Has anyone used Hipster Investments?

Westbury, NY · Member since 2017 · 30 posts · 13 votes

Hi everyone,

I’m curious to know if anyone has had first hand experience using Hipster Investments to buy TK properties? I see the founder, Ali Boone, writes a lot of articles for BP, but I haven’t been able to find any information on her company in the forums. I would appreciate any feedback.

1 Reply

132 views

Most Popular Reply

Ali Boone

Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes

Oh, well hi everyone! I guess I should set one of my keyword alerts to be “Hipster Investments”… I didn’t even know there was a post about my own company until the last post just tagged me. (Warning: long response coming….I’m a little late to my own party so it might take a minute to catch-up)

I’m absolutely happy to answer any questions, disclose anything anyone wants to know, and respond to anything.

To give you a short on my exact place in this turnkey world… I started out as a turnkey buyer myself, long before I even knew all the companies out there. (sorry @SAJ to burst your claim I’m not a turnkey buyer). When I was a buyer of them for myself, I was so excited about them that I was telling everyone under the sun about them and since people hadn’t heard about turnkeys, they all wanted to know more and a lot of people I told ended up buying for themselves. As this continued, I was finally told that if I got my real estate license I could accept referral fees on people’s purchases. I did this solely as a side gig while I was working my corporate engineering job. After I had started my own casual real estate blog not too long after, BP found me and asked if I would start writing for them. Suddenly traffic levels got huge and everyone asked who I had bought through, so I told them. End of story.

I do make referral fees for my referrals, but let me make something very clear. I have had just about every TK provider and TK company offer me referral fees to promote their properties, and just about all of them offered me substantially higher referral fees than I currently make. However, I vowed in the beginning that I would only refer people to opportunities that I personally invested in myself. To this day I still don’t refer anyone to anything I haven’t been directly involved in myself.

Even if you message me directly, you will never hear me pitch or sell anyone on anything (I’m actually the worst salesperson on the planet, guaranteed). I don’t pitch or sell anything in my forum responses, in my articles, or anywhere. I can’t even tell you how many people I’ve told that they shouldn’t buy a turnkey (two people just earlier today, in fact). I don’t even offer property or resource information unless someone asks me for it. So if anyone feels in any way that I’m only a marketing salesperson, I’m very sorry you feel that way.

@Account Closed

16 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

46 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Elizabeth Garcia
OP
Westbury, NY · Member since 2017 · 30 posts · 13 votes
8y
Wow @Bo Kim thanks for the heads up. It didn't even occur to me people would be sneaky and not disclose their connections.
0 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
@Jay Hinrichs Absolutely...everyone is stringently licensed in all of our chains. I've had lots of wholesalers try to convince me they don't need to be licensed and to that I just tell them-- okay then, good luck! ;)
@Tom Ott Hey Tom! I don't think we've officially met, but we often respond in the same forum chains. Happy to chat anytime and talk turnkey world and where we all live in it.
@Jason Hartman Hey Jason! Same...I don't think we've ever met, but I hear your name all the time. Happy to connect!
0 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Chris Clothier:

