Every action causes a ripple effect. DFW continues to entice corporations to move their headquarters. What does this mean for my clients? The small-to-mid size business owners who are ready to purchase or expand.
Let’s see if I can find how the ripples impacts their business. (https://bradford.com/distributor-to-move-california-headquarters-to-texas/)
This week I came across the white paper I wrote while at North Lake College. Data has always played a signficant role in my career. Excited to see how it is showing up as I shift to a speaker, mentor, and commercial realtor.
In every industry there is data that will help us working smarter not harder.
Here is a snippet of the possibilities, Working Smarter, Not Harder
Dallas-Fort Worth leads the state in terms of number of minority-owned startups. Unfortunately, they are unevenly clumped in one area, Accommodation and Food. This is particularly disconcerting when we consider the food insecurity in many communities that house a large percentage of minority residents.
Is there an opportunity for the top heave food start up to support agricultural companies in the area?
A few months ago I transitioned from residential to commercial real estate. Truth is for the past two years I have applied commercial principles to residential real estate investments. This explains my lackluster success with non-investor residential clients but I digress.
To get my feet wet, I began with what I love ….Data! Data! Data!. (NOTE: If you remember Cody from the Step by Step TV show, you read that part correctly). In this week Data Chronicles, I unpacked the Office Space trends in the Dallas-Fort Worth Market. I work with small- to mid-sized businesses who are in transition. So, my goal was to find a way to address their pain points.
What I realized is that as big corporations chase quality office space, they are vacating office spaces physically but not actually. These vacancies are not reflected in the data. Technically the corporations are still tenants because the leases have not ended. Hence, my small- to mid-sized clients who need short-term solutions may be able to find a favorable deal. Time to make some phone calls.
For the synopsis of my efforts, check out my link Dallas Office Space – Analysis If you want more details, lets talk. Schedule a phone conversation
I started my real estate investment career in 2017. For my first property, I leased a single family house for 18 months and ran it as an AirBNB. This appealed to me for 2 reasons cash flow and no debt. Since that time, I’ve added two more properties to my portfolio and I also host properties for others. When the State of Housing in Black America (SHIBA) report came out last month, I realized it was time to share my expertise with others.
I define expertise in terms of my struggles, my successes, and my preparation. I approached this endeavor like any good researcher with a doctorate would 1) I immersed myself in the research- the literature and theory, 2) Designed and revised the methodology, and only then did 3) test the knowledge in the field. As a result of this approach, I have practical and theoretical knowledge that explains why building wealth via non-traditional real estate strategies needs a more prominent place in black communities.
To incorporate these non-traditional strategies effectively we need to be proactive rather than reactive. Wealth requires ownership, protection, and cash flow. As we build wealth via these strategies, we must be aware of the regulations and policies that may enhance or threaten our efforts.
As I mentioned, my first non-traditional real estate strategy was an AirBNB (aka short-term rental) property. So, lets start with the regulations governing those properties in Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, Short-term rental (STR) Regulations
As a college-educated adult, I’ve always had at least one mentor and a group of people who would stretch me. In most instances, these relationships grew organically out of proximity, priorities, and personality. In this season of my life, I find myself missing these relationships and interactions. Don’t get me wrong, I have an inner circle who will cry, cuss, fight, and/or pray with me as needed. My inner circle doesn’t always stretch me.
For the past few months, I’ve been searching for my Mastermind group. My deliberate pursuit of this group has waxed and waned. The snippets I get from people in my groups – Church on the Hill in Cedar Hill, TX, Crossfit 3816 in Desoto, TX, and DFW REI Club in Hurst, TX, has convinced me that I need to join a Mastermind group.
The benefits of a Mastermind group can be found all over the internet just google Mastermind. Purposefully finding one that meets your needs, rather than organically forming or joining one seems to be a whole ‘nother story. So, my quest is to develop a Mastermind group of like-minded individuals.
In short, I am a Christian black married foster-mom who prioritizes family, processes, and growth. My side-hustle became my full-time in May 2017. In this transition, I am walking on water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you want to know more you can always read more of my posts.
If you are looking for a Mastermind Group, send me an email i.am.second@yrdcolumbus.com On October 27th, I will host the first an event to find or form my Mastermind group.
Suzette Teague of Abundance Realty and CITA Property Management has been my client for about 5 months. Due to a new hire, I’m finally working on the vision she outlined for her business and growth. My primary focus is marketing and lead generation.
I expected this to mean marketing for Abundance Realty. I expected to generate leads related to buyers and sellers. Surprisingly, in this market I have found that I need to focus on marketing for the rentals we manage via CITA Property Management.
