All Forum Posts by: Sam Wilson

Hey @Tyler Barranger - I wish we could make it over to that part of Washington!  But just too far for this trip!  Glad to hear you are rocking it!

@Nghi Le - A networking lunch in Seattle on the 16th would be awesome!  Thank you for organizing!  Once you know the details of time and place, I'd be happy to post something in the BP networking/events forum.  Looking forward to it!

@Jay Hinrichs and @Caleb Webster - I wish we could make it down to Portland this trip!  We will have to coordinate another time for sure.  Honestly, this trip is as much for @Elizabeth Wilson's grandmother (almost 90 and it is on her bucket list to explore Seattle!) as it is the marathon. 

Let us know when ya'll make it over to Memphis!

Hi Washington investors!  

My wife (@Elizabeth Wilson) and I will be in the Seattle area Aug 16-20.   One of our new favorite things to do when we travel is to meet up with local investors and discuss real estate.  

We have been investing in SFH in middle and west Tennessee for over 6 years now full-time. We've done almost everything related to SFH besides a ground-up builds.

We are open right now the 16th and 17th and maybe the evening of the 19th (She is running the Tunnel Marathon on the 19th but should be done and home early afternoon).

So if anyone would like to meet up and talk REI with some local Memphis investors, we'd be happy to share our experiences and lessons learned investing in Memphis. Either message me or post here, when/where would be good for you. Probably the best for us would be meal times.

We look forward to meeting ya'll!

@Charity Hanif - If you can't get to see the properties, do you have friends or family who can?   I'd hesitate to invest anywhere without some I could rely on to see the homes.   

@Lupe Rodriguez - I'm biased because we live/work/invest in Memphis, but one reason we do is because the tenant/landlord laws are reasonable.  I don't know anything about the laws in the other states you listed, but that is one thing that I've learned from reading the forums is those laws need to be taken into consideration.

@Wesley Read - Welcome to the Memphis REI world! My wife @Elizabeth Wilson and I have enjoyed investing here.

Not sure what your schedule is like but there are a few meetup.com REI events if you look for them.

Also something to think about with your 401k is converting it into a Self-directed IRA and using that to fund your rental (we use Quest for our custodian). You may also want to start talking with your bank to to see what kind of loan you could get and in what price point.

Best of luck.  Look forward to meeting you soon!.

We are getting quite a number of seller's calling us about wanting to sell property in Central and Northern Mississippi. These are areas that we do not know well enough to give over the phone cash estimates so we are looking to send these leads to any investor that might be interested.

Message me your contact info if interested.

Let's make it a win-win-win for all of us!

@Justin Harris - Good for you for wanting to get into the real estate market!  However, I'd look at getting your license an becoming an agent.  Wholesaling takes a lot of time and money to do it well.  We have been investing in Memphis for six years now as flippers and only now have the finances to advertise and close off-market deals.

Starting out as an agent isn't as expensive and you can start making money on commissions!

@David Hines -  I totally understand why many folks don't like "wholesalers".  Unfortunately, many wannabe investors think that starting out as a wholesaler will be an easier/cheaper way to get into the business. (definitely not true!)

We wholesale and buy from wholesalers regularly in Memphis.  We also only put houses under contract that we can/want to close.   Not only is that the only fair way to do it, it also makes us very selective about what we buy and offer to other investors.

It is a challenge to find an investment on the MLS so being part of a network of other wholesalers in the area is a must or an investor needs to start doing their own canvassing for off-market properties.

Also it may come to a surprise for some, but there are people who for whatever reason do not or cannot list their property with an agent.  I feel like we do provide a service for those people and for other investors.  

We also get calls regularly for people's whose homes should be listed in order for them to get the top dollar for their house and we refer them to our favorite agent.

There are some amazing wholesalers in Memphis whose deals get snatched up by investors immediately and there are also tons who call or send emails that are obviously new players and have little clue what they are doing.  We usually only hear from them once.

If people don't want to work with wholesalers, then don't.  It really isn't that big of a deal.  Though you may be missing out on that big of a deal. :)

@James Martin and @Douglas Skipworth - Thank you both!