All Forum Posts by: Chris Clothier

Social Investor -

Whatever you decide, please make sure you are making the best decision considering all of your circumstances and your future. Without knowing all of the particulars, you did not paint a picture of an investor who is fully ready to go and I want to encourage you to get a solid financial footing first before buying investment property. I promise you that diligent investors are able to find deals in any market and we will continue to see record low prices for a while in some areas of the country. But, I caution you that the question you should be asking is am I financially secure enough to be purchasing for long term investment today.

There are a lot of ways to get involved with real estate that will help build up your finances, but if 15k is all you have to invest (?) and that is a hard cap, you have no room for error. There are a lot of people here on BP who will assist you with getting a good plan together to make sure you have success. When you know you are financially secure to buy an investment property (and that may be today) then its very important if you are going to buy out of state that you buy with a group that provides quality property management. An investment property that sits vacant and has run up in maintenance is not an investment but an expense.

Best of luck and I really hope you have success.

Chris

Asset Guru -

First I want to commend you for taking a little time and effort to gather some information and to be seeking advice. I think you've heard from some pretty good sources already on here and it makes a lot of sense to interview other companies and ask questions on your specific concerns before you make another move.

I am familiar with both Reedy and Revid as well as a company named Marathon Management a company named Leco Management and my family owns a property management company named Premier Property Management. I do not know if you are familiar with any of those 4, but three of them mainly offer the service to their own clients including ours, but will branch out and each of the 4 may specialize in different price points and areas of town.

I know from experience when I invested out of state that nothing causes more anxiety than frequent problems and lack of communication. Make sure you express what your frustrations are and be very direct about what you expect. Make sure you ask the areas of town that the company specializes in before telling where your properties are located. Good luck and please don't hesitate to ask for any advice before you make changes.

Chris Clothier

Matt -

We started a private property management company about 7 years ago with a partner and went through a heck of a learning curve. @ years ago we broke off and started our own property management company in Memphis called Premier Property Management Company. I will tell you that this will be a struggle like most businesses until you reach critical mass. As you build toward critical mass you will be lucky to break even and find yourself doing the workload of several people before you are able to provide the best service possible. That was the bad news. The good news is that after reaching critical mass, this can be a very profitable business.

By the way, we currently manage 714 properties for 257 investors from around the country and charge 9% monthly plus 1st month's rent and 15% mark up on maintenance. In return, our clients will tell you they receive remarkable service and communication. Feel free to contact me and I will share anything you need including mindmaps we used to organize our business, our growth plan and the paperwork we use to run our company.

Best of luck,

Chris

Matthew -

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. Looks like you have a good plan for building some cash. Bottom line is start doing something. Building a buyers list, making offers on properties, meeting with other investors who could possibly help mentor you. Just don't be paralyzed. You can do it and absolutely be successful - just get started!

Best of Luck - if I can help with advice or deals just let me know.

Chris

Hey Andy,

From a pure marketing standpoint, the less you say the better the response. I applaud you for looking to place ads on Craigslist and anywhere else, but definitely try to keep to an absolute minimum number of words when developing your ad. I think letting people know you are a "value investor who can close quickly and help owners find solutions to their needs" is plenty. Most of the replies you are seeing are from investors, marketers and people doing deals and I think most of the comments are correct in advising to just keep it simple. If someone is looking to move a property and responding to an ad - they are going to respond to ads that catch their attention first.

A headline might read - "TOP Multi- Family Property Buyer Needs More South Columbia Properties - TODAY!"

I post in Real Estate Services and get decent response. You after all are providing a service.

Chris

You can try Red Rocks bank out of Southern California. I'm not sure on their requirements for down payment, but i know they work very well with investors. Richard Kaye is the owner of the bank.

Hey Ana,

I think it is a very wise decision for any out-of-state investor to investigate who they are going to do business with before investing. If you do not get the info. on here that you are looking for, feel free to contact me and I will be more than willing to provide you with contact info. to clients as a starting point. I can promise they will not tell you that we are roses all the time! They will probably tell you that we make mistakes like anyone else, but that we pride our company on offering really good deals, great customer service and really quick action when we do make mistakes. Hopefully, that will be a good start toward your due diligence. If I can help you with anything, don't hesitate to ask.

Chris Clothier
Co-Owner, MemphisInvest.com

JC -

Having access to money to use to buy property can be an intoxicating thing and can sometimes lead to clouded judgement. Be careful before you invest and get yourself a mentor today! Before you purchase. Not someone who will charge you, but someone with some experience who will spend a few minutes helping you develop a plan to get started. This can be done in person or over the phone, but you need to get with someone who can give you some direct advice.

You've got the right idea to put the money to work, but buying cheap houses or jumping in with both feet with no plan will be a waste of your most precious resource which is your cash. Your second most precious resource is one you don;t even realize you have, that is time. You do not have rush. You can be earning a monthly positive cash flow easily within 90 days and be doing it with an easy to follow plan and maximum results.

Good Luck - Feel free to reach out with any other questions.

Chris

E -

There is nothing "wrong" or illegal with wholesaling and you can choose to assign your contract of do a dual closing. Here in Tennessee we are not allowed by real estate code to assign contracts so we do all dual closings.

For you and assigning, negotiate like a business and get the best terms you can get. It does not affect you if it is on the HUD or not - that is a concern for your buyer and he will dictate if he wants the fee you are paid to be disclosed.

Biggest thing I do in my property management company is refuse to accept personal checks or cash. It's money orders and cashier checks only. We also make them attend a real closing at our office. Their is no signing of the lease on the back of the car at the property or at Burger King down the street.

As you've read on here already, it's a business - run it that way!