INTO THE WILDERNESS ---- (a dissection of an entreprenuer's modus operandi)

I hope the title doesn't sound too over-the-top cheesy... but as a first-time blogger, I hope that maybe you'll cut me some slack..... ;)


As you can see, I've decided to venture into the blogging world. Not for an egocentric conquest of narcissistic self-gratification, but rather to share some of my insight(s) as I continue through the wild west world of the entrepreneurial real estate business.

My hope is that this blog will one day become a reliable, informative, thought-provoking source for local real estate investors, developers, agents and enthusiasts alike. I would like to think of it as a "think tank" for local greater Atlanta real estate professionals.

That being said, I would like to devote this first blog to giving you some background information on my company, and why I decided to venture into this rough and tumble business:

I founded ROMO Group, LLC in May of this year (2013).

As many of you are probably aware, the national real estate market is currently in a rather unique situation.

From roughly 2008 to earlier this year, all new home construction virtually came to a screeching halt. Even now, new home construction is far off the pace of pre-recession numbers. During the recession (which I'll note as being between the years of 2008 to 2013) the housing bubble collapsed leaving many homeowners underwater on their mortgages and not seeing any other alternative than foreclosure. This unfortunate situation flooded the market with vastly discounted bank-owned properties that literally could by bought for pennies on the dollar... and investors quickly took notice. Not only did local small business investors get in on the action, but Wall Street did as well. Large institutional investors started gobbling up massive amounts of bank-owned homes and adding them to their hedge fund portfolios. The Street's strategy seemed simple enough (renovate them, then rent them out.... and hold for several years until the market improved and resell them for a substantial profit)..... If only we knew how much we could learn from playing 'Monopoly'.

But wait a minute.... could it be that things are starting to improve for the homeowners? Why yes, yes it could. In fact, just today I heard a statistic that home prices are .12% higher than one year ago, and only  .20% off their all-time-high pre-recession numbers. Now, many homeowners are seeing their investments rise above the surface, bringing them out from underwater on their home loans. This is great news.

Many first-time home buyers, and the folks that have been paying inflated rental payments are now beginning to once again desire the great American promise of home ownership. However, there is a problem. You'll recall that new home construction has been virtually nonexistent  since 2008, and is only seeming to trickle back at a snail's pace. This has created the unique situation I mentioned to you above. Remember the old demand & supply lesson in grade school economics? Well, it's just that simple. The demand for great homes is significantly higher than the available supply, and it's once again a seller's market.

I believe we have a window of opportunity greater than any other time in history to exploit this 'perfect storm' in the market, which was the catalyst behind my decision to found ROMO Group. At this point, we and our investors' strategy is primarily 'flipping' properties, thereby revitalizing once great properties suffering from the after-shock of the Great Recession, and turning them into the best & desirable homes.

So, now that you have an idea of what we do and where I'm coming from, I hope that you will engage on our Facebook page and social media outlets to give your thoughts, knowledge and opinions on the market. Again, my hope is to share my experiences and findings, and also hear some of yours so that hopefully this will become a 'think tank' for local greater Atlanta real estate.

Type again soon.

Rocky Moore
Member/Operating Manager
ROMO Group, LLC