Waller County

Brookshire Property Management in Brookshire, TX

Brookshire is a small Waller County city on I-10 where almost half of the occupied homes are rented and new master-planned communities are filling the farmland around the old townsite. Atlas handles leasing, tenant screening, rent collection and repairs for owners across the original Kellner and Brookshire plats, Sunterra Lakes, Bluestem, La Segarra and the rest of the 77423 area.

1946Kellner and Brookshire plats incorporated as one city
48.8% renters840 of 1,722 occupied homes, ACS 2020 to 2024
Royal ISDthe district for the city and its new subdivisions

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Renting Out a Home in Brookshire

Brookshire takes its name from Capt. Nathan Brookshire, who received a league of land as a member of Stephen F. Austin’s fifth colony and took part in the capture of Bexar in 1835. The town itself is a product of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. In 1893 John Kellner filed a plat for the Town of Kellner out of the William Cooper Survey, and the same year John Brookshire and O. C. Drew platted the Town of Brookshire out of the H. H. Pennington Survey. The two plats were joined when the City of Brookshire incorporated on May 24, 1946.

For most of its history this was a shipping point for the Brazos bottomland. The Brookshire Times counted about thirty businesses in 1897 and reported 10,000 bales of cotton shipped that year. Cotton faded in the early 1900s and rice took over as the main cash crop, and as late as 1980 the town was still described as a center for rice, peanut, soybean and cattle production. The population moved slowly: 1,250 in 1920, 2,244 in 1980, 3,450 in 2000, 4,702 in 2010 and 5,066 at the 2020 census.

The I-10 corridor is what changed the pace. Stream Realty broke ground on the 300 acre Empire West Business Park near I-10 and US 90 west of Woods Road in June 2020, and in March 2025 the Brookshire EDC reported that Tesla would open a Megapack battery factory at 111 Empire, with about 1,500 jobs. Igloo runs a 2 million square foot cooler plant just east of town, and Rooms To Go has a 2.5 million square foot distribution center at I-10 and Woods Road. Those employers sit within a short drive of most Brookshire rentals.

The housing stock is unusual for the Houston area. Census ACS estimates for 2020 to 2024 count 1,934 housing units in the city: 893 detached single family homes, 458 units in three and four unit buildings, and 393 mobile homes, roughly one unit in five. Of 1,722 occupied homes, 840 are rented, or 48.8 percent. The 2020 census put the rental vacancy rate at 10.5 percent against 0.6 percent for owner homes, so pricing and turnover matter more here than in suburbs where renters are a small minority.

Around that older core, a new layer of subdivisions is going in on former farmland: Sunterra Lakes north of I-10, Bluestem near the Grand Parkway and US 90, and La Segarra toward Pattison. All three advertise Royal ISD zoning, which separates them from neighboring Katy ISD communities a few miles east and gives Brookshire its own rental market rather than a Katy overflow.

Jurisdiction: Incorporated city (May 24, 1946) in southern Waller County, about 34 miles west of downtown Houston
Schools: Royal ISD, created in 1959 as the Pattison-Brookshire Consolidated ISD
Appraisal: Waller County Appraisal District, 900 13th Street in Hempstead
Corridors: Interstate 10, US 90, FM 359, FM 362, FM 1489 and Woods Road, with the Grand Parkway just east
Drainage and water: Brookshire-Katy Drainage District; water from the Brookshire Municipal Water District

Neighborhoods

Brookshire Neighborhoods and Subareas

Brookshire rentals fall into two groups: the older housing inside the original city and the new master-planned communities on its edges. Six areas that cover most of the rental stock:

Original Kellner and Brookshire platsThe 1893 townsites on either side of the old MKT rail line, merged at incorporation in 1946. Most of this area drains into Brookshire Creek, and FEMA's flood study notes that railroad embankments here cause floodwaters to pond.

South of I-10, west of FM 359FEMA's Waller County flood study places this part of the city in the West Fork of Brookshire Creek watershed, a separate drainage path from the town center, so flood zone checks here should use the West Fork panels.

Woods Road and the US 90 corridorThe employment side of town: Empire West Business Park, the Tesla Megapack site at 111 Empire and Rooms To Go at I-10 and Woods Road. Rentals near here draw tenants who work in warehouses and plants nearby.

Sunterra LakesA 1,463 acre master-planned community near FM 362, FM 529 and the Grand Parkway, zoned to Royal ISD with a proposed on-site elementary school. Starwood Land took it over in an April 2025 acquisition of 11 Texas communities.

BluestemA community of more than 350 acres near the Grand Parkway, I-10 and US 90, zoned to Royal ISD. Builders include First America Homes, Legend Homes and CastleRock, and The Haven amenity village has a park, pickleball courts and a pavilion.

La SegarraA 215 acre Spanish-themed community on La Segarra Boulevard near Pattison, zoned to Royal Elementary, Royal Junior High and Royal High School. Cyrene Homes, Smith Douglas Homes and TriCoast Homes build there, with new homes listed from the mid $200s.

Before you lease

What Brookshire Owners Should Plan For

Manufactured home rules inside the city

About one Brookshire housing unit in five is a mobile home, so Chapter 24 of the city code matters to many owners. As rewritten by Ordinance No. 22-701-15, it allows manufactured homes (built on or after June 15, 1976 under the federal code) only in an approved manufactured home park or subdivision, and it makes it unlawful to install, relocate or change occupancy in a mobile home built before that date anywhere inside the city limits.

