Contributors

This page highlights the various contributors to Real Estate Investing for Real, the official real estate investing blog of BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing Community.

If you are interested in contributing to our blog, please let us know. Contributors will get a place on this page including their image, mini-bio, contact info, and website URL (great for driving traffic back to your website).

Real Estate Investing for Real Founder & Editor:

Joshua Dorkin
Founder / President
BiggerPockets, Inc.
BiggerPockets.com was founded by Joshua Dorkin back in August 2004. Joshua has worked in many fields, but today is best described as an entrepreneur, web designer, real estate investor. Mr. Dorkin’s vision for helping real estate investors through BiggerPockets, has helped to propel it into becoming one of the top real estate investing destinations online.

Real Estate Investing for Real Contributors:

Michael Creel
Realtor / Property Manager
Born in the great State of Louisiana I take pride in bringing honesty and integrity to every deal I participate in. After attending college at Texas Tech, I attended the American College of Real Estate. I founded Southern Custom Homes in 1986 and built many beautiful homes that will be here long after I’m gone. I’ve learned the real estate business through hands on training and understand what it takes to be successful as a realty investor. I am a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) with a certificate in Project Management, a licensed Realtor, and soon to be Broker.

I’ve lived in Washington State since 1994 and I frequently travel to Hong Kong and mainland china to meet with investors. I’m currently participating in projects budgeted at over two hundred million USD in Seattle and represent residential clients in transactions up to 15.5 million USD.

When I have time I visit my ranch outside of Lafayette, LA enjoying the biggest bowl of gumbo I can find.

Website: http://www.creelestate.com

Mike Farmer
Real Estate Broker
I’m broker/owner of Mike Farmer Realty in Savannah Ga. I have 13 years experience providing residential and commercial real estate services with an emphasis on buyer agency services for home buyers and investors.

My company covers Chatham, Bryan and Effingham counties.

Website: Mike Farmer Realty

Ted Karsch
Commercial Real Estate Investor / Mortgage Consultant
Ted Karsch is a commercial real estate investor, business writer and commercial mortgage consultant. He is a managing director of Combase Financial, Inc., a commercial mortgage brokerage and direct lender located in Miami, Florida. He also is the teacher of an online apartment building investment E-course. He specializes in helping first time and experienced apartment building investors make financially wise choices. His online apartment building investment course can be found at www.tedkarsch.com/buy-your-first-apartment-building

Tom Koizol
Foreclosure Consultant
Tom Koziol is a foreclosure consultant in Nevada who also co-owns an insurance agency with his son. His background includes real estate broker, stock broker, investment banker, professional speaker and retired military officer. To say he doesn’t like sitting still is an understatement. He has hosted and presented seminars in the political arena as well as in the sales and investment fields. Tom was a part time teacher at a community college in California and had an investment column in two California daily newspapers. His core philosophy always puts the client first whether it is at a paid speaking engagement, seminar or in the office. If the client’s interest isn’t paramount, why do it? After all, more sales are made through trust than through back door tactics. Tom is ready and willing to help people with their investment careers. The field is wide open and there is more than enough room for those who are willing to work, learn and be persistent.

Website: www.homeforeclosureprofits.com

Joshua Marks
Real Estate Attorney
Marks & Rosenzweig, LLC
Joshua M. Marks, Esq. is a founding member of Marks & Rosenzweig, LLC, a Philadelphia, PA based law firm that concentrates in real estate, commercial and employment law.

Josh handles all of the firm’s real estate and commercial matters, including transactions of all sizes and some cases involving litigation. He focuses a majority of his time representing buyers, sellers, lessees and investors of residential properties, vacation properties, apartment complexes, retail space, store-front property, multi-unit buildings, strip-centers and other types of property.

Josh also assists individuals and businesses in the creation of new entities such as partnerships, LLCs, corporations, and limited partnerships. He drafts operating agreements, shareholders’ agreements, buy-sell agreements, and provides counsel to many business owners addressing a variety of business and commercial needs.

Website: www.lawmr.com

Troy Schuricht
Co-founder/Residential Loan Specialist
Community First Financial, LLC
As a business owner I have a passion for the real estate market. My business partner, Phillip Lechter and I created Community First Financial with three things in mind; Relationship, Education and Opportunity. We believe through our relationships in the community individuals can educate themselves about real estate and this will lead to opportunities for all parties.

For the last 8 years I have focused on residential and construction financing. In that time I have worked for 3 other companies, experiencing both booms and bust of the economy. Community First Financial is the second mortgage company that I have been involved in starting. The unique aspect of our company is the educational element that we bring to our community.

Website: www.communityfirstfinancial.com

Richard Warren
Real Estate Investor / Landlord / Rehabbing Specialist
Richard Warren is the founding member of Rich Kat Properties, LLC, a Nevada based real estate investment firm with the goal of renovating distressed housing. Richard is a veteran rehabber who also owns numerous rental properties in Nevada.

Richard has an extensive and varied background having worked in construction as a teenager then going on to work in the field of financial services. He became a Certified Financial Planner, eventually owning his own financial planning firm and insurance agency. The events of 9/11 caused him to reevaluate his life and led him and his wife, Kathi, to relocate from New York to Las Vegas, leaving the financial world behind and moving into real estate investing.

Richard brings a unique and realistic perspective to the world of real estate investing. As a rehab specialist he understands that the reality of the business is very different from the fantasy of the numerous “flip and grow rich� TV shows. Recently Richard has been the featured speaker at numerous real estate investment clubs and has had articles published in newspapers and on investment websites.
Website: www.rehabberseye.com

Jim Watkins
Real Estate Investor / Mentor / Foreclosure Specialist
Jim began his investing career like most people… not knowing where to start, but eventually settled on investing in pre-foreclosures. Since then, Jim has become a specialist in the PreForeclosure field and has developed a program to help homeowners remain in their home while benefiting the homeowners and the investors. In 2004, Jim began teaching investment real estate with Foreclosure Listing Service, Inc. in Addison, Texas. He has also taught his courses for a leading investment club in Dallas as well as Mandatory Continuing Education for Kaplan Professional Schools. In 2005, he launched DFW Mentor, which provides individual and group mentoring to new and seasoned investors.

Jim is also a veteran of numerous rehabs, short sales, buying at foreclosure auctions, flipping, property management and more. His most recent developments? Stepping up his contributions to the BiggerPockets site and forming a new real estate investors networking club in North Texas… IGOTEX or Investors Group Of Texas.

Milton B. Yates
Real Estate Investor / Coach
Milton B. Yates is a full time real estate investor and real estate investment coach in the DC Metropolitan Area and Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. His first major entrepreneurial venture was a healthy food delivery service and restaurant called Fitness and Food Used for Energy and Life, Inc. Although he was able to eke out a respectable living in that industry for over 5 years, he felt like his time had a greater value than he had given it. He began to use Real Estate Investing as a wealth building tool and became exceptional at it. His successes led him to an eventual start of a Real Estate Investment Coaching Program called ?The What and the How.? Milton prides himself in teaching his students what to do and how to do it. He models his life around the four pillars of success: personal development, business systems, direct-response marketing, and real estate investing. As an investor he purchases and wholesales no fewer than 2 to 3 houses per month and has mentored some of the most successful real estate entrepreneurs on the East Coast and the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex.

Milton is the President of A.S.A.P. Community Solutions, the Co-President of the PG County REIA in Maryland, the Organizer of ?The What and the How? Dallas REI Secrets MeetUP, the Organizer of the DFW Marketing Society, and Assistant Organizer of the A.S.A.P. Community Real Estate Buying and Investing and Training MeetUp.

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