Question 1

What does a rehab permit cost in Longview?

Accepted Answer

Residential permits are priced by the square foot, with a $100 minimum. The city's 2025-2026 schedule charges $0.30 per square foot under roof for single-family and two-family remodels, additions and new construction, so a 1,200 square foot gut rehab comes to $360 ($0.30 x 1,200), an illustration and not a quote. Residential mechanical, electrical, plumbing, gas and irrigation permits are $80 each, a re-roof or window replacement is $105, and work done without a required permit pays double the permit fee, with a $100 minimum. We found no published plan review or permit turnaround time, so ask Development Services what your scope will take before you set a hold period.

Question 2

Which building code applies to a Longview rehab started now?

Accepted Answer

The code stack the city adopted effective July 1, 2026. It is the 2021 International Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Property Maintenance and Swimming Pool and Spa Codes, the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code, and the 2026 National Electrical Code. A contractor pricing from an older spec book may be pricing the wrong code, so ask which code the bid assumes. The 2021 Property Maintenance Code is also the enforcement backbone of the city's rental inspection program, which matters if the flip may become a rental.

Question 3

Where does the flip spread come from in a slow-selling market?

Accepted Answer

At purchase, because exits are slow. In August 2026 the median listing in the Longview metro sat 68 days, up from 37 in 2021, and 516 of 1,205 active listings carried a price cut, about 43% by our arithmetic on two published series, up from about 35% a year earlier. Median list price was $299,850, flat for the year. Zillow's July 2026 mid-tier values show the entry-basis gap: Marshall at $166,238 and Gladewater at $170,410 against $234,128 in Longview itself. Texas is a sale-price non-disclosure state, so after-repair-value support leans on appraisals and broker opinions more than in a disclosure state. Underwrite your ARV on the discount a buyer will ask for, not on the list price.

Question 4

What does a Longview flip cost to hold, taxes included?

Accepted Answer

Investment property gets no homestead exemption and no appraisal cap, so you carry the full stack. On 2025 rates, county plus city plus school district totals 1.996131 per $100 in Longview ISD, about $4,990 a year on a $250,000 basis (1.996131 x 2,500). The same house is 1.971431 in Pine Tree ISD or 2.121030 in Spring Hill ISD. Gregg CAD began reappraising residential property in July 2026 and runs to March 2027, so budget for a bill that moves rather than last year's number. The statewide protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal notice (Tax Code 41.44(a)(1)). Talk to your CPA about your own position.

Question 5

How does buying at foreclosure work around Longview?

Accepted Answer

On the first Tuesday of the month, at the courthouse of the county where the property sits. Texas sales run between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on at least 21 days' notice under Property Code 51.002, and the 20-day cure notice applies only to a debtor's residence, so it does not extend the clock on most investment property. A Longview parcel can sit in Gregg or Harrison County, Marshall and Hallsville are Harrison, and part of Kilgore is Rusk, so a buyer working the metro chooses between courthouses on the same morning. Harrison's posted 2026 notices name the courthouse at 200 West Houston Street in Marshall or the area the commissioners court designates, with sales on the first Tuesdays, including November 3, 2026. We did not find an official Gregg sale location, so confirm it in the notice. Funds need to be committed before the sale, not after.

Question 6

What insurance risk should a Longview flip budget for?

Accepted Answer

Hail and wind on the roof, with no coastal wind pool to price. Neither Gregg nor Harrison County is on TWIA's eligibility list, so there is no hurricane wind-pool exposure. Statewide, hail was the top Texas homeowners loss peril in nine of the last ten years, per TDI. We could not source a Gregg or Harrison County average premium, and tree cover over roofs is a real underwriting variable we cannot quantify, so get a bound quote on the specific house before you close. Flood is a separate policy where a lender requires it.

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