Posted by Mike Oldfield on April 12, 1999 at 06:58:17:
1st question-What strategy do you want to use?
quick flip
notes
rentals
1st point - 90% of all markets are just like yours. Huge demand for affordable housing. Fancy stuff sells slow Nuff said here
2nd point Brokers are only good for one thing. Getting information on listed property. They don’t give good advice or they wouldnt be selling property for a living they would be buying it.
If you are going to be there a while go buy a rental property with three or four units near the oil industry hub in Lafayette. Or see if you can find some trailers for sale and do some Lonnie deals. Again what strategy.
How much do you know about what?
I should tell you that I believe quick flip is a collossal waste of precious investment time. Each to his own. I will follow up if you answer questions above.
What to do in this market? Please help a newbie. - Posted by Jara Ahrabi
Posted by Jara Ahrabi on April 11, 1999 at 22:09:59:
Not only am I new to real estate, but I am new to my town. I have recently moved to Lafayette, LA, a city of about 100,000. Economically, the city is very dependent on the oil industry–which makes me think that real estate prices should be dropping. However, this is not what I have encountered. And today a realtor explained to me that there is a huge demand for low-priced homes (he said in the 80-120K range). He said that many oil companies in Louisiana are “pulling-in” their work force…bringing people out of the field and moving them to Lafayette, which is sort of a hub. So, these folks snap up the smaller homes. However, he noted that homes in the 200-300K price range aren’t moving at all. His company listed 100+ homes in this high range in 1998 but only sold 12. So, my question is: how can I take advantage of these particular market conditions. Thanks in advance for any advice, opinions, etc.