All Forum Posts by: Denise Brown-Puryear

I guess I unofficially retired in 2009 after my husband passed away, I was holding a key employee insurance policy check and the stock market was tanking.   I purchased distressed properties with the money to renovate, hold and rent.   I was fortunate that my brother owned a contracting business and referred me to his friends that were new home builders.    They become my crews for the next 5 years because I could pay on Friday.   By 2010, the guys that use to work for the large companies found me.   An estimator for one of those firms convinced me that there was Opportunity for female  General Contracting firms.  He got me bonded and within 3 months my company was an EDGE Contractor and we were working on public projects, an anatomy lab for NEOUCOM, a Rat Reasearch Lab, Incubator Building for Micron Electronics and the Sound System for the MAC at Kent State, a Starbucks, the Auburn Science Center and Residence Hall for Kent, Track and Field house for City of Cleveland and a Soccer pavilion for the city of Barberton.    That was in a period of three years.    Before my husbands death I owned a computer consulting  business that sold and supported Computer Aided Design Systems for Architects and engineers.   

Interesting experience, everyone assumed that it was my husbands business, and I had to explain working 12 hours a day was how I grieved. We built a business but it was not my passion. My partner and estimator moved back home to Cincinnati to take care of Mom and a disabled brother. I closed down the business. I use to kid that they only let me out of the office to sign contracts. The GC is the last person to get paid on a public job and I did the prevailing wage paperwork for every subcontractor I hired. I got a real estate license and started to flip houses first for investors then as part of an LLC with a commercial loan broker. I have a hard time retiring, I do not need to work, my investments from the last crash provide me a comfortable living and 1031 exchange opportunities. I now help with the property management group in my current brokerage. Most fun I had was volunteering at Habitat for Humanity. After 25 years of fixing computer problems it was great to be able to do something that that you could point to and say that I did that, and improve others lives. Maybe it was a nod to my husband, he was an Architect and there are numerous examples to his talent throughout Summit County.

Entrepreneurs don't retire we just do new and interesting things, because we want to, not because we have to. 

I see men constantly posting! Where are the women? That are investors and agents?

Right, the only thing is that I intend on moving out of state and won’t be able to be in town to manage it myself. I’m thinking Perhaps a traditional property management company could work better for my given situation. Any feedback is welcome.

@Denise Brown-Puryear I am about to close with LendingOne and the communication is subpar. Can you tell me more about your experience with Lima as I am in the process of onboarding more investors and I don’t want these new investors to have a crappy experience as that obviously reflects poorly on me. Basically, I’m shopping around. I just need to know the terms so I can manage expectations for me and my investors. Highly frustrated!

@James C Norman Jr

I so agree with Kay.  Having been through several economic downturns over the past 3+ decades, I would take this time to build up cash reserves, wait it out for the next 2-3 years (be anxious for nothing!), while paying attention to the sectors that will/or are beginning to slow down (i.e., retail, manufacturing, etc.) and the employment figures.  I have been a landlord owner and operator for over 30 years in Brooklyn, NY and am now in North Carolina; my niche renter has always been the moderate working class person.  Not everyone is going to be interested in taking on the responsibility of owning and maintaining a home and there will always be renters.  Appreciation is great, but for ME, cash flow is even better!  

Final note; after being in this business over a length of time, one can develop a sense of the ebb and flow of the economy; and I just roll with that.  Just my 2 cents; but hope it helps.  All the best to you!  

Ideally, the optimal time to buy is when everyone is selling and running for the hills, when it's a buyers market. Right now, the markets across the country are overheating and it's a sellers market. Sellers can demand all cash, a fast closing and get offers above asking price too. It doesn't mean you shouldn't be a buyer, only that it's significantly more difficult to find a good deal.

In addition, unless someone has a crystal ball, there isn't a surefire way to know when the next downturn will come about. It can be in a month or 2-3 years from now, no matter the dire predictions we constantly hear.

If an investor is savvy enough and has the means and patience to wait, potentially another 2-3 years or more, properties will be selling for steep discounts to what they are going for now and will put some of the best deals you can find now to shame. Warren Buffett is sitting on $122 billion in cash just waiting for the next opportunity. Buffett is very savvy, patient and disciplined to do so.

There are still deals out there and plenty of profit to be made with the current market conditions, just depends on your investment profile.