All Forum Posts by: Chris Clothier

Manuel Acuna The short answer is Yes. You can absolutely purchase real estate, including REO's, without an agent representing you - If you have the knowledge and expertise! Many experienced investors use agents simply to save time and to streamline their buying process. If you are just starting out, I would recommend working with an agent. You are not responsible for their commission. They get paid by the seller to represent your interest in the deal as the buyer.

Best of luck

Dori Jamison - I would recommend that you ONLY use a property management company that is licensed. In many instances, that licensing is having a licensed broker listed as running the company. The legal and insurance requirements that will be in place will absolutely benefit you should something improper occur.

As far as managing and selling property, I do not see any conflict and this is exactly what we do. We manage only properties we have sold to investors (with a very few, limited exceptions) and are managing over 1,200 homes in Memphis and another two dozen in Dallas. It is a huge benefit to an investor because of our neighborhood knowledge and we are familiar with each property and what has been done. I would agree that having a management company that is owned by investors can also be a plus.

However, I would say each of those are lower on the list of pluses for a management company and well behind the fact that they are licensed.

As far as costs, you will get what you pay for. A company charging 6%, in my experience, is going to have a hard time providing consistent and transparent service to you as an investor. You want a company that is set up to be successful and profitable so they can provide all of the attention and service you deserve as an investor. I think 10% is a reasonable charge depending on what other possible charges come with lease up and continuing management.

All the best

Joel Owens - you made a point that I think is really good and I am going to expand on it a little.

There are a ton of BiggerPockets users who are not on the forums. Naturally a lot of us gravitate to the forums to discuss things, but there are users that never post or comment, but log-in and read everyday. There are users that are on the blog everyday, or reading users blogs or connecting with the headline articles. These are the users who connect with your business off-line if you offer something need. They learn if you offer what they need by reading your commentary online. If you build a solid reputation and couple that with ads on the site, you can generate web traffic and leads with the thousands of investors out there on the site.

Many of the techniques a lot of investors use could end up exploding a list or burying you in work if you are talking wholesaling properties on a nationwide basis. But, if you are going to use targeted areas, then getting a list of cash buyers (no lien recorded when they buy) and more importantly, buyers who purchase multiple properties in a given time period is important. That at least tells you who the real investors are and from there you have to find out what they want and where they want it.

How you do that - there are a ton of ways to market to them - is up to you and depends on how much time and money you want to spend. But, marketing to your target audience and getting them to listen to you will be important if you want to wholesale on a large scale out of area.
ASo

Bill Gulley thanks for the reply and the compliment. I will tell you something that I have learned about branding - especially here on BP. I have an idea of what i want my brand to stand for - high quality, honesty & transparency, customer service, consistent and dependable returns - those are important things I want people to remember when they think about MemphisInvest.com.

BUT, I have learned that my brand is not what I say it is - it is what others say it is. It doesn't matter what I think, it matters what others experience. That is why we do a lot of advertising where someone doesnt have to fill out a registration form to get access. It is why we advertise a lot of education pieces. It is why anyone, whether they want to buy or not, can come to our offices at any time and tour them to see all of our people, systems and services. There are no secrets in real estate - just different ways to make money and different levels of work!

I wrote an article on the BP blog about doing the difference between marketing and performance. It was titled 'If You Are Going To Talk It, You had Better Walk It'. In the end, I just want people to equate us with a trustworthy company that is honest and transparent in an investment environment where you have to be very careful. So far, I think the way we approached BP is a pretty good blueprint for doing that.

Jon - That was a powerful statement! I'm sure Joshua Dorkin is gonna love to hear that and it just illustrates how important BiggerPockets is becoming in the real estate world.

Curt Davis is someone who I have respect for in the Memphis market and I know he wants to do things the right way in business. So remember Curt, I don't do business with all of those leads and many are more interested in duplicating our business model - not so much buying passive investments. But I hear form people all the time who are more than willing to promote or recommend our company to other investors when they know they cannot help them.

There are so many benefits to adding value to the users on BiggerPockets. And adding value, IMO, means being honest, respectful and humble/confident all at the same time.

Jon, that was really cool to point that out to Curt.

http://blog.memphisinvest.com/blog/bid/85521/3-Web-Companies-That-Transformed-Our-Real-Estate-Business

Hey guys, here is the original article I wrote on the three companies - BiggerPockets, Salesforce.com & Hubspot.com.

Those three companies, used together, have really helped us hone in on how to deliver a great product and a great service. Let me know what you think on the article and spread the word by sharing it. Letting others know about BiggerPockets and attracting more investors with great ideas and techniques only improves the site that much more for all of us.

Until that time comes when you want to promote a product, make sure you keep promoting yourself and your knowledge daily. I've read a lot of your posts and you make great points and ask really good questions. Just keep doing it. Everyone, including guys like myself, will grow in respect for you as you are willing to share, be polite and honest and share the good with the bad. That is how you build credibility and whether you sell a product or simply promote your company, credibility has to come first.

Looking forward to connecting more. Good luck -

Tom -

I've seen a lot of the posts you leave and forum discussions that you start and I will tell you that you are doing a great job of jumping in and actively learning. People on this site, and there are a lot of them, will always support others who are not just talking about it, but also getting involved and stirring the conversation about investment real estate. Keep being active, build your reputation and following and you will develop into the go to guy in your area and even one of the respected commentators here on BP. Both will help you in your local business. Best of luck.

Ann Bellamy thanks for the kind words - you don't have to be a fan of Turnkey investing (there are some companies I am not a fan of :-)) to earn my respect! I will tell you, we have made a concerted effort to move away from the term because it is so over used and really means nothing in today's investment market.

I was really wondering if anyone else is using or even planning on using BP as a marketing tool. The site is so well respected that how you use BiggerPockets can absolutely have a positive effect on your online image. Even local RE agents can use BP to enhance their credibility. I would love to hear how others are/or are planning to include BP in their marketing strategy?