own crews, so it is not a reason for us to walk away
How selling to us works
You tell us what you have
Call or text 318-452-7653, or send the address and a few photos. You do not need to clean anything up first and you do not need to have a price in mind.
We look at it
Sometimes that can be done from the address, the parcel information and photos. For most properties we want to see it, and we come to it.
We tell you yes or no, plainly
If it is not something we would buy, you will hear that rather than being strung along. If it is, you get a number and the reasoning behind it.
You decide, on your timeline
There is no version of this where somebody calls you eleven times. If the answer is no, or not now, that is a complete answer.
Questions we get from sellers
- Do you buy houses that need a lot of work?
- Yes. That is much of what we look at. We are a construction company, so a house that needs a roof, a foundation repair or a full renovation is a scope we can price ourselves rather than a reason to pass.
- Do you only buy in Lake Charles?
- No. We buy across Louisiana. Our construction work is concentrated in Southwest Louisiana, but acquisitions are not limited to it.
- Are you a wholesaler who will assign my contract to someone else?
- No. We buy for our own portfolio. When you talk to us you are talking to the buyer.
- Do I need a realtor?
- You are welcome to use one and we will work with them. You do not need one to have a conversation with us. If you are not sure which way you are better off, that is a fair question to ask us directly and we will give you our honest read even when it is not the answer that suits us.
- What about land with no house on it?
- We buy raw land and acreage. Land that needs clearing or drainage work before it is usable is not a problem — that is our own equipment. We also wrote up what to check before buying raw land in Louisiana, which is worth reading whichever side of the transaction you are on.
- How fast can you close?
- Faster than a financed retail sale, because we are not waiting on a lender or an appraisal, but the honest answer depends on the title work and anything unusual about the property. You will get a real timeline rather than a slogan.
Related reading and work
If you are on the buying side of a land deal, or you own land you are trying to make usable:
Send us the address
Call or text 318-452-7653 with an address, or email lucas@upwarddevelopment.us with a few photos. If it is something we would buy we will tell you, and if it is not we will tell you that too.