@Elizabeth Garcia, Welcome to BP! I was alerted to your post when my company was mentioned and I'm actually really glad that I came here and read it.
It is unfortunate that a couple of people came on here and chose to speak poorly of @Ali Boone. In my opinion, those were in poor taste, but I want to commend Ali for the way she has handled herself. That speaks volumes about who you are asking about. I wanted to give Ali a very strong character reference.
I met Ali 5 years ago when I asked to meet her while I was in Los Angeles. I was impressed with her articles on the Bigger Pockets blog. Ali and I were the only two writing about passive, Turnkey real estate investing at the time. I visited her site, much like you did, and was impressed with her story. It was real. It wasn't made up junk meant to sound official and important. Her blog and her writing were her real story of buying property passively, Turnkey and often sight unseen.
Unlike any other companies that @Jay Hinrichs listed, Ali is the only one that I know of who shares her real investing story and only discusses a company with an investor if she has personally done business with them. Through Hipster Investments, from what I have heard both from her and from others who have dealt with her, Ali does spend time getting to know investors and patiently and kindly answering their questions.
The biggest difference, and please weigh this heavily Elizabeth, Ali only gives advice based on her investments. I have never heard one person speak poorly of their interactions with Ali.
I have never done business with Hipster Investments and no one has ever been passed onto me for an Affilaite commission or anything of that sort. Why? Because Ali and I have never done business! We didn't have the need for a referral partner and she wasn't looking to purchase in Memphis so Hipster has never sent one client to my company. That is called integrity.
Too many people use the word Turnkey to promote their business when all they really are is middle men. Not a week goes by when a company and sometimes even individuals right here on BP asks to send their clients to my company for a fee. They simple want to get in the middle of a transaction and get paid. Those fees range from $5,000 to as high as 7%, whichever number is higher. On a $150,000 house, that is over $10,000. Not a single one of those promoters has ever asked to purchase a property first so they can advise from experience and give first-hand knowledge. The only qualification has been ability to pay!
I'm not a fan of the promoter business. In general, I don't think they look for the best of the best as Jay wrote above. My experience in the past 10 years has been that promoters look for whomever is willing and able to pay. Again, that is my experience in dealing with the promoter world.
I also laugh at the phrase market agnostic, which has been thrown around here a couple of times in the post. I'm not really sure what is meant by that? Unless a promoter is willing to spend time with you researching and discussing the market you want to invest in regardless of whether they have a provider that is going to pay them in that market, then they are not market agnostic. That would imply that they don't care where you invest as long as you do.
In reality, they may not care which market you invest in as long as it is a market with a provider where they will get paid. That is less 'market agnostic' and more 'I don't care which of the markets I have a provider in you choose'. Nothing wrong with that at all, it just doesn't have quite the same ring to it!
I'm not privy to Ali's relationship with Maverick nor do I need to be. You asked a simple question about Ali Boone and Hipster Investments and I just hate to see someone whom I admire and have respect for get drug through the mud like she has done something wrong. She shares from her experiences and makes referrals based on those experiences. I often don't agree with things that Ali posts here on BP. Her and I have differing opinions on many real estate investing topics, but I respect her for honestly sharing.
In my opinion, you cannot ask for much more than to deal with a person who is honest, operates with integrity and has a track record of actually investing as a turnkey investor.
Best of luck to you Elizabeth!
Chris, I really appreciate your words....thank you. I feel like you are easily the most well-respected turnkey guy on BiggerPockets and to have your backing tells me I must've done something right (although apparently not the wording on my website according to some members, lol). I really appreciate your emphasis on me speaking from my personal experiences because that has always been my goal and I'm excited to know that comes through! And yes, you and I haven't always agreed on everything but I love that we can so easily agree to disagree, never bash or undermine the other, and at the end of the day we still support each other and our companies. I will tell people all day long that if they are wanting to buy in Memphis, they should absolutely go the MemphisInvest route! And I don't make a penny for saying that. ;) I also love everything you are doing for the turnkey world and I do hope more and more turnkey providers follow MemphisInvest's lead. Thanks again for your support, and definitely let me know if you are ever in LA again!
1 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Bo Kim:
You're very welcome, one thing to add - an advice I got from a seasoned investor was that make sure you take all the info, digest it, and make your own decision. In my short 6 months on BP i've been PM'd and contacted by other BP members who did not disclose they are somehow connected to the turnkey provider (either get a referral fee or they are financing the TK, etc.) so just be careful of those "related parties". Not saying they are all bad, but it just opened my eyes in terms of ppl may have a hidden agenda and not have your best interest in mind when making recommendations.
Hey Bo! It's great to hear you found some TKs you like and feel comfortable with. There's no one solution for everyone so it's great that you investigated, researched and found what was best for you. I think everyone should do that for themselves and only buy what they feel best about, not what other people tell them they should feel best about.
The one thing I want to say in response to this post is that, for anyone thinking of buying a turnkey or any other property or opportunity or whatever it may be, at the end of the day it absolutely doesn't matter who tells you what about a turnkey/property/opportunity. All that matters is your own due diligence on it. The only thing that matters about a deal is the deal. If a deal is over-priced for what it is and that's because someone is getting a referral fee, then ditch the deal- it's over-priced. If a deal is solid, numbers are solid, market is solid, who cares who is getting what inbetween? It's a lot like when people want to know how much a turnkey provider is making on the rehab.... who cares what they are making if you are getting a good deal?
Anyone who buys a real estate investment, of any kind, based on what someone told them is not going to be very successful as an investor and will probably tank pretty quickly. Fortunately, you don't have to trust a soul in this industry because it's your responsibility as an investor to do your own full due diligence on any deal presented to you. So to me, the messenger never matters. Unless you aren't able or willing to verify everything about the deal on your own. In which case, you probably shouldn't invest.
