Real Estate Investor/Distressed Real Estate Specialist: Deepa Lakhlani

President: DL Investments

Website: www.deepalakhlani.com

Deepa Lakhlani is a South Florida real estate investor and consultant who is a pro at connecting a growing clientele of domestic and international investors with the best real estate deals South Florida has to offer. Her real estate business is growing by leaps and bounds, as she delivers an air of professionalism, integrity and magnetism that stands out among the pack. She understands the promise of real estate as an engine to future wealth and prosperity for those who choose to invest in it; and those who seek out her services know that she delivers quality service that is in a class of its own.

Deepa began her real estate career in the Sales and Marketing division of the Distressed Real Estate Institute in Boca Raton, FL, which provided her with the requisite skill set to wheel and deal in the South Florida real estate market. Deepa decided to form her own company in the earlier part of 2011 because of the volume of opportunity she saw emerging for real estate investors in the area. She is heavily involved in the wholesale and rehab sector of the real estate market and works very closely with cash buyers who are seeking to capitalize on all of the great real estate deals that exist today in South Florida.

Realty Biz News recently spoke with Deepa to find out more about her role in the real estate market in South Florida and the services that she delivers to her global base of clients:

RealtyBizNews.com: Can you describe who your clients are and what their goals are?

Deepa Lakhlani: I work very closely with two different types of clients in the real estate investment arena, either buyers or sellers. In the case of sellers, the clients that I serve are owners of distressed properties, which we acquire at a bargain price. We later present these deeply discounted investment opportunities to the buyers (investors), who are also my clients. Many of the buyers that I work with are foreign investors who are looking for properties with a good investment potential, which they may at times use  as vacation homes on a periodic basis. My business brings buyers and sellers together to strike a deal that is to everyone’s benefit.

RealtyBizNews.com: What type of properties do your deals normally involve?

Deepa Lakhlani: My clients who are buyers invest in all types of properties, but there’s a large amount of investing happening right now in the residential housing market because there is so much inventory available in this category at the present time, in South Florida.

RealtyBizNews.com: What need does your business serve over what the average real estate investor provides to buyers and sellers?

Deepa Lakhlani: A lot of distressed sellers do not see beyond the conventional ways of seeking foreclosure relief. Real Estate Investors are portrayed as “sharks” to them, who are only hungry for a good deal and want to make them homeless. Not a lot of investors spend time informing distressed sellers that their assumptions are false, and that selling their house to investors is more of a win win situation, instead of a process of making them homeless. As a distressed property consultant and an investor, I provide these sellers with insights and elucidations on the advantages of selling to private investors versus waiting for the big auction date from the banks and eventually losing their house. On the other hand, buyers find it very difficult to source good deals in this market and often get outbid when they do eventually find one. I have first hand access to these deals and my network of wholesale investors, who can consistently source these bargain priced deals. Unlike many real estate investors, I do my due diligence on all potential deals, to ensure the subject property is free and clear of any liens, code violations or open permits. Conversely, many real estate investors are oblivious to this and can make common mistakes that would cost them a fortune!

RealtyBizNews.com: What is the one thing that you wish more people knew about real estate investing?

Deepa Lakhlani: That there are different ways of accessing capital for the purposes of real estate investing. I think more people would become involved in real estate investing if they realized that as a real estate investor you do not need to have cash or credit to get started. There are many private money and hard money lenders (non mortgage lenders) who provide loans that will allow them to purchase properties for investment purposes which they intend to rehab or fix-up and resell in a short time frame, allowing them to quickly pay back the private lender and walk away with a nice profit.***

If you would like to inquire about the services that Deepa provides to property sellers and real estate investors in the South Florida real estate market, you may contact her by phone at: 1-855-REI-BUYS (734-2897), by email at: contact@deepalakhlani.com or visit her website at: www.deepalakhlani.com where you can find some of the best real estate deals South Florida has to offer.

The new book by Michael R. Bang.

Consumer advocate and foreclosure specialist, Michael R. Bang has just published his latest book, ‘Walk Away-How to Strategically Default on an Underwater Mortgage,’ which alongside his new website is aimed at helping struggling consumers understand their rights.

Many Americans are still facing difficulties due to the housing crash and economic downturn and are looking towards industry specialists for advice. The book which is published by Fastpencil, Inc. goes into a considerable amount of detail as to how the banking system works in conjunction with mortgages, and outlines the options available to consumers. These include measures to deal with loan modifications, being underwater on your mortgage, or how to simply walk away from an unaffordable home for the sake of sanity.

Michael R. Bang, consumer activist and foreclosure specialist from The Vortex Reality Vibration LLC says “Many homeowners are having their rights violated by the banking industry or their employers, it often illegal and shameful.”

Bang has been a rental investor for over 15 years and a licensed real estate agent for 10 years. He became a foreclosure specialist in 1999, and launched Georgia Foreclosure, Inc. in 2000. This is a site dedicated to providing investors and potential homeowners access to distressed properties on the market. He is a well-known expert in Atlanta on standards and practices used by banks to foreclose, and in 2008 he was bewildered to see the amount of fraudulent tactics and misrepresentation asset managers were flagrantly using to foreclose. He felt that had owners been aware of exactly what was going on and if they had known how to fight back, foreclosures could have been stopped and homes saved. Since the housing crash, Bang has turned his expertise towards consumer advocacy, working with individuals who are facing foreclosure.

His website which was launched last month gives detailed information on the foreclosure processes in each state, along with sample documents and worksheets. There is also a forum where homeowners are able to share their own experiences and can hopefully learn how to avoid being victims of fraudulent foreclosures. Bang’s inspiration came partly through his own experience after a bank tried to illegally foreclose on his home.

The myriad of tasks associated with foreclosures can lead to huge problems. Image courtesy of Ashley Campbell

Agents need a thorough and reliable workflow method to handle the myriad of information and tasks associated with each transaction. Not only do agents need a way to store all of the important contact and procedural information for each party involved in the transaction, they need a reliable way to stay on top of each deal, so that nothing gets missed.

There are several key factors to look for when searching for the right workflow software:

• Choose a user-friendly system which allows you to be up and running within a few hours, rather than days. Training should be quick and easy, so that every user can be up to speed quickly.
• Find software that will allow you to customize every task and procedure yourself, without calling on a technician.
• Remote access to the system is a definite must. Agents in the field should be able to upload reports, photos and other details through their mobile or laptops.
• The software should have the ability to provide for third party input into the system. For example, once a vendor has finished his report, he can upload the information into the system so that everyone can have access to it immediately, rather than waiting on someone inside the company to add it to the property record.
• Look for software that can connect with your company’s property website. When property offers come in, they can be mainlined into the system. This can reduce the time required for phone calls and email management while providing for faster response times.
• The software should provide for detailed reports and note taking to keep everyone in the loop, preventing miscommunication.

Flexible, user-friendly workflow software is essential for today's real estate agent. Image courtesy of Jinho.Jung

Setting up your software can take some time, however, once you’ve incorporated it into your system, you will find that you’ve more time to do what needs to be done and less time “putting out fires” that sprung up due to tasks that slipped through the cracks.