Read that last clause carefully before you re-let an older unit. Parks need a license issued annually by the city council that expires on December 31, homes need permanent skirting, and the ordinance sets a penalty of up to $2,000 per day. Confirm the build year and park status before you sign a new tenant into an older home.

Slow drainage and the Brookshire-Katy Drainage District

FEMA’s Waller County Flood Insurance Study, revised May 16, 2019, says most of Brookshire drains into Brookshire Creek, the area south of I-10 and west of FM 359 drains into the West Fork, and the area west of FM 362 and north of I-10 drains into the Tributary to Kellner Creek. All flow to the Brazos River, and the study blames most local flooding on flat ground that drains slowly and on railroad embankments that make water pond.

The Brookshire-Katy Drainage District, created by the 57th Legislature through House Bill 302 on May 23, 1961, controls overland drainage in the area and adopted Rules and Regulations 22-01, effective February 28, 2022. If you plan an addition, slab or fill on a rental lot, check whether the district requires a permit application in addition to the city’s building permit.

Waller County appraisal and tax bills

Brookshire property is valued by the Waller County Appraisal District in Hempstead, which appraises for the City of Brookshire, Royal ISD, the B-K Drainage District and a number of municipal utility districts. The district does not accept tax payments: each bill goes to the collector for each taxing unit, so new owners should map out who bills them before the first January.

The Texas protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice, whichever is later. Subdivisions such as Sunterra Lakes, Bluestem and La Segarra may carry utility district taxes that the older townsite does not, so compare total rates parcel by parcel when you set rent.

Royal ISD next to Katy ISD

Royal ISD, formed in January 1959 as the Pattison-Brookshire Consolidated ISD and renamed in February 1960, serves Brookshire and nearby southern Waller County. Its campuses include Royal Early Childhood Center, Royal Elementary, Royal Prairie Elementary, Royal High School and two schools of choice, Royal STEM Academy and Royal Early College High School.

Names next door can mislead tenants. Sunterra Lakes is zoned to Royal ISD, while the neighboring Sunterra community is served by Katy ISD schools such as Freeman High School. Verify the campus for the exact address before a listing goes live, and remember that water service comes from the Brookshire Municipal Water District, not the city, when you set up utilities for a move-in.

Services

Property Management Services in Brookshire

Atlas manages rental homes across Brookshire, from older houses in the Kellner and Brookshire townsites to new builds in Sunterra Lakes, Bluestem and La Segarra. We handle leasing, tenant screening, rent collection, maintenance and inspections, and we check Waller County tax bills, drainage district rules and Royal ISD zoning for each property. Atlas is available 24/7 for maintenance emergencies, and we offer a free rental analysis for Brookshire homes.

Tenant Placement & Screening Rent Collection Property Maintenance Make-Ready Rental Services Lease Enforcement Eviction Services Property Inspections Rental Market Analysis

Nearby

Nearby Areas We Serve

Katy Fulshear Waller Energy Corridor Hempstead All Waller County areas

FAQ

Brookshire Property Management FAQ

Is Brookshire a good place to own a rental property?

It has a large renter base for its size. Census ACS estimates for 2020 to 2024 show 840 of 1,722 occupied homes in the city are rented, about 48.8 percent, and employers along I-10 such as Igloo, Rooms To Go and the Tesla Megapack plant at Empire West sit close by. The 2020 census also recorded a 10.5 percent rental vacancy rate, so pricing a Brookshire rental correctly matters.

Which school district serves my Brookshire rental?

Royal ISD serves the City of Brookshire and new communities such as Sunterra Lakes, Bluestem and La Segarra. Some nearby communities with Katy addresses, including Sunterra, are in Katy ISD instead, so check the specific address before you advertise a school.

Can I rent out a mobile home in Brookshire?

It depends on the home and where it sits. Under Chapter 24 of the city code, manufactured homes built on or after June 15, 1976 must be in an approved park or subdivision, and it is unlawful to install, relocate or change occupancy in an older mobile home inside the city limits. Confirm the build year and location before placing a new tenant.

Who appraises and taxes Brookshire property?

The Waller County Appraisal District in Hempstead sets values for the City of Brookshire, Royal ISD, the Brookshire-Katy Drainage District and local utility districts. It does not collect taxes, so you pay each taxing unit’s collector. Protests are due by May 15 or 30 days after your notice is mailed, whichever is later.

Does my Brookshire rental flood?

Check the specific lot. FEMA’s Waller County flood study says Brookshire is subject to riverine flooding from Brookshire Creek, its West Fork and the Tributary to Kellner Creek, all of which flow to the Brazos, and that flat ground and railroad embankments make water drain slowly and pond. Look up the flood zone on the current FEMA map before you buy or renew insurance.

What happens if my Brookshire tenant has an emergency after hours?

Atlas is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for maintenance emergencies. Calls that put the property or the tenant at risk, such as an active water leak, a sewage backup or a loss of air conditioning in summer, are triaged when they come in rather than waiting for the next business day.

How much does property management cost in Brookshire?

It depends on the home and the services you need. Our Houston property management fees guide explains typical fee structures, or you can request a quote for your property.