All Forum Posts by: Amy Verges

Thanks for posting those stats @James Wise . Really interesting info.

Unfortunately I tend to agree that most realtors suck.  I got my realtor license 4 years ago for that exact reason.  There's a very low barrier to entry and not a lot of training involved/offered.  I also think there's an added layer of realtors "sucking" when it comes to working with investors.  There are a lot of realtors who kick a** at working with clients who are buying & selling primary residences, but know absolutely nothing about investors or investment properties.  It takes a totally different skill set and knowledge base to be a good realtor for investors.  That being said, there ARE great realtors out there; you may just have to weed through the bad ones to find them. 

@Jason Duet My “go-tos” are Richard Campbell with Geaux Home Inspections and Kevin Dinkel with Advantage.

Hey @Jason Duet, I've had my salesperson license for 4 years with Blake Fowler at Exit Realty. My goal was to use an investor-friendly broker as well and I've been very happy with my set up. PM me if you're interested and I'll send you his cell #.

Exactly what @Mike Guidry said.  The Clerk of Court will also offer a cheap "class" on how to use the system.  I don't remember exactly how much it was because I took it years ago, but it was very helpful.  May be worth looking into if you plan to use it often enough.

Hey @Shane Colar , I have used several local lenders here in town. I’m happy to share their contact info if you shoot me a PM (I don’t think BP will allow me to post phone #s here). 

Welcome Brandon! Be sure to check out our local REIA called the RING (Real estate Investors Networking Group). We meet once a month and the next meeting is coming up on the 12th. I've learned a ton from that group. Details are on Meet Up, but feel free to DM me your e-mail address and I can forward you the email invite for this month. Geaux Tigers!

I second what @Jeremy VanDelinder said about having a restoration company walk the property to give you mitigation and rehab estimates. That’ll give you an idea of where to start. Just remember that you not only need to subtract those costs from the market value, but also a big discount for any buyer to have to deal with the headache from the restoration. I just had a fire at one of my properties and the restoration company has been a huge help.

Welcome @Ben Hidalgo!  I've learned a lot from this site, the BP podcasts, and my local meetup here in Baton Rouge.  Like Tami mentioned, I've heard @Robert Leonard hosts a great one in Lafayette.  Good luck!

@Nick Ysidron Hi Nick, I would highly advise you to NOT use the listing agent. They represent the seller first so don’t have a lot of motivation to negotiate on your behalf. There are some situations where this may make sense, but this doesn’t sound like one of them. 

I’m a licensed agent in Baton Rouge. I have investment property here myself and almost exclusively work with investors. I’m happy to help if you still need someone. Even if you don’t use me, I would still advise that you find your own agent that will keep your best interest in mind. PM me if you need any help and I’ll give you my cell #. Good luck!

@Brian Mackey Do you have any STR in downtown Baton Rouge? If so, about what has your occupancy rate been? I saw an article recently about BR having the lowest STR occupancy rate of any major city (the estimate was about 50%). I'm curious about how accurate that is, specifically downtown.