(I don't mean "you" as in you specifically, just whoever is reading this.)
Hope that makes sense!
6 Reply
Jason Hartman
Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2012 · 314 posts · 146 votes
8y
Hi @Ali Boone - nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll cross paths soon.
0 Reply
Bo Kim
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 141 posts · 123 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Ali Boone:
Originally posted by @Bo Kim:
You're very welcome, one thing to add - an advice I got from a seasoned investor was that make sure you take all the info, digest it, and make your own decision. In my short 6 months on BP i've been PM'd and contacted by other BP members who did not disclose they are somehow connected to the turnkey provider (either get a referral fee or they are financing the TK, etc.) so just be careful of those "related parties". Not saying they are all bad, but it just opened my eyes in terms of ppl may have a hidden agenda and not have your best interest in mind when making recommendations.
Hey Bo! It's great to hear you found some TKs you like and feel comfortable with. There's no one solution for everyone so it's great that you investigated, researched and found what was best for you. I think everyone should do that for themselves and only buy what they feel best about, not what other people tell them they should feel best about.
The one thing I want to say in response to this post is that, for anyone thinking of buying a turnkey or any other property or opportunity or whatever it may be, at the end of the day it absolutely doesn't matter who tells you what about a turnkey/property/opportunity. All that matters is your own due diligence on it. The only thing that matters about a deal is the deal. If a deal is over-priced for what it is and that's because someone is getting a referral fee, then ditch the deal- it's over-priced. If a deal is solid, numbers are solid, market is solid, who cares who is getting what inbetween? It's a lot like when people want to know how much a turnkey provider is making on the rehab.... who cares what they are making if you are getting a good deal?
Anyone who buys a real estate investment, of any kind, based on what someone told them is not going to be very successful as an investor and will probably tank pretty quickly. Fortunately, you don't have to trust a soul in this industry because it's your responsibility as an investor to do your own full due diligence on any deal presented to you. So to me, the messenger never matters. Unless you aren't able or willing to verify everything about the deal on your own. In which case, you probably shouldn't invest.
(I don't mean "you" as in you specifically, just whoever is reading this.)
Hope that makes sense!
Hey @Ali Boone, nice to hear from you as well! To clarify, I'm not saying marketers are bad or people who make referrals are bad. In my previous post I said there are pros and cons to both (providers and marketers) and yes, we need to all do our due diligence. I was simply sharing my experience of being solicited by people who first appeared to give just helpful advice but had hidden incentives. Referral fees aren't an issue in my opinion, I would have preferred that they disclose that to me so that as a buyer I am aware of the bias.
2 Reply
Lance Lewton
Investor · League City, TX · Member since 2018 · 34 posts · 12 votes
8y
@bo Kim I'd be interested in who you narrowed your 2 TKs down to, but I'm not able to PM. Maybe since this is my 1st post? @Elizabeth Garcia I've been reading BP posts for over a year and came to the conclusion that TK would work best for me too. I originally emailed Ali and she came across as very personable. I told her I really liked her company name and she and her associate (I forget her name) connected me with Maverick. Watched some Maverick webinars in Philly and Baltimore and they put me in touch with ABC Capital. I've been talking with them off and on to do a BRRR, but I get concerned about my exit strategy when I use the google street view to check out the neighborhoods in which I can actually afford to buy in. I was talking to High Return Investments out of Indy. They were super nice, but got scared away from C-class properties all together. (They do sell B-class too) On that note it's interesting to get all these TK providers perception on what constitutes an ABC-class. I know it can definitely be specific to a area, but some B-classes would look like C or D and I would just cut communications politely right there. Talked to Norada, AREI, Home Union, Jax investments, and Texas Turn Key. Maybe even Smartland. Honestly can't remember as there's been many more. I enjoy the Holton-Wise YouTube vids and get their daily emails. (If I were gonna take the C-D class plunge it would probably be with them.) It's funny how aggressive you have to be to find a great passive investment, but I learn something new with every post and phone call. And honestly it's been a roller coaster of excitement and disappointment. Learning something and then feeling like a big dummy after. Lol. But, I'm looking to to score an A or B class here pretty soon so, I'll be posting more once I take the plunge on my 1st TK. Take care Elizabeth, Lance
4 Reply
Brandon Hicks
Investor · Avilla, IN · Member since 2013 · 796 posts · 769 votes
8y
Elizabeth Garcia have you looked into being a limited partner in an apartment syndication instead of turn-keys? It would allow you to be more passive and spread your risk across many units vs one. I’ve never invested in TK’s but can envision so many potential headaches.
0 Reply
Victor Viyuoh
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 25 votes
8y
Normally, when big boys and girls are talking the little ones should listen but my two cents ... @Ali Boone was amongst the few who welcomed me when I joined BP. We went back forth. I asked what she did. She said she was an investor and business owner. There was no sales pitch. I did some research on her by reading a few of her blogs and articles. Great helpful info. Had no idea she recommends TP. She never tried to sell me anything. We’re yet to meet in person but she’s one of the few BP’ers with whom I feel very comfortable.
3 Reply
Chris ClothierBusiness Member
Rental Property Investor · memphis, TN · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
@Ali Boone - you're a BP rockstar who understood before most people the real power of these forums. It's not promoting yourself - it is attracting others to you. @Victor Viyuoh just explained exactly why I wrote my original post to @Elizabeth Garcia. From the beginning you have always attracted your audience to you and attracted readers rather than advertised yourself to them. That is why I wrote what I wrote.
As for you and I not always agreeing, that is a good thing. It means we recognize differing viewpoints and respect what is being said. I used the word often which implies the wrong thing. It happens, but it doesn't mean one of us is right and the other is wrong! Hope you have an awesome 2018!
Podcast Guest on Show #224
REI Nation4.577 Reviews
Website View Page
4 Reply
Eran G.
Dallas, TX · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 4 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Ali Boone:

