All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

You are trying to oversimplify a complex task. If it was simple, the algorithms of the automated valuation models and zestimates would be accurate. There are too many human factors that figure into real estate values that no one has figured out how to program yet. There are just a lot of factors to know and they are different from one market to the next.

I would talk to a local banker that's big enough to be open to doing business out of the area. I haven't personally done business with either of them but Bancorp South and Iberia Bank come to mind. I would request a line of credit for the equity in the Virginia property and use it to buy with all cash here. This strategy only works if you buy right (purchase and rehab below 80% of ARV). Then refinance the property to repay your line of credit and repeat.

Try http://www.nreinsurance.com/

Glad you found the site!  Welcome to BP @Greg Sonnier!

The podcasts are a great place to start.  You can learn a lot from them.  I'm here in your neck of the woods, so maybe we'll be able to do some business or I can be of some assistance to get you past any hurdles you come across along the road.  Feel free to reach out when you need help!

Welcome to BP @Tyler Rogers!  Sorry your too late.  You missed all of the opportunities and now you will have to wait until a market correction happens to start investing.  :-(

Just kidding ;-)  LOL!  You will hear all kind of stuff from people when you talk about investing and the market and timing and all that.  Mostly bad information from "conventional wisdom."  It's always a good time to buy, when you buy right!

Glad you found the site and I hope to see you around town and here on BP!

Whatever you decide @Larry H. just be certain that you are on the right side of the law by getting legal counsel from an attorney in or near the jurisdiction your properties are in.  There are jurisdictions (parish to parish here) that have very different attitudes toward landlord vs tenant situations.

There are reasons why LA is where it is on this list:

http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/states

Your tenants are immersed in advertising (billboard, TV, radio, etc.) to  pursue legal action in the event of any accident, injury or incident and with "hungry" attorneys everywhere you turn, you will have to defend yourself sooner or later.

It sounds like your father-in-law is great for the role you want him to play.  It's just that the laws cover some things that seem like an innocent practice that are covered by specific laws.  For example,  "NO PET" policies have different rules under ADA and the Fair Housing laws that mean you have to allow the animal because it's not considered a pet, but a necessity.  Especially when you are participating in housing programs that can make you subject to close scrutiny for specific Fair Housing and ADA requirements.  Again, its a matter of how the local administrators enforce the rules.  It would be nice if they were consistent with how it works, but its implemented differently from place to place.

The bottom line is get legal advice from an attorney you would consider hiring if you were being sued for something that happened at your property.  You might need them again in the future and it never hurts to have the relationship established before you need them.

LA law requires a real estate license to manage property that's not your own in the state of LA. The topic of this thread suggests to me that you already know that.  No matter how many years anybody gets away without it, when something more serious than an eviction comes up, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of the law.

If you hire a licensed property manager, it will cost you in the ball park of 8-10% of gross rents. The licensed PM can legally sign leases and appear in court on your behalf. You won't save a few bucks by letting your father-in-law "manage" your properties, but you wont have to add him to your LLC or anything else you are uncomfortable with either.

I managed my own properties a long time before I became licensed and still do, but they were never 9-10 hours away from me.  There are benefits to having a professional.  How much does your FIL know about fair housing laws, lead based paint disclosures, sex offender notification, the Americans with Disabilities Act, landlord - tenant law in the state of LA or other local ordinances?  Very often, people think, "this is private property, I can do what I want with my property."  I think there is substantial justification for professional management in your situation.  Your two properties are eight units and that adds up to enough interactions with the renting public to warrant some professional management as a matter of risk management IMO.

Welcome to BP @James Maness!  That's a great idea. ;-)

Here's your 3 step plan.

1. Stick around here for learning/networking.  Listen to the podcasts.  They are like short courses on different strategies and philosophies of investing.

2. Join "the RING". Real Estate Investors Networking Group found on meetup.com to meet other investors in the Baton Rouge market.

3. Start getting to know the market.   The more you learn, you will start to develop an idea of what your ideal property looks like.  Search for it like you are ready to buy it.  Then you can start to get an idea of how your ideas fit our market.

Keep an open mind and keep learning.  You'll never know it all.  You'll know when you are ready to start when you know a good deal when you see one.  YOU have to know a good deal when you see one, because you will get pitched bad deals a lot.  The only way not to get burned, is if you know a good deal when you see one based on your own analysis.

Hi @Kimberly Lipari and welcome to BP!

Right here is a great place to start.  I highly recommend listening to the podcasts.  They are presented in an educational format and each one is like a short course on different strategies used by the guests.

Start learning your market.  People in this business spend a ton of money on marketing.  Pick up free publications and look at websites where you can start to get an idea of what property values are in different areas.  Before long, you will notice when a price on a property is low or high for a certain area - that's when you know your market!

Many times you will hear people say, "just buy something and figure it out. If you lose money, you will still gain some great experience."  I think that's unnecessary and equals a careless risk.  There's no such thing as investing without risk, but the more you know what you are doing, the better you will get at calculating risk.  

How do you know when you know enough to start and invest in something?  You will know you when you know enough, because you will know what a good deal looks like when you see one.  I see "deals" every day, that because I know a good deal when I see one, I'm not buying.  You have to be able to evaluate a deal on your own to verify what anyone else tells you is a good deal.

Are you looking back at 2015 and setting your goals for 2016? If you aren't, now is a good time to do it.

As always, we will learn some things that will help your investments/business, share deals, and network with active investors in the Lake Charles market.

Bring your deals, bring a notepad and bring a friend!

Go to meetup.com/bplakecharles for all of the details.