All Forum Posts by: Sam Wilson

@Tracy Hewitt - does your county/city not have regular tax sales for properties with unpaid property taxes?  

Thanks @Crystal Ball!  We are looking forward to it!  Currently packing up RV and heading out tomorrow morning!  Vacation, here we come!

@Henry Clark - I so look forward to following this thread! Thanks for taking the time to share your adventure and REI journey with all of us!

I visited Belize about a decade ago and loved it!  I have often mentioned to my wife that it would be a great place to move to - for the exact same reasons that you mentioned!

The cost of Spam comment made me laugh out loud; luckily that won't be an issue for me but glad to know it is available.

I specifically am looking forward to reading about how you chose Teak and what the real estate/business  buying process was like.

Thanks again!

@Barbara Wilson-Scranton - so very sorry for the loss of your loved ones, but I'm sure they'd be honored with both your attitude towards their gift and your thankfulness for it!

And congrats on the start of your REI journey! Please post before/after pics of the remodel! I love seeing the value-add investors bring to homes and to their renters!

@Shera Linares - Congrats on passing your exam!  I suggest contacting Calvin Newton.  He is a commercial lender in Colorado who specializes in assisted living communities (I think he develops them as well). He spoke at the Best Ever conference a few years ago and I was impressed with what he was doing.

 He isn't on BP but you can find him on LinkedIn.  Message me if you have any trouble locating him and I can send you his contact info.

Best of luck!

@Patrick Echlin -  Thanks for sharing all of that!

And super cool about the microbrewery!  What is it called?

And I'll pretend I didn't read #3 because it is late and I don't want heartburn thinking about regulators, codes, zoning, etc.  Nothing can ruin the joy of good deal or project faster than a bureaucrat!  Hope it all turned out great at the end!

@George Farrell - I totally get that! One thing I love about REI is there are so many aspects to it and as a finance guy, I get to geek out over REI spreadsheets and numbers!

As part of my job I get to interview lots of people in and around the REI industry and I am continually amazed at all the different paths people take in the REI journey and the framework and desires the have that work for them!

Keep me posted!

@Patrick Echlin - Congrats!!  and Welome to BP!

Thanks for taking the time to share all of that!

I have a couple of questions for you:

1.  I looked up both Ypsilanti and Litchfield, MI on google maps and it said they were about an hour to an hour and a half apart.  I was wondering if you had an inital radius you were wanting to purchase in or certain cities, like Litchfield?

2.  I know from years of working with contractors that some of the challenges with remodels is simply making sure contractors show up and do what they are supposed to do.  Has this been a challenge for you since you aren't in the same city?

3. Also as a business owner, I'm always curious when people post about business lessons learned! Could you please share more details about that? Was it still connected to your REI?

Thanks again for sharing!  Look forward to hearing how it all turns out!

@George Farrell - I'll add to your gym analogy:  sometimes you just need to start!  (Unless you have found a way to gain muscle by reading! :)

A few other questions to consider:

7.  Is this a retirement goal or a career change goal (or a mix of both).  

8. Are you wanting to be an active or passive investor (or a mix of both - that is what I chose)

9. What can you do (invest in) now with the resources you have?  Does that fit with your goals?  What other resources do you need/want?

10. What current time commitment do you and your wife want to make towards REI? Future time commitment?

When my wife and I started we started with single family housing (flips, foreclosures, rentals, etc) in two areas of Tennessee we knew well. Mainly because that was what was financially and educationally available to us at that time. We knew we wanted to focus our career and retirement on REI but our scope was initialy limited, so we jumped in where we knew we could swim (and make money!). From there our portfolios, education, network, etc continued to grow and now we are involved in multifamily in multistates.

I say all that not to brag, but more to share that while 5, 10, 15 year plans are important sometimes just getting started is the best teacher and the best navigator to your longer term goals.

Hope my 2 cents helps!  

Please report back what next steps you all take! I love hearing how REI journeys begin!

@Brady Wiley - Welcome to BP.  We aren't based in Houston but did do a parking lot deal last year!  Check out the events put on by Quest Trust Company (they used to manage our SDIRA).  We have gone to a few and there were many local, active Houston/Texas investors there!