Even if you message me directly, you will never hear me pitch or sell anyone on anything (I’m actually the worst salesperson on the planet, guaranteed). I don’t pitch or sell anything in my forum responses, in my articles, or anywhere. I can’t even tell you how many people I’ve told that they shouldn’t buy a turnkey (two people just earlier today, in fact). I don’t even offer property or resource information unless someone asks me for it. So if anyone feels in any way that I’m only a marketing salesperson, I’m very sorry you feel that way.
@Account Closed
I have messaged Ali directly and can personally vouch that she made no direct\indirect effort to try to sell me anything or even steer me in any particular direction. She answered my question and simply put it out there that she would be willing to answer more questions in the future. I have not purchased anything through my communication with Ali or Hipster investments so I cant vouch for the value of the investments themselves, but Ali as a person and a professional, appears to me to have her heart in the right place.
1 Reply
Eran G.
Dallas, TX · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 4 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Elizabeth Garcia:
Wow @Bo Kim thanks for the heads up. It didn't even occur to me people would be sneaky and not disclose their connections.
I will second what Bo said. Simply be aware that any recommendation made to you by someone from the forums, may or may not, have a vested financial interest in that recommendation. It can be done very sneakily and under the guise of "I just want to help you", but the recommendation may very well be a commission-based referral. It can be hard to untangle all of the motives behind recommendations that you may come across here so simply be consciously aware of hidden agendas in the case of recommendations. Best of luck to you!
2 Reply
Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo, NY · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
8y
@Account Closed.. Hi, I literally just reached out to Ali this week to ask her advice on TK investing out of state. She was extremely helpful, took time to answer any questions I had, and at no point anywhere in the conversation did she push a sale, her company, or anything else.
So I literally had the exact opposite experience of what you are claiming dealing with Ali and Hipster investments just days before this post. I would recommend getting first hand experience before taking a shot at someone's reputation like that....just saying.
Irish Jones Realty4.947 Reviews
View Page
3 Reply
Steve Kontos
Investor · Great Neck, NY · Member since 2016 · 679 posts · 467 votes
8y
@Elizabeth Garcia
I run one in Queens (also trying to work on getting it in the city). Feel free to send me your email and I'll add you to the list!
0 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Victor Viyuoh:

Normally, when big boys and girls are talking the little ones should listen but my two cents ... @Ali Boone was amongst the few who welcomed me when I joined BP. We went back forth. I asked what she did. She said she was an investor and business owner. There was no sales pitch. I did some research on her by reading a few of her blogs and articles. Great helpful info. Had no idea she recommends TP. She never tried to sell me anything. We’re yet to meet in person but she’s one of the few BP’ers with whom I feel very comfortable.
Hey Victor! Thanks so much for your words, I really appreciate them! :) Definitely reach out anytime I can be of any help.
1 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Chris Clothier:

@Ali Boone - you're a BP rockstar who understood before most people the real power of these forums. It's not promoting yourself - it is attracting others to you. @Victor Viyuoh just explained exactly why I wrote my original post to @Elizabeth Garcia. From the beginning you have always attracted your audience to you and attracted readers rather than advertised yourself to them. That is why I wrote what I wrote.
As for you and I not always agreeing, that is a good thing. It means we recognize differing viewpoints and respect what is being said. I used the word often which implies the wrong thing. It happens, but it doesn't mean one of us is right and the other is wrong! Hope you have an awesome 2018!
Thanks Chris!! And you too! Let's definitely catch-up more often. Talk soon!
0 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Eran G.:

Originally posted by @Ali Boone:
Even if you message me directly, you will never hear me pitch or sell anyone on anything (I’m actually the worst salesperson on the planet, guaranteed). I don’t pitch or sell anything in my forum responses, in my articles, or anywhere. I can’t even tell you how many people I’ve told that they shouldn’t buy a turnkey (two people just earlier today, in fact). I don’t even offer property or resource information unless someone asks me for it. So if anyone feels in any way that I’m only a marketing salesperson, I’m very sorry you feel that way.
@Account Closed
I have messaged Ali directly and can personally vouch that she made no direct\indirect effort to try to sell me anything or even steer me in any particular direction. She answered my question and simply put it out there that she would be willing to answer more questions in the future. I have not purchased anything through my communication with Ali or Hipster investments so I cant vouch for the value of the investments themselves, but Ali as a person and a professional, appears to me to have her heart in the right place.
Thanks Eran!! :)
0 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Matthew Irish-Jones:

@Account Closed.. Hi, I literally just reached out to Ali this week to ask her advice on TK investing out of state. She was extremely helpful, took time to answer any questions I had, and at no point anywhere in the conversation did she push a sale, her company, or anything else.
So I literally had the exact opposite experience of what you are claiming dealing with Ali and Hipster investments just days before this post. I would recommend getting first hand experience before taking a shot at someone's reputation like that....just saying.
Hey I like that Matthew... work with someone before you take a shot at their reputation. What a concept! ;) I'm super glad you reached out and I really appreciate you sticking up for me on here! Definitely reach out antytime and happy to stay in touch. Thanks again!
3 Reply
Raj G.
Real Estate Investor · Chantilly, VA · Member since 2017 · 13 posts · 39 votes
5y
In 2017, I found Hipster Investments (Ali Boone) and through Hipster attended a webinar hosted by Maverick Investment Group (Matt Bowles, Phil Alexander). During this webinar, Maverick Investor Group promoted and referred potential investors (like me) to ABC Baltimore (Jay Walsh). In Aug 2017, we (my wife and I) purchased a Baltimore BRRR property with ABC Baltimore. The property was sold to us for $106,000 ($46000 purchase price+ $60,000 for a full rehab to be completed by ABC Baltimore).

After 2 years (Aug 2019), I lost >$12,000 in this investment (breakdown attached). Sharing my experience, in my opinion, can help educate other new and experienced investors considering similar investments with ABC Baltimore or having investment discussions with Maverick Investor Group and Hipster Investments. Based on my experience and in my opinion, I cannot recommend ABC Baltimore, Maverick Investor Group or Hipster Investments.

The investment was a BRRR purchase in Baltimore where we would pay $106,000; $46,000 for the property + $60000 for a full rehab that was going to be completed in 120 days. Maverick received a referral fees (in excess of $6000) from the transaction between ABC Baltimore and me. In addition to the $106,000, we also paid ~$3500 in closing costs. During the Maverick Investment Group webinar, ABC Baltimore made the following guarantees that were also in our final contract with ABC Baltimore-

1) If the rehab takes longer than 120 days, the seller (ABC Baltimore) will pay us a rental guarantee of $1400 per month.

2) If the house after rehab is completed appraises for less than our total purchase price of $106,000 then the seller will buy the house back.

Assured by these guarantees in the contract, we signed the contract for $106,000. We had wonderful guarantees and a signed contract. Surely, nothing can go wrong, right?

Dead Wrong. Our 120-day rehab period ended in Dec 2017 and ABC Baltimore told us that the house was “very close” to being done. Even though we were disappointed that the rehab was not complete, we thought, the rental guarantee will offset the construction delay. ABC kept the first two and half months of rent from the rental guarantee for tenant placement fees and utilities (water, electric). Based on our records, ABC did not pay water, electric or any other utilities but charges us for them anyway. We had to pay the utilities directly to Baltimore City to stop the late fees from piling and have our credit affected.

Maverick, on the other hand, continued to advise us to be patient. Months passed and ABC kept saying that house was “very close”. After several reminders, ABC Baltimore started paying rental guarantees in March 2018 ($1260/month) and they were almost always late. In my opinion, it almost felt like we had to chase and coax ABC Baltimore to get the money owed to us from the rental guarantee. The rent guarantee was never deposited without several reminders that it was past due.

