Real Estate Investor Not Worried About Market Downturn
“Dallas investor Dean Lontos rode the recent real estate boom, one house at a time.
The former lender started buying houses as an investor in January 2006 to cash in on what he saw as a booming market. After renovating them, he resold for a tidy profit.
And business was good. Entrepreneurs like Mr. Lontos carved out niches in the expanding industry, while homeownership opened up to more Americans than ever.
But the subprime mortgage woes that have hit lenders and hedge funds around the world are making their way onto the balance sheets of businesspeople like Mr. Lontos as well.
Mr. Lontos is also focusing on rentals, especially in the $100,000 to $150,000 range. Selling a home may be harder now, but renting one has become easier, he said.
Of the 33 homes he purchased in the Dallas area over the last year and a half, 14 were rehabbed and sold, but 15 are being leased. He has three others up for sale and is finishing renovation on another. The rental strategy works well for a group of 50 homes he recently bought in Atlanta.
“Because the portfolio is leased, we have the luxury of waiting out the market,” he said.”