TLDA Email Details Need to Exploit Immigrants
2/10/2025 – An email among a powerful association of real estate developers and mortgage lenders obtained by ReduceFlooding.com details why the group feels the need to exploit immigrants despite criticism of its businesses practices from both the left and the right. The email defends a business model knowingly based on a high percentage of unqualified buyers whose property is repossessed and resold.
Foreclosure Rate 50 Tines Higher than U.S. Average
Three days after the Daily Wire wrote an expose about the notorious Colony Ridge Development in Liberty County, Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of the Texas Land Development Association (TLDA), wrote an email to other TLDA board members.
The Daily Wire describes an owner-financing arrangement that “makes it possible for illegal aliens to buy land deep in the heart of Texas. While traditional financing methods require credit ratings and proof of income … buyers at Colony Ridge are able to circumvent the usual requirements, even dodging the need to provide a social security number.”
Traditional bank loans usually require a credit rating and proof of income. But owner financing obtained directly through Colony Ridge reportedly bypasses those traditional mortgage requirements. For a “few hundred dollars” as a down payment, buyers can own a piece of America.
The hitch: they might pay interest rates as high as 15%, according to the Daily Wire. And if they miss a payment, the owner may foreclose on their property and sell it again…with all the improvements that the previous buyer made. Some properties have been resold multiple times.

Colony Ridge has also been criticized for marketing in Spanish but providing legal documents at closing in English to people who may not even speak the language.
A multi-count lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General alleged deceptive trade practices and cited a foreclosure rate 50 times higher than the national average.
“An Attack on Our Industry”
But in his email to other TLDA board members, Scot Campbell describes the Daily Wire expose as “an attack on our industry.” [Emphasis added]
The Campbell email states, “The right wing … wants to stop all development of this nature. The left wants to knock us out of the market because we make money on the poor.”
He continues, “We will not be able to sell our developments if each of our buyers have to have a SS# and we have to qualify each buyer as to the buyer’s ability to repay.” [Emphasis added again]
“It will kill our industry and make our future resale of foreclosed lots worth a lot less than [before] because we will all be fighting over a few qualified buyers…”
Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of TLDA
The remainder of the email describes criticisms of owner-financing practices from the political right and left.
- “The right does not like our subdivisions [emphasis added again] because they believe they are a blight on the community” and the people “cannot speak English.”
- Campbell says people on the left “think its evil to make money on poor people” and “charge higher interest.”
See the email below which responds to the Daily Wire article.

TLDA describes itself as a group that “works to prevent over-regulation by state and local governments by advocating for common-sense practices in land use and development.” Basically, it’s a lobbying organization.
Particularly worrisome in the email above is the plea to continue selling property to buyers, most of whom the association knows are unqualified. Scot Campbell apparently fears that might impact foreclosure mills in places like Liberty County and along the Mexican border. Developments like Colony Ridge operate throughout the state.
Source of Email
I obtained the email above from an ex-Colony Ridge land-owner-turned-activist named Maria Acevedo. Her property was foreclosed on after she complained about irregularities with the survey and the plat provided to her by the seller.
Investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino exposed how properties in Colony Ridge are sold over and over again by the developer.
However, according to Acevedo, the legal documents for her foreclosure fail to comply with Texas law. This could affect thousands of foreclosures and resales in Liberty County. But more on that in a future story.
Ironically, the TLDA Chairman Emeritus concludes his memo saying that…
“Our industry does much to help the homeless problem.”
Scot Campbell, TLDA Chairman Emeritus
However, Campbell’s email does not describe how kicking people out of their homes would help the homeless problem.
For More Information about Colony Ridge
To learn more about the squalid living conditions in Colony Ridge, see History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 stories about substandard living conditions, infrastructure, and environmental issues in Colony Ridge.
Many of the latter impact downstream areas. For instance:
- Lack of required erosion controls contributed to the development of sediment blockages downstream that exacerbated flooding.
- Lack of sufficient stormwater detention basins and development of wetlands also contribute to increased flood risk downstream.
- Sewage spills have affected water quality in the East Fork San Jacinto, its tributaries, and Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.
- TCEQ said Colony Ridge construction practices “could adversely affect human health.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/10/25
2722 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.