In May 2018, ABC told us that the house was almost done, and we could hire a licensed Home Inspector to inspect the home. The Home Inspector report revealed major deficiencies in the rehab and the Home Inspector told me that the rehab was like “putting lipstick on a pig”. We also learned that the house had failed or not received many of Baltimore city’s permits and inspections. When I sent the Home Inspection report to ABC Baltimore, it was the usual, “We will work on the items, we are very close, etc.”. Things continued at a snail pace with the rehab and I continued to remind and plead ABC to pay us the rent guarantees.

ABC Baltimore promised to continue paying us rent even after the Rent Guarantee expired on Dec 17 2018 because the house was not ready after more than 16 months. However, starting from Dec 2018, ABC Baltimore stopped paying us rental guarantees and the house remained unfinished without required city permits to rent the house. ABC Baltimore continued to say that “house was close” and Maverick continued to ask us to be patient. We thought about hiring a lawyer but the legal fees were expected to be in the range of $10k to $15k and would have taken months (if not years). We decided against taking the legal route and continued to plead ABC Baltimore to finish the rehab and pay us the monthly rent without success.

Of course, during this entire ordeal, Baltimore City issued several citations and fines to our property because ABC Baltimore was often working without required city permits and leaving construction trash outside. Because these were liens against our property, we paid over $1200 in Baltimore city citations from our own pockets. ABC Baltimore said they would pay us back these citations but of course they did not.

In May 2019, ABC Baltimore finally told us that the house was “ready”, and we could get it appraised. We thought- “Thank you, God! The wait will be worth it!”. The appraisal of our house from our refinance company came at $60,000. The house was expected to appraise at least $106,000 per contract! We immediately sent the appraisal report to ABC Baltimore and asked them to buy the house back per contract. ABC Baltimore said they would conduct their own second appraisal (per contract ABC Baltimore had the right to conduct second appraisal).

ABC Baltimore appraisal came at $102,000 (contingent on the basement flooring being fixed). Note that the house still did NOT have the required City Permits to rent the house to a tenant. It was very surprising how ABC’s appraisal ($102,000) was so much higher than our bank’s independent appraisal ($60,000). ABC Baltimore’s appraisal was still lower than $106,000 expected per contract. We again asked ABC Baltimore to buy the house back. At this point, we were literally scared and feared that if ABC Baltimore refused to buy back the house and then we would have to go through a long and expensive legal process. Feeling helpless and powerless, we offered to give up our unpaid rents and Baltimore City Citations of over $10,000 so that we can complete the buy back without having to go through a legal process.

In July 2019, ABC Baltimore agreed to buy the house back at $95,000. Burdened with a vulnerable and helpless feeling, I agreed to accept ABC Baltimore’s reduced offer of $95k and closed the buy—back with ABC (we still had to pay closing costs). During the days leading up to the closing of the buy-back, we sent Thank-you emails to ABC Baltimore and Maverick to butter them up. This is how vulnerable I felt.

All said and done, we lost >$12,000. See the attached breakdown of losses for more details. We not only lost our hard-earned money but on top of everything, our health suffered, I had several sleepless nights due to the stress and anxiety that this horrible experience created for my wife and me.

After the buy-back was completed, I approached Maverick/Hipster to at least help us with our losses by requesting us to give back $6000. Maverick said no and said I was acting unprofessional. Maverick pointed to the agreement we signed that essentially relieved Maverick from any financial losses suffered by us. In my opinion, Maverick and Hipster, in good faith, could have given me back the referral fees they made on my transaction with ABC because (in my opinion), it was a horrible referral. To me, it felt very unfair that we lost >$12000 in our transaction with ABC Baltimore and yet Maverick Investor Group and Hipster Investments made a total commission in excess of $6000 from our transaction with ABC Baltimore. After Maverick said no to our request to help us with ~$6000, I also approached Jay Walsh after the buy-back to help us by returning portion of the money that was owed to us. Jay Walsh told me that I had agreed to the buy-back terms and asked me to “Be a Man”.

In summary, thanks to everyone for reading the long post. I have attached documents that provide additional details to my post. I will acknowledge that from my perspective, Ali Boone is a good person. However, based on this business transaction, I cannot recommend the three companies that I worked with ABC Baltimore (Jay Walsh), Maverick Investor Group (Matt Bowles) and Hipster Investments (Ali Boone) for reasons described above. I will end the post with a phrase that, in my opinion, is apt for my experience- “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. There shall never be a second time.

