Joe Palermo of Lake Charles - Three Myths of the Real Estate Business

Joe Palermo has lived and worked in Lake Charles for over 50 years. He founded Palermo Realty Development in 1963 and helped the company grow over the decades to provide top-notch, profitable development work for real estate owners throughout the area. Together with Palermo Construction Company, which he ran until 1999, Palermo has increased the value of many properties around town and created more economic opportunities for everyone in his community. Over the years, he has heard several myths concerning the real estate industry as a whole that hopes to dispel:

• Anyone can sell real estate. Joe Palermo believes that most people can indeed sell real estate in Lake Charles, but not without experience and training in making sales. Yes, you can make a living selling real estate, but it’s not easy and you can’t do it well without training and experience.
• You can make a living working part time in real estate. Joe Palermo knows that many people in Lake Charles and throughout the United States work only part time in real estate. It can be a good way to supplement your income. But if you want to make a full-time living in real estate, you have to put in the hours, just like everyone else.
• Real estate dealings are for the rich. Real estate is simply another form of investment that anyone with enough of a nest egg can get into. Granted, it takes some means to invest in property, but it’s not as closed off from normal working people as it seems.

Joe Palermo still lives and works near Lake Charles, Louisiana.
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Joe Palermo - Working with McNeese State University in Lake Charles

Joe Palermo, a resident of the Lake Charles area in southwest Louisiana, has been working with his alma mater, McNeese State University for years to fuel research into important topics and areas of study. He established the McNeese State University Palermo Professorships, which allocate funds to worthy professors and faculty members of the college to conduct research on study how to better educate students with special needs. Special Education research is important to Palermo because it benefits some of the most vulnerable students in the national education system. Palermo believes that children with special needs deserve better opportunities for an education that could change their lives.

Joe Palermo wanted to dedicate funding to McNeese State University in Lake Charles because he wanted to be a part of the local education system and a part of the rising tide of new graduates from McNeese entering the business scene. Joe Palermo has worked in the Lake Charles area for decades, developing land and properties throughout the area for businesses, homes, and other uses. He credits his education at McNeese State for his rise in the local business community. More than anything, his studies there helped him establish the discipline within himself to work hard and achieve all of his goals.

Joe Palermo Lake Charles wanted to make more research into special education possible at the university that helped him hone his business skills and create success for him in his career. Palermo has created jobs and fueled the local economy since he graduated from McNeese.
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Joe Palermo - Business Success in Lake Charles

Joe Palermo settled in the Lake Charles area with his family when he was young. Growing up in nearby Sulphur, Louisiana, he learned much about the community and its people over the years. When it came time to found his own business, in 1963, he knew what the people living around him needed and wanted. 53 years later, his business, Palermo Realty Development, is a fast-growing company that has invested many resources in the Lake Charles and Sulphur area in Southwest Louisiana. Palermo takes his duty in the community as a benefactor and organizer very seriously to help not only his businesses, but also everyone else’s wellbeing and opportunities as well.

Joe Palermo donates time and money to several charities in the Lake Charles area and beyond. While he tries to help the community by providing needed services and opportunities for investment and development, he also takes time to help establish grants for education students who want to study special education techniques with the McNeese State University Palermo Professorships at his alma mater. He also donates to organizations that provide a safe space for kids to play and build relationships with mentors such as the Golf 4 Kids Foundation. Joe Palermo does what he can with his business and community relationships to help his community near Lake Charles as much as possible.

Joe Palermo Lake Charles is still based in Lake Charles, near where he has run his businesses for over 50 years. Palermo hopes to continue his success in the area for many more decades in the future.