“On the construction side of our business, we have benefited because contractors have been getting laid off from others, so we have been able to hire some additional contractors and increase the number of projects going. From the rental side of things, we had 16 percent of our residents affected enough to where they could not pay rent on April 1. We have been helping them to file unemployment, giving them contacts and resources, waiving all late fees, and doing everything we can to help. We even took some food to a couple of tenants who unfortunately got laid off and liter- ally couldn’t afford groceries. Having gone through the crash and losing everything back in the 2007-2010 era, I have been a huge proponent of owning every- thing free and clear. I know that is the minority view as everyone wants to leverage, but I kept focused and stayed with that strategy for the past 10 years. Now, since nearly all my rentals are free and clear, I sleep comfortably because whether all my tenants pay rent or not, I have no mortgage payments. I learned that my strategy works very well during times like these, and I don’t have to worry about what goes on in the market.”
GREG SLAUGHTER First Class Equities
“The Norris Group has doubled down on providing our Califor- nia network with the most area-specific and updated content on regulatory, legislative, and Covid-related challenges. California has been making updates at the state regarding evictions and moratori- ums and then permitting cities to do the same making local, boots- on-the-ground knowledge invaluable for the foreseeable future. We’ve been covering federal, state, and local resources for both real estate investors as well as tenants knowing our investors will likely have to be the conduit to tenants on how to get help. We’re trying to be a voice of hope and know-how in a sea of noise and fear. 90 percent of our team is working remotely despite the real es- tate sector in California falling under “essential services.” Fortu- nately, we’ve been creating systems and infrastructure for a while to prepare for an emergency. Here we are, and we’re still open for business! We are still funding in California and Florida as well as building new construction in Florida. Moving forward, we will continue with our Covid-19 investor series, with experts across the real estate sector covering taxes, retirement accounts, regulation, and area-specific intel. We update our investor resource page for Covid-19 every week and try to track the many moving parts as best as possible.”
AARON NORRIS The Norris Group
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