4 Reply
Ali Boone
Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @Raj G.:
In 2017, I found Hipster Investments (Ali Boone) and through Hipster attended a webinar hosted by Maverick Investment Group (Matt Bowles, Phil Alexander). During this webinar, Maverick Investor Group promoted and referred potential investors (like me) to ABC Baltimore (Jay Walsh). In Aug 2017, we (my wife and I) purchased a Baltimore BRRR property with ABC Baltimore. The property was sold to us for $106,000 ($46000 purchase price+ $60,000 for a full rehab to be completed by ABC Baltimore).

After 2 years (Aug 2019), I lost >$12,000 in this investment (breakdown attached). Sharing my experience, in my opinion, can help educate other new and experienced investors considering similar investments with ABC Baltimore or having investment discussions with Maverick Investor Group and Hipster Investments. Based on my experience and in my opinion, I cannot recommend ABC Baltimore, Maverick Investor Group or Hipster Investments.

The investment was a BRRR purchase in Baltimore where we would pay $106,000; $46,000 for the property + $60000 for a full rehab that was going to be completed in 120 days. Maverick received a referral fees (in excess of $6000) from the transaction between ABC Baltimore and me. In addition to the $106,000, we also paid ~$3500 in closing costs. During the Maverick Investment Group webinar, ABC Baltimore made the following guarantees that were also in our final contract with ABC Baltimore-

1) If the rehab takes longer than 120 days, the seller (ABC Baltimore) will pay us a rental guarantee of $1400 per month.

2) If the house after rehab is completed appraises for less than our total purchase price of $106,000 then the seller will buy the house back.

Assured by these guarantees in the contract, we signed the contract for $106,000. We had wonderful guarantees and a signed contract. Surely, nothing can go wrong, right?

Dead Wrong. Our 120-day rehab period ended in Dec 2017 and ABC Baltimore told us that the house was “very close” to being done. Even though we were disappointed that the rehab was not complete, we thought, the rental guarantee will offset the construction delay. ABC kept the first two and half months of rent from the rental guarantee for tenant placement fees and utilities (water, electric). Based on our records, ABC did not pay water, electric or any other utilities but charges us for them anyway. We had to pay the utilities directly to Baltimore City to stop the late fees from piling and have our credit affected.

Maverick, on the other hand, continued to advise us to be patient. Months passed and ABC kept saying that house was “very close”. After several reminders, ABC Baltimore started paying rental guarantees in March 2018 ($1260/month) and they were almost always late. In my opinion, it almost felt like we had to chase and coax ABC Baltimore to get the money owed to us from the rental guarantee. The rent guarantee was never deposited without several reminders that it was past due.

In May 2018, ABC told us that the house was almost done, and we could hire a licensed Home Inspector to inspect the home. The Home Inspector report revealed major deficiencies in the rehab and the Home Inspector told me that the rehab was like “putting lipstick on a pig”. We also learned that the house had failed or not received many of Baltimore city’s permits and inspections. When I sent the Home Inspection report to ABC Baltimore, it was the usual, “We will work on the items, we are very close, etc.”. Things continued at a snail pace with the rehab and I continued to remind and plead ABC to pay us the rent guarantees.

ABC Baltimore promised to continue paying us rent even after the Rent Guarantee expired on Dec 17 2018 because the house was not ready after more than 16 months. However, starting from Dec 2018, ABC Baltimore stopped paying us rental guarantees and the house remained unfinished without required city permits to rent the house. ABC Baltimore continued to say that “house was close” and Maverick continued to ask us to be patient. We thought about hiring a lawyer but the legal fees were expected to be in the range of $10k to $15k and would have taken months (if not years). We decided against taking the legal route and continued to plead ABC Baltimore to finish the rehab and pay us the monthly rent without success.

Of course, during this entire ordeal, Baltimore City issued several citations and fines to our property because ABC Baltimore was often working without required city permits and leaving construction trash outside. Because these were liens against our property, we paid over $1200 in Baltimore city citations from our own pockets. ABC Baltimore said they would pay us back these citations but of course they did not.

In May 2019, ABC Baltimore finally told us that the house was “ready”, and we could get it appraised. We thought- “Thank you, God! The wait will be worth it!”. The appraisal of our house from our refinance company came at $60,000. The house was expected to appraise at least $106,000 per contract! We immediately sent the appraisal report to ABC Baltimore and asked them to buy the house back per contract. ABC Baltimore said they would conduct their own second appraisal (per contract ABC Baltimore had the right to conduct second appraisal).

