All Forum Posts by: Chris Clothier

Quote from @Rhett Tullis:

@Chris Clothier yes we are seeing residents be less mobile recently as well (we manage 1000 doors in OKC Metro) as long as the owners keep the increase under 10% they tend to stay and renew.... 

By the way I enjoyed hearing you at the NARPM Broker/Owner Conference.  It has inspired me to look at some improvements we want to make in the months ahead!

1,000 doors under management is fantastic!  1,000 doors in one market is a helluva accomplishment. 
I appreciate the comments on the keynote at NARPM.  I love speaking at conferences like that and sharing some of our story and data.  The invite from the conference stands.  If you ever have a chance and want to visit us in Memphis or Dallas and talk strategy and systems, we love to share what works for us and learn what's working for other companies as well.
Best - 

Quote from @Rhett Tullis:

Thanks for sharing this very interesting data.  I don't venture outside of the OKC Metro much but it looks like overall rents have been up for you.  Interesting that things are going up so much more for you in Memphis than in your other markets.  Something specific to Memphis going on maybe? economic or otherwise? I would be interested to see your numbers over the next 6 to 12 months for OKC as it appears we are seeing a drop in rental rates overall in the market based on my data.  I have a feeling based on the reports I have seen that it is a trend nationwide as well.  

 Thanks for the comments Rhett.  

Happy to go deeper with the OKC and Tulsa info we have and happy to compare with whatever you guys are seeing as well.  What is interesting in OKC is that it aligns with each of the other markets for renewal data.  Residents do not want to leave a good home where they are having a good experience and are willing to re-sign for an increase of 8-10% in order to not have to move.  As for re-rents, we are seeing small increases so far this year of 1-2%.  

I'll share these trends again at EOY to see how they ended up.  Best to you -  

REI Nation manages 7,964 single-family rental homes in 13 U.S. markets, including Memphis, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, and Birmingham. These charts show data across each market on rent trends for re-rentals, where a new lease is signed on an existing rental property, and renewal leases, where an existing lease is renewed for an extended 2-year period.

These data graphs show the percentages of growth and the number of leases in each category by city.  I am including 2023 and 2024 through July for comparisons to see what is happening within our vast portfolio.  For reference sake, the approximate value of the existing portfolio is $2B, and the annual net rental payments after expenses returned to investors are approximately $108M in 2024.

@Joe Derobertis - Dean will be a great contact in Memphis for BRRRR. He is a poster here on BP who has talked about it the most, and for the longest as far as I can remember, so he will be a quality contact for helping build your team. Y

@Scott Bowen - I've read some of your other posts, and I love how you dove straight into investing based on your own criteria and goals. How long have you owned your BRRRR in 38128, and has it panned out so far the way you expected? I would love to know your experience because buying at that price in Memphis in that area with such a small amount of work done has caused issues for others in the past. Best of luck as you go forward, and congrats on your success so far!

Quote from @Nick Holmes:

Good afternoon,

Long time lurker and podcast listener. Grew up in Memphis, TN, graduated from University of Memphis, then joined the Marine Corps. I did 12 years, got out last year, and started a defense consulting firm. I've been at it fully remote for nearly two years and I absolutely love it. But I'd also like to get into RE to leverage our current income to set up future wealth and (mostly) passive cash flow via LTRs on SFH/MFH/maybe some commercial. Not interested in doing the manual labor side or being a property manager (I'm "old" and arthritic and 100% P&T disabled thanks to the ole Corps!), but I do have 830+ credit, cash, solid income, and no debt save for a new vehicle that I can very easily afford.

We do need to buy our primary residence in April/May 2025. For that, open to a house hack. Since we don't have our primary yet, I feel like it doesn't make a ton of sense to get into buying rental properties and potentially hurting my own mortgage loan application. I do plan on using my VA loan.

I guess I'm just looking to reach out and interact with folks in the Baltimore and Memphis areas both. I'm leaning more towards investing in Memphis since I lived there for 24 years and have tons of family and connections in the city, but of course I'm open to Baltimore, too. I'm just newer here and can't speak to the nuances of certain areas as well as I could for Memphis. I will say: they're very similar cities in a lot of ways, but I'm not scared of it.

Please feel free to reach out, tell me I'm dumb, make a joke about Marines eating crayons - I'm here for it!

Nick

 Awesome intro Nick!  Spent 6 great years at Memphis State University renamed University of Memphis while I was there.  Earned like 163 hours but never enough to graduate in a major.  Had probably 20 minors though!  The one thing I did was develop some life long friendships and deep love for Memphis.  I met my wife there too which is probably an important fact too.

