The Story of Live Oak Lake
By Isaac French
I spent $2.3M building 7 cabins and a charming lake on 5 acres in rural Texas.
I was 24, with $30k, a dream, and plenty of determination. With the help of friends, family, and subcontractors, I designed and built the place in 10 months.
A year later, we sold it for $7M.
Here's the story:
I grew up in an industrious family. My dad was a plumber. My parents homeschooled and raised me and my 9 siblings on a farm. It was a wonderful childhood.
I spent a few years working in construction, first in bookkeeping and then learning the trades. My dad transitioned his business to general contracting, and eventually, I started running projects. I was 19.
I’ve always enjoyed art and architecture, and my grandma gave me and my siblings art lessons ever since I can remember. I’ve also always loved business, and started just about every kind imaginable as a kid :)
After gaining a bit of experience in construction, accounting and art, I had an idea:
Build a “modern cabin village” of overnight rentals, hidden in nature. A project that combined all my bits and pieces of work and life experience: art, accounting, entrepreneurship, building…
It was novel, but not that novel. But, I believed this place could be special. It could be an experience—a feeling; not just a place to stay. I don’t know exactly why, but the dream burned strong and I believed in it.
At this point I was 24 and self-employed as an accountant.
One morning while scrolling Zillow, I found a 5-acre property just down the road from our home. It was a jungle, but hidden in all that brush were some massive live oak trees and a cow pond.
An hour later, I was onsite with the listing agent. It was surreal. This was the place to build. I could just feel—and see it.
…the glass cabin fronts jutting out around a beautiful lake, trails winding down to the shore, and light reflections dancing on the water at dusk.
It would be called Live Oak Lake.
Two hours after that, the property was under contract for $138,000 cash, to close in 30 days.
I got on the phone.
By the end of the day, I had secured the capital needed to close on the land and seed the project. This came via a line of credit some family members had access to through their small business. They took 40% equity in the deal.
Then I started pitching the idea to local banks. I had no clue what I was doing.
I madly sketched and sketched, throwing every ounce of creativity and construction experience I had into it. I purchased some plans on the internet, then hired a freelancer on Fiverr to modify them to my liking for a few hundred bucks.
I made a site plan out of a google earth shot, then threw together a simple financial model with some gut projections.
After hearing “no” more than once, I found a bank in Waco who said “yes.” It was a sweet, sweet moment.
With the help of my partners to co-guarantee it, the bank agreed to finance 80% of the appraised value of the planned project.
A couple weeks later, we closed. I was onsite with a bunch of friends, chainsaws in hand, the very next day.
It was Spring 2021, and construction was crazy.
4 month-plus lead times for windows, etc. Contractors were in outrageously high demand (especially in booming central Texas). Lumber prices were out of control.
Should I hold off? Try to wait it out?
Nope, onward we went.
Within 3 months, the clearing, site work and utilities were complete. We had foundations in and were ready to build.
Meanwhile, I also built a $750k spec home a few miles away (with another construction loan from a different local bank) in 4.5 months overlapping this project.
The spec market was booming, and I figured I’d need all the extra cash I could muster to get Live Oak Lake over the line.
Thankfully, that house was a big success, and cleared $170k which I rolled straight into Live Oak Lake.
Plus I dumped in all my savings of $30k.
And then, towards the end of construction, I broke my pelvis when a ladder fell out from underneath me.
It was quite an experience.
I found myself flat out on a hospital bed for 7 days. I had multiple surgeries and a hunk of stainless steel bolting my bones back together. I was on crutches for three months as we wrapped up the project.
"Busy" is a mild understatement to describe 2021.
With the help of wonderful friends, family and local subcontractors (some of the subs were less than wonderful…) the project was designed, permitted, built, furnished and complete.
We finished the final touches and opened just 10 months after closing on the land! It cost $2.2M all-in.
I took a moment to breathe. But the story isn’t over…
Just a few weeks into hosting on airbnb, with glowing reviews pouring in from our first guests, I was shocked. And devastated.
Airbnb suspended our entire account, with no warning or explanation.
Customer service was vague and unhelpful. I felt entirely helpless: a tiny speck next to a multi-billion dollar empire that didn’t care.
After a few desperate phone calls, someone gave me an idea:
I contacted a local travel account on Instagram, and pitched a giveaway collab. For a fee of $950, they agreed. I frantically threw together a website that would accept direct bookings, and started an instagram account.
A few days later, they posted a 2-night stay giveaway. In a matter of days, it drove ~5,000 new followers, and ~$40,000 of direct bookings!!!
I couldn’t believe it. I knew Live Oak Lake was special, but this seemed too good to be true.
Then Airbnb restored the account. They said it was caused by a glitch in their algorithm. But it was too late…
I went ALL-IN on social media, partnering with influencers to run more giveaways and posting viral content. That incident with Airbnb may have been the biggest blessing that ever happened along our journey with Live Oak Lake.
We were off to the races.
Our first year, the numbers blew me away.
$1M gross, $550k NOI
94% overall occupancy
80% direct bookings
120k audience on social
It was a whirlwind.
And then, just a year and a half after we opened, we received an offer too good to pass up:
$7M for the property.
One. Million. Dollars. Per. Key.
We said yes, and the deal closed a few months later—last October.
So, that’s the story of Live Oak Lake.
I want to give credit where credit is due: God was very, very good. And my family and friends were, too. Without them this project would've never happened.
Yes, there have been major setbacks—before, during, and after—but it’s been an incredible experience.
The takeaways:
If you have a dream to create something special, GO GET IT! Determination is everything.
You don’t need a ton of money to build something like this; just find the right partners.
The value creation in executing this kind of project well can be both insanely fast and off the charts.
This is the “gold-rush era” of experiential hospitality. And those with the right vision and determination will be rewarded.
I hope the story inspires you!
I couldn’t be more excited about the future of travel and hospitality! My generation LOVES unique, nature-immersive experiences, and Live Oak Lake delivered.
(We had guests return MULTIPLE times in one year, bringing friends and family with them.)
There’s a deep hunger for these, and as the world gets faster and crazier, people will want to slow down, spend time in beautiful settings, enjoy those experiences and share them all over social media.
—Isaac