ABC Baltimore appraisal came at $102,000 (contingent on the basement flooring being fixed). Note that the house still did NOT have the required City Permits to rent the house to a tenant. It was very surprising how ABC’s appraisal ($102,000) was so much higher than our bank’s independent appraisal ($60,000). ABC Baltimore’s appraisal was still lower than $106,000 expected per contract. We again asked ABC Baltimore to buy the house back. At this point, we were literally scared and feared that if ABC Baltimore refused to buy back the house and then we would have to go through a long and expensive legal process. Feeling helpless and powerless, we offered to give up our unpaid rents and Baltimore City Citations of over $10,000 so that we can complete the buy back without having to go through a legal process.

In July 2019, ABC Baltimore agreed to buy the house back at $95,000. Burdened with a vulnerable and helpless feeling, I agreed to accept ABC Baltimore’s reduced offer of $95k and closed the buy—back with ABC (we still had to pay closing costs). During the days leading up to the closing of the buy-back, we sent Thank-you emails to ABC Baltimore and Maverick to butter them up. This is how vulnerable I felt.

All said and done, we lost >$12,000. See the attached breakdown of losses for more details. We not only lost our hard-earned money but on top of everything, our health suffered, I had several sleepless nights due to the stress and anxiety that this horrible experience created for my wife and me.

After the buy-back was completed, I approached Maverick/Hipster to at least help us with our losses by requesting us to give back $6000. Maverick said no and said I was acting unprofessional. Maverick pointed to the agreement we signed that essentially relieved Maverick from any financial losses suffered by us. In my opinion, Maverick and Hipster, in good faith, could have given me back the referral fees they made on my transaction with ABC because (in my opinion), it was a horrible referral. To me, it felt very unfair that we lost >$12000 in our transaction with ABC Baltimore and yet Maverick Investor Group and Hipster Investments made a total commission in excess of $6000 from our transaction with ABC Baltimore. After Maverick said no to our request to help us with ~$6000, I also approached Jay Walsh after the buy-back to help us by returning portion of the money that was owed to us. Jay Walsh told me that I had agreed to the buy-back terms and asked me to “Be a Man”.

In summary, thanks to everyone for reading the long post. I have attached documents that provide additional details to my post. I will acknowledge that from my perspective, Ali Boone is a good person. However, based on this business transaction, I cannot recommend the three companies that I worked with ABC Baltimore (Jay Walsh), Maverick Investor Group (Matt Bowles) and Hipster Investments (Ali Boone) for reasons described above. I will end the post with a phrase that, in my opinion, is apt for my experience- “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. There shall never be a second time.

Hey Raj. I feel like my response to this is going to be different than it would normally be given how much you and I discussed all of this outside of the forums. I'm sad to find out now how you feel about me and what I do, as I had hoped that my compassion for what you experienced would've been more obvious in our lengthy conversations. Because I've spent so much time trying to support you in this experience, to not a lot of avail, I'm not going to start repeating myself here.
I will, however, stand up for myself and for Maverick. None of us are perfect, and there will never be a time where 100% of deals go perfectly. However, I can very confidently say that all of us tried relentlessly to offer you continued support through all of this, most of which you declined. The risks in doing a BRRRR were disclosed to you upfront, and you signed a legal document agreeing to not involve Maverick in any future disputes with the seller (that is a standard agreement signed by anyone working with a turnkey marketing company, as marketing companies do not in any way legally represent clients). Then when things started getting rough, you blatantly declined most of our advice along the way.
But the thing I really want to call forward is that you are the one who proposed a buy-back amount to ABC, and ABC bought the property back from you at that price. YOU proposed that amount, and it actually went against what Maverick was suggesting that you do. And then once that was completed, you chose the route of extortion when you called Maverick and said if they didn't pay you cash, you would post a negative review on BP. When they declined to pay you what ABC had paid them (you never paid a penny to me or Maverick), you proceeded to post the negative review.

Believe me, nothing that happened with ABC was fun for any of us. It's done permanent damage to all of our reputations, and whether you believe it or not, it cost all of us multiple thousands of dollars.
We gave you a referral that we all 100% stood behind at the time (I don't make referrals lightly). We had worked closely with ABC for years very successfully, and I myself had personally successfully worked with ABC for years, so when all of this happened we were completely blindsided. Nobody saw it coming. I'm so sorry you had the experience that you did, and I can only hope that only good things come from having gone through it and that you will end up succeeding just that much more with any future real estate investments.

2 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.