As for getting started, you have your act together which is a major starting point.  Don't be in hurry.  When you are ready, the market will be ready for you.  Passive income is a long game with rentals and there will be many ups and downs.  If I had a piece of advice other than being patient and not caught in fomo, it would be to really try to get to know whomever you do business with wherever you invest.  As a passive investor, you are really investing in the relationships you build with the people you are trusting with your investment properties.  More than anything else, those relationships will go a long way in helping you reach your goals and hit your expectations!  

Best of luck to you when you jump in -  Chris

Quote from @Sal Ruffino:

Hey everyone!

I'm new to REI and have been stuck in the "analysis paralysis" stage for a while now. Currently, I'm looking into the company REI Nation. I've heard good things about them and have a family member who has done business with them. Has anyone else worked with a turnkey company like this before? Any thoughts/comments are appreciated!

Thanks!

 Sal,

I appreciate your interest in my family's company and understand your analysis paralysis. It is hard to get started and even more complicated if you begin as a passive investor looking for a turnkey opportunity hundreds of miles from where you live. Companies like my family specialize in providing that. However, there are only a handful of companies that I know firsthand that are good at providing quality properties and quality service.  

If you'd like, message me here on BP, and I'll be happy to provide a few companies you should speak with alongside REI Nation to help make a sound, informed decision. In the meantime, I wrote a book called The Turnkey Revolution and made this post with questions to ask based on the advice in that book:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/200098-quest...

@Joe Derobertis Nice work!  Congratulations on getting started. I admire your willingness to take some steps and recognize that buying multiple properties and even markets is smart. It is a good way to run an experiment—provided that you know enough not to lose your original investment capital.  

If and when you're ready, I would love to hear about the markets you purchased and who you worked with.  It should make for a great juxtaposition across each and provide a great comparison case study.  I hope they all turn out great, and the best case scenario is you struggle to pick which one to buy with next because they are all so great!

Quote from @Ronak Khandelwal:

I've worked with Ashley from REI Nation and I've so far had an amazing experience. I'm closing on a property 100% remotely.

 Ronak,

Thank you so much for your post here, and welcome to our family.  You are 100% remote, and we take our responsibility very seriously.  When issues come up, and eventually they will, such as vacancies or unexpected maintenance issues, this is where we've earned our reputation.  You'll know we're on it and communicating with you so you can rest easy and trust that the whole team is working for you!  Please let me know as you go forward if there is anything I can do to assist.

@Ed Henson - Welcome to BP!  I have been a member of the community since 2009 and have loved sharing whatever knowledge I may have when and where it makes sense.  I've built some great relationships on here.  If you are looking to meet other investors and learn how best to get started, BP can be very useful.  You will have to work through all the salesmanship, but in the end, many posters love helping each other and love seeing other investors succeed.  Ohio has really shown up in your responses so far.  I'd also suggest you connect with @James Wise and @Engelo Rumora.  Both are very experienced in Ohio and have worked with investors on hundreds if not thousands of investment properties in the state.  They are well connected but also just good guys that will make sure your pointed in the right direction if you go with Ohio.

Regarding Dallas or other markets where my family's company is located, I love that you mentioned us and am honored that you want to investigate those markets and what we do.  Let me know if I can be of service or answer any of your market or general investing questions.  I'm happy to help you get pointed in the right direction.  I would connect with @Taz Zettergren on Dallas as well as OKC, Memphis, Arkansas or Alabama.  You didn't mention each of those markets, but there are cities in those areas that are worth researching or learning a bit about.

Best of luck as you get started and again, feel free to ask more questions or reach out personally if I can help you navigate and learn BP and get started investing.

Best - 

We loved hosting you at the REI Nation offices in Memphis, Bruce. Welcome to the family!

As I explained in the offices, real estate investing is not all cupcakes and rainbows, and passive investing can be tricky.  I love that you took the time to investigate WHO you would do business with, which is so important!

Customer service for our clients, residents, vendors, and even our team is paramount.  It is the difference between a turnkey investment that allows you to sleep at night and one that keeps you tossing and turning.  You only saw a small slice of the lengths we will go to try to reach world-class service.  We look forward to helping you continue building your portfolio and realize your investing goals.  Thanks again for coming, I love that you made your original post and set this chain of events in motion, and if I can ever be of service, don't hesitate to reach out.