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All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

Robert Leonard has started 46 posts and replied 1361 times.

Post: New Chemical Engineer in Baton Rouge

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Hello and welcome to BP @Warren Hem!  I won't hold all that Mississippi stuff against you, all that matters is you're here now!  ;-)

I encourage you to join the Baton Rouge REIA/The RING to start making connections with other investors in the local market. You can find it meetup.com/the-ring

I would like to hear about what type of properties you are looking for and what's your buying criteria?  I'm usually a buy and hold investor, but I'm doing some wholesaling in the Baton Rouge market in the near term. I might come across properties you'll be interested in.

Post: PUT OUT A FOR RENT SIGN BEFORE OR AFTER REHAB?

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914
People say all the time what "tenants don't care about," but the Tenant's I want don't trust what they don't see. Maybe if you're well-known enough that they have an expectation of what one of YOUR properties will be like, you can pull it off. Otherwise, show it when it's ready. I've heard lots of "landlord said he was going to do ... And never did" stories.

Post: Lafayette, LA - Success Story

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Nice job @Will Menard, very nice!

Post: New Guy in Central Louisiana

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Welcome to BP @Joshua Bruner!

I like the town of Cheneyville.  That place would make a great "bedroom community" with its close proximity to Alexandria. All it needed when I was there, nearly 10 years ago now, was young leaders to be involved and take the town in the right direction.  Hope things are better there now?  

When you live in a small town, it creates a different dynamic to buying there,  because it's your own "backyard" or neighborhood.  That's very different from buying in a rural/small town just because properties are lower priced than in the city.

Post: SFH 3/2 in Baton Rouge

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Are you talking about the same 702 S 12th St, Baton Rouge, LA found here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.441297,-91.1771678...

Where are the comps coming from?  Can't be good ones, because there are no >100k value properties in that neighborhood.

Post: Auction.com Property Buying - Lafayette, LA

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Some are listed before they go to auction there and you can get into those before the auction to know what you are bidding on.  Some are posted as occupied or "pre-listing" on their website, but you won't be able to get into those and there is more risk.

I know several people who have bought from there.  I've tried multiple times and been outbid or they didn't accept my final offer that was the highest bid (below the reserve).  They never offered a counteroffer when I was the high bidder either.  People buy there, just not me! :-)

Post: Suggestions for Property Management (Louisiana)

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Sorry if that wasn't clear @David Ribardo.  I did leave out explaining that you divide the 55 by 12 to determine a monthly average number of sales.  That equals 4.6.  Then you divide that by the number of ACTIVE listings and that gives you the 14.6 that I came up with.  Hope that makes it a little clearer.

That's the value of MLS access. SOLD data is some of the most valuable data and that's why you can't get it many places without paying for it. I don't know what your ambitions are in the real estate business, but before long, you will either have to befriend a realtor or get a license.

Post: Suggestions for Property Management (Louisiana)

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

While it's certainly not a solution to your need for a property manager, having family close by who can sometimes drive by or who have their own local vendor connections, will definitely be a help for an out of state investor.  

One of my criteria is that I don't invest south of cities that I-10 passes through. That puts St Mary Parish out of my area.  That's a matter of long term strategy to avoid ever increasing insurance rates due to hurricane risk factors.  Generally speaking about rural areas, there is demand for housing and properties do hold value.  You can expect a slower market.  Slow to rent or sell.   That still works for buying and holding, but don't expect to fill vacancies quickly with the small pool of tenants for rural areas.

That's enough generalization. :-) Here are some numbers to support my opinion. There are currently 67 ACTIVE listings in St Mary Parish. Over the last year, 55 have SOLD. That means there is currently a 14.6 month supply of houses on the market! The parish is between Houma and Lafayette, and this data is from the Lafayette MLS. There are probably a good number of properties that get listed on the Houma MLS so there's more information out there on the topic.

More than 6 months supply is a buyers' market.  Equilibrium (or a balanced market) is 3-6 months supply.  Less than 3 months supply is a Sellers' market.  Think of each as replacing the word market with the word advantage.  It is normal for a rural market to almost always be a buyers' market - that's why I call them slow markets.  That's what makes them a bad place to try to flip houses and why it can still work for buy and hold investing.  As long as you are realistic about your expectations, you can do well there in the long run.

Post: Suggestions for Property Management (Louisiana)

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Hi Lynne,

That's a kind of remote/rural Parish. I'm curious as to how someone in CA ended up finding and buying a property in St Mary Parish?  I'm not saying it's a wild idea, but there must be an interesting story behind this deal!

Post: Traditional Financing or Private Money

Robert LeonardPosted
  • Investor
  • Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA
  • Posts 1,468
  • Votes 914

Welcome to BP @Monique Moliere Piper !  I would be interested in hearing more about you and your husband's plans.  I'm actively investing in the Baton Rouge market and there may be some opportunities for us to work together or at least share contacts?  I'm currently tied up for the rest of this week, but if you will call or text me one day next week, maybe we can get together and talk strategy?