Some of CITA’s easy to rent properties are staying vacant longer than the trend. Suzette has explained her typical process and coached me on closing. Unfortunately, it has not translated in to new tenants.
I’ve read a few articles about how people search for homes to purchase. In the wake of zillow, trulia, realtor more people are taking the process in to their own hands. Finding a realtor use to be the first stop, not so in this market. I haven’t found any articles about how this is impacting families looking for single family homes or duplexes.
For home purchases, this seems to mean that the first person who can make contact in the search process becomes the chosen realtor. It’s a matter of building trust and providing value as families navigate the search.
If home buyers and renters are still a distinct group, then perhaps the building trust and adding value can be translated in to the rental market. I’ll try advertising to neighbors near the rental. Perhaps, “Do you want to like your neighbors”?
“economic development can be defined as efforts that seek to improve the economic well-being and quality of life for a community by creating and/or retaining jobs and supporting or growing incomes and the tax base”
“economic power having the material, labor, or money to influence and enforce economic decisions”
“economics the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services”
Economic power and economic development produces a certain level of freedom. This freedom is in large part rooted in the psyche of man. It is the perception of controlling one’s actions and decisions based on values and priorities while in reality still bending to the will of others. After all, no man lives in a vacuum.
Unlike formal education programs (aka degrees and diplomas), one cannot complete the journey to economic power or economic development. One person will never have all economic power. One person will never be fully developed. Hence, it never ends which is the beauty and the curse. By never-ending, one is forever growing, shifting, gaining, improving. By never-ending, one is also constantly judging, criticizing, internalizing, and revising. In this never-ending process, one’s cognitive acuity is forced to grow and attune.
In the USA, federal laws and regulations benefit business-owners and property-owners. One way for marginalized or forgotten groups to gain economic power and improve economic development is to take advantage of the benefits given to business-owners and property-owners. Real Estate is an ideal opportunity.
As we discovered in 2008, some entities are too big to fail. All of these entities, were at the least negligent with their Real Estate portfolios and/or securities. The individuals at the helm of these institutions were terminated with pay and then re-hired by government organizations to fix the problem.
The marginalized or forgotten groups must discover how to leverage this safety. I am working on a 10-point plan.
For the past three weeks, I have consumed documentaries on finances, the global economy, the global money system, etc. Some of my favorites where the Inside Job, Abacus: Small Enough to Go to Jail, and 97% Owned. Even though, I haven’t incorporated all of the knowledge in to my thought process. The surface level knowledge has shifted my framework.
The idea that shifted me the most was this “Money is made by banks when they lend”. Banks increase the amount of money in accounts using 1’s and 0’s. So, money is simply 1’s and 0’s. When a company pays bank the loan, the bank erases the 1’s and 0’s but keeps the interest. The interest is deposited in to the banks account as 1’s and 0’s. But the reality is it’s not backed by gold, notes, paper money, or collateral.
The global economy is a cyclical process grounded in debt. So, those with the power in this process decide who is worthy of a loan. They decide the standards. They decide the priorities. They decide which entities receive loans.
In the US, many define success according to their income, their saving or investment accounts balances, and/or their credit score. Of these three, the only one that is mildly important is the credit score. This is because so many businesses use the credit score to make decisions. Most miss the importance of being a lender.
In order to be wealthy and to have financial independence, you have to be a lender as well; you need people or entities to be indebted to you. Lend someone one of your properties, a portion of your time, or a product. Regular payments from someone who owes you is ideal. Particularly, when their indebtedness happen as a result of one action or event.
Currently, my primary client wants me to automate portions of her property management company. To learn more about the business and her strengths, I am working as her assistant as I shadow companies who have automated various aspects of their property management company. What is surprising to me is the gap in affordable housing. I was shocked to discover that nearly half of all renters can’t afford rent.
I routinely speak with potential applicants who struggle to meet the requirements of the housing market. One potential applicant began looking for a new place to rent four months ago. In a week, her current lease ends and she’ll be forced to go on a month-to-month lease. Another had hoped to buy but the rising home prices and the bidding wars pushed her out of the market. So, she’s struggling to quickly find a suitable place to rent for her and her grandson.
Both individuals have a clean criminal history, solid employment history, and are rebuilding their credit. Yet, our housing market is making it impossible for them to choose a better home, a better neighborhood, a better foundation for their children.
Lower credit scores comes with higher interest rates, higher deposits, less supply, and often lower quality. Safe housing is a right, not a luxury. Yet, in today’s economic times so many builders, investors, and policies seem to be more concerned with profit and luxury.
The Deeply, Uniquely American Roots of Our Affordable Housing Crisis
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