All Forum Posts by: Stephen Keighery

Quote from @Joe S.:

Maybe you already answered or said in one of your post, but I don’t recall you saying.

Do you have an in person office that you and your team show up to each day in person?

I do. I have an office in a Regus center in Downtown New Orleans. I come here everyday as do my Acquisition Specialist with some slight variations (they work one later shift every week which they do from home and one of my reps just had a child so she is doing some days from home). My dispo person doesn't come in very day as he is on the road a lot. We do a full team meeting once a week though. 

Quote from @Nicholas Brackett:

@Stephen Keighery yes I'd love a couple recommendations for national DSCR lenders when you can. Thank you!

I sent you a DM as I don't think BP likes that info in the threads.

Quote from @Eric Gray:

@Stephen Keighery I'll look into when the next one is in new orleans / belle chasse since thats closer to work! Thank you!! 

Awesome. New Orleans REIA is the 3rd Thursday of the month in Metairie. They also have basic classes and event on other nights. This is their website - https://www.neworleansreia.com/Default.aspx

The Westbank Meetup is the 2nd Thursday of the month in Gretna. This is their website https://wbrealestateinvestors.com/

I go to pretty much every main meeting for both of those so if you go make sure you find me and say hi.

Quote from @Eric Gray:

Hello,

My name is Eric Gray and I am an aspiring real estate investor. I currently live in New Orleans, and am looking to begin my investment journey in Baton Rouge, I have seen some low priced single family homes but I was looking to price out full home renovations to see if it is  worth the time and effort, if anyone would be willing to look at different properties with me and give me an idea of renovation costs and potential upside I would really appreciate it.

A little about me;

I am a United States Marine Veteran currently working as a contractor down in Belle Chasse Louisiana, I have recently come into a nice nest egg due to my disability back pay and I am looking for cash flowing properties to start out. Whether that is in New Orleans or Baton Rouge. Message me for any extra information looking forward to connecting! This would be my first investment property and I have used my VA loan on the house I live in now. Send me a message!

Great to meet you Eric. I am based in New Orleans but also work in Baton Rouge. I recommend going to the local meetup to connect with contractors and other investors. In BR there is the Redstick REIA and capital city wealth builders. In NOLA there is NOREIA and Westbank Real Estate Investors. Hopefully I see you at some of these. 

Quote from @Nicholas Brackett:

Great post, I have enjoyed reading it. Didn't get through all the questions so forgive me if someone else asked but which small town banks, credit unions, and lenders in Louisiana have you found to be the easiest to work with as a real estate investor? I know some banks prefer finding BRRRRs more than others.  Thanks!

Appreciate that, Nicholas—glad you're enjoying the thread!

For my rentals, I’ve mostly used my own cash to acquire and then refinanced with national DSCR lenders to pull money out. That gave me the 30-year fixed debt I was after—which I think is key to making the BRRRR model really work long-term. A lot of the local banks here wanted to do short-term balloons, and I've always said balloons are for clowns—I want to lock in and let time and inflation do their thing.

That said, I do bank locally with Gulf Coast Bank here in Louisiana. They’ve been great for business banking and gave me a line of credit that I can use opportunistically. They understand small business and were responsive when I showed a solid track record.

If you're looking to BRRRR in Louisiana, I'd start with a national DSCR lender for the refi, and then shop the local banks for LOCs and general banking. Just make sure you’re comparing terms closely—especially around seasoning, reserves, and fixed vs. variable rates.

Let me know if you want a couple DSCR lender names—I've used a few and am happy to share

Quote from @Paulina L.:

Hi! Would love to hear how you got started. I'm trying to make my first investment but am having a hard time deciding the right move for me. Did you invest OOS first and what was your way of doing your first deal? 

Hey Paulina, great question—and I definitely remember what it felt like trying to figure out where and how to get started.

For me, I actually started in-state because I had just moved to Louisiana from Australia. I was new to the U.S. market entirely, so I focused on building local relationships and going direct-to-seller. My first deals were wholesales—assigning contracts on properties that didn’t fit my buy box. That let me build capital and a buyer list while I learned the market.

If I were starting again and couldn’t invest locally, I’d either:

1. Partner with a strong local wholesaler who understands the market and can help you source and vet deals, or

2. Focus on building your ability to analyze deals and raise capital, then JV with someone who already has boots on the ground.

The most important thing is to choose a path that plays to your strengths, especially if you're investing out-of-state. Feel free to DM me if you want to talk it out more—happy to help! 

Welcome, Ale! Love hearing your story—coming from Patagonia and navigating economic uncertainty gives you a unique and grounded perspective. It’s inspiring to see someone with both tech experience and real real estate skin in the game step into this role. BiggerPockets has been a huge part of my investing journey, and I’m excited to see how your leadership continues to elevate the platform and community. Looking forward to what’s ahead!

Quote from @Mouctar Bah:

@Stephen Keighery Thank you for the thoughtful advice, I really appreciate it! 

your welcome. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions. 

Quote from @Mouctar Bah:

Hello Stephen congratulations on the 200th deal!!! I have a question I hope it hasn't been asked already and I just didn't see it in the comments. But, I was wondering if you had to start over again, how would go about building a trust worthy wholesale business? What would you say is the key ingridiant to a successful wholesale? Would focus on finding homes to put under contract first or finding cash buyers? 

Hey Mouctar—thank you! I really appreciate that, and this is a great question.

If I had to start over from scratch, here’s what I’d focus on to build a trustworthy and successful wholesaling business:

🧱 The Foundation: Trust & Follow-Through

Wholesaling gets a bad name sometimes because people lock up deals they can’t close or mislead sellers or buyers. So the #1 thing I’d focus on is follow-through and integrity.

• Only lock up deals you actually know how to close (either by assigning or funding).

• Be upfront with sellers about how your process works.

• And if something doesn’t go to plan—own it. That’s how you build long-term trust and reputation.

🔑 The Key Ingredient: Consistency

This is a hustle game. It’s not about one big win—it’s about showing up consistently:

• Talking to sellers.

• Making offers.

• Following up.

• Building buyer relationships.
  
  Over time, that daily effort compounds into a real business.

  
  

🤝 Start with Sellers—but Hack the Process by JV’ing

People often ask whether to focus on finding sellers or buyers first. Here’s my take:

Once you’ve closed a few deals this way, you’ll:

• Have more credibility with buyers.

• Understand what a good deal looks like.

• Start building your own buyer list more naturally.

To me, wholesaling is like running a two-sided marketplace—you need both inventory (deals) and demand (buyers). Trying to build both at the same time is hard. JV'ing lets you build one side first and grow from there.

💬 Final Thought:

Wholesaling is a people-first business. If you lead with value, communicate honestly, and keep getting a little better each week—you’ll be surprised how far you can go.

Quote from @Braidon Voncina:

@Stephen Keighery hey mate I'm new to platform and never sent anyone a direct message, I clicked on your name/picture and it doesn't give me any option to message you, and I can't really find a profile search bar or anything along those lines. I was going to continue chatting to you in dm but I don't know how to do that aha I don't know if the app is any different to the computer platform 🤷‍♂️

Hey Braidon, I just sent you a message through BP so we can connect.