All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

Welcome to BP Jordan.  Although you won't catch me at the office on a regular basis, I'm with kw here in Lafayette too!  See you around BP and probably around town as well.  Let me know anytime I might be able to help you out on any investment questions.

Lots of possibilities and factors to consider in your due diligence as mentioned above.  If that property passes a rigorous due diligence process and you choose to pursue it, I think, as a new investor, your best strategy is to figure out if it would be possible to buy the 2 acres with the duplexes and sell the other 8 acres.

You can get up to speed on handling those or hire a PM a whole lot faster than you can figure out how to develop raw land.  Depending on land values and demand for buildable lots/land, you may be able structure the deal in a way that you create your down payment with the sale of the land and set yourself up with a favorable financing position?

My biggest concern is when you say the property is in a rural area.  Property values and land development tend to be low and slow in most rural areas.  If population growth and new construction is happening in the area, it may be doable?  Just some food for thought.

Well @Renee Cato, people use terms kind of loosely and differently in different areas.  Here's my take on each.

An "investor friendly firm" from my perspective as an investor with a realtors license is a firm that treats me like an independent contractor, not an employee.  I'm with KW and I don't have production quotas (listings, sales, open houses, phone duty, etc.) or requirements that dictate what I spend my time on.

I believe when brokers advertise that they are "investor friendly," they are directing that to investors who can be clients as buyers, sellers, or PM.  I don't think they are trying to attract investors as realtors.

Wholesaling is a foreign concept to many in the retail real estate (brokerage) business.  If you refer to "assignments" that is a more familiar term (in my area) that they can relate to.  If you walk in to a broker and ask how they feel about you doing wholesale deals that cut out the broker and you make money, they are likely to have a problem with that.

@Jeff V. is right.  Anything over 4 units is commercial.  Any reason why you don't want to get a commercial loan to finance the property?  Yeah the terms aren't as attractive, but it's still financeable and when you establish relationships with commercial lenders, you really open some doors to investment possibilities.

20 years is likely to be the longest amortization you will find for a commercial loan. Note: the highly sought after "portfolio lender" usually has the title "commercial lender/banker." If the property won't cashflow at a 20 yr am, (you usually need a 1.25 DCR to qualify) you might not have a great deal on your hands? Banks are crazy, but that doesn't mean they are dumb.

@Account Closed  I recommend you contact attorney David Birdsong 504-780-9202. He is an attorney who is also an investor.  If I'm not mistaken, I believe he is the former president of NOREIA.  If I were closer to NOLA, I would hire him, but I'm just a little out of range here in Lafayette.  I met him when he came to speak at the Baton Rouge Real Estate investors meeting last year and he was very impressive.

Welcome to BP @Andrew Madary!  Glad you found the site!  Best of luck to you getting started investing!

Lafayette Parish real estate investors, have you heard about the new Unified Development Code (UDC)?

Have you seen the new zoning maps?

Carlee Alm-LaBar the Chief Development Officer for Lafayette Consolidated Government will share the details with our group and answer our questions about what we can expect from the new set of rules and procedures!

The event happens Monday August 17, 2015 at 6PM at the South Regional Library.  RSVP at the address in my signature below. There is no charge to attend.

We will have a deal exchange, network and learn some things that will help you in your business/investments.  So bring your deals, bring a note pad and bring a friend. See you there!

@Steven Hamilton II

I have 3 concerns about your "deal."

1. Is the property a conforming use as a duplex? When you say, "the duplex which was modified to two living spaces" that sounds like a red flag.  Conversions are seldom ever done well.  Are all utilities separate and metered separately?

2. What do #BR/#BA ####sq ft units of similar age & condition to this one rent for in your area?  Living in the area for 5 years, you should be pretty familiar with what the real rent rates are.  When you say, "The market value appraisal indicated that their share of rent should be $925" that sounds like an unusual interpretation of what you get from an appraisal.

3. It sounds like your landlord is "creative" in a lot of ways.  That's not always a bad thing, but sometimes people think its being creative when you disregard zoning and building codes to do whatever you want with a property.  I would be extra cautious about verifying that you really want to own this property and not let the "great deal falling in your lap" cloud your better judgement about the real value of this property.

Well @André Palmer we can guess all day long at what's going on.  If it were in my neck of the woods, I would say, "here's an owner who's waiting to hear from me."  I would try to find out if the properties are on any code violation lists before contacting the property owner.  That's an additional motivating factor.  If the person doesn't need the money to rent the properties, they probably don't need the expense of keeping the grass cut and paying the insurance and taxes either.

There are endless possibilities of what could be going on.  Contact the owner(s) and find out.  Hope it works for you.