All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

This process and your effort should start with a purchase agreement.  Get that and then go to a title company/attorney and be prepared to spend about $2-3k for a succession.  Who pays for that is negotiable.  It can be paid by you, out of the proceeds of the sale or by you in addition to the amount you offer.  I normally consider it a closing cost that is not a normal closing cost and it comes out of the seller’s proceeds at the closing.

Liens against the property are only part of your concerns.  Judgements against any owner/heirs is another concern.  That’s why you just need to get it to a title company/attorney and let them answer those questions for you.  Be prepared that it might cost you $500-600 to find out that you have what will cost much more than the average numbers I stated above.  You may not be willing to risk or able to negotiate that higher cost with the seller.

The person you talk to and get a contract with, can’t close the deal without the succession being completed, but you need a contract to start the process.  Whoever you deal with, make sure all money changes hands through the title attorney.

@Karen W. I'm referencing the article I posted a link to in my second message above. It did not hyperlink for some reason.  You will have to copy it and paste it to your browser.

I can't say that I've seen anything to support the articles that you've read.  There are multi-billion dollar expansions of several refineries along the MS river and that is creating huge demand for housing.  Although BR proper, is not growing nearly as fast as the surrounding suburbs, it's still growing.

https://www.scribd.com/document/367686924/2017-Tre...

You can look at the slides from last year's multifamily market update, but there's a lot of context missing without the presenters narrative to explain the data presented.  

I have no idea where CoStar gets its data, but my only guess is that the numbers are skewed by added units coming to market?  I'm looking forward to next month's report, but last year occupancy rates were near 98% for the market.  At some point a surge of vacancy seems logical as more of the displaced homeowners resettle into their homes and the new inventory keeps getting added.

The wildcard of it all is, how much new demand that will fill the vacancies at rates based on projected population growth.  If the projections prove right and the new units match the demand, occupancy rates won't be bad. But if there's way more units available, than there is demand, that could be a big negative.  Only time will tell!

Well, remember, it’s always a good time to buy, when you buy right.

Here’s a good article from a good source of information on the BR market:

https://www.businessreport.com/realestate/101917

Hello @Karen W. I haven’t seen it yet, but it is past due for rents to start to decline with the general consensus overbuilding in multifamily in the area. We expereinced an anomaly of “temporary” demand from the flood of August 2016 that delayed the expected declines and softening of the rental market.  As people return to “permanent” housing, we’ll see how that unfolds.  I’m looking forward the the Baton Rouge Trends meeting that provides an update of market data by each real estate category.

http://www.batonrougetrends.net/

@DJ Savoy 

Investors will meet, learn and grow at this meeting.  Bring any wholesale deals.  We always have buyers looking for their next deal.  Bring a notepad, there will be some things worth knowing to add value to our investments/businesses.  Bring a friend who wants to know more about investing/the business of real estate or to connect with others in the real estate business.  Get all of the details at meetup.com/BPAcadiana 

I apologize if my post seemed negative @Steve Medina, but you can really expect much better cash flow on income properties in LA.  I reread my post and it may come across as negative, because I was too direct.   In my opinion, in this region, any property that rents below $650/month is a good deal when the income meets or exceeds 2%/month of the gross amount invested.  No, 2% is not a rule, it’s a target.  And it is met every day on properties that rent at this price point around here.

I see red flags allover this “deal.” If you pay $64.5k for a property that rents for $625/a month in LA, you are about to earn some tax deductions for some serious losses.  Do you have high income you want to offset?  How many investment properties does your “realtor friend” own themselves?  Rent at this price point barely moves.  It will not increase by $30-50 per year.

If it’s in the city, at that rate, it is low income housing and it will be management intensive.  If it is near the city, meaning more of a rural area, turnover will cost more than what’s covered by a 10% vacancy projection, just because of the lower demand and smaller pool of potential applicants.

This is a very unattractive “deal.”

Welcome to BP @Joseph Ortiz.  Congratulations on getting started as an investor!