All Forum Posts by: Sam Wilson

@Craig S. - Side note: Reading your post brought back memories of many a cold morning shoveling ice and snow in parking lots in Indiana! (My dad owned a snow removal company)

Real question: Does your insurance company demand certain standards of snow/ice removal?  (All my investments are too far south for this to be of a concern so not sure if this is an important question or not)

@Alan Martin - Got it.  Thanks for the clarification.  There is a fairly simple solution then:  buy the home from him subject to the existing mortgage.  The current mortgage stays in place and you pay him whatever the difference is between selling price and the mortgage.  You continue to pay the mortgage and own the home.  

We have done this several times and worked out great for us and the seller.

I'm sure there are more resources here on BP or the internet if you search for this concept.

@Ellen Campbell - Love your desire to hustle and make things happen!

One way to get into these deals without the bank is to approach the owners of these MFH and see if they would agree to owner financing? I have done with with SFH but not with MFH, but I would assume that there are owners out there who want to get out of the business but still make some money on their investment.

  You will have to reach out to a lot more owners, but that would be a way to get in without a traditional loan.  You might also ask your local bank about this and when they would be consider helping you with financing.  Though you might be better off with a deal from the owner.

Best of luck and keep us posted!  Look forward to hearing of your success!

@Chris Levarek - Wow!  Great post!  Thank you so much for taking the time to share your journey with us!  I love reading success stories like yours! They are both inspiring and a reminder that even though everything doesn't always go as expected that is also a learning tool for future success.

I also love all the ways you incorporated partners and partnerships - even including your spouses (My wife and I often joke that there real needs to be a support group for spouses who work together!)

Keep up the great work!

@Wesley Thompson -  Thanks for taking the time to share all of that!

My wife is from the middle Tennessee area.  We love it there!  She still has a lot of extended family in Chattanooga; she and her siblings and her mom were all born at Erlanger!  

My brother was an Airforce officer and his last job was ROTC at Purdue.  He too chose that in order to be closer to family.

Think that the coffee business is just a great niche and cool way to brand yourself.  My wife feels the same way about owning a laundromat!

Please report back when your project is completed!  I'd love to hear how the numbers worked out.

@Alan Martin -  Maybe I am missing something, but why would you not just buy the house from him?  or is there more to the partnership?

@Wesley Thompson - your coffee company website is great!

@Wesley Thompson - congrats and congrats!  First that you were able to get the house less than 20k than originally priced.  That is a challenge in most markets and I know Chattanooga has been hot for a while.  

I have lots of questions for you!  

One:  why did you chose Chattanooga?

Two:  Why didn't the findings from the inspection scare you off as it did the others?

Three: How did you become involved in the coffee business? (military, REI and coffee!? Love it

@Luke Grieshop - @Taylor L. and @Jack Martin already gave you some great advice, but all add my two cents and hope it helps too!

I too was an LP in several deals before I started being a GP. Those were invaluable learning experiences and I'm thankful that my GPs were always willing to answer my questions regarding the investment. I was one of the rare folks who read the PPM, subscription docs etc line by line. You'll learn a ton just by doing that.

And I could not agree more with Jack regarding investing in the people before the project!  I've invested with several syndications only after I got to know the people involved, their investment history, and investment philosophies.  I would add that those who invest with us do so for the same reasons.

All that to say is I there are three things I believe you must evaluate in this order:

1) The Team

2) The Market

3) The Deal

While the deal should obviously be examined, if you have picked the first two correctly, then the third will be less important. Better a "B" deal with an "A" team than the other way around.  The deal/project may change as it progresses and as improvements are needed (ex.  we are LPs in a storage project that has had several government reg setbacks but because we chose a solid team, they have handled them all well and the project is moving forward)

Your question about added benefits? Sure. You get a front row seat to how the deal is structured, what you like, don't like, etc. You get to see OM's, the reporting, be on investor calls, etc. It's all right there in front of you and you get to see how it is done and learn along the way.  

Personally, my investors take a much more passive approach than I do as an LP, but that is because I truly love getting into the weeds with this and investing is my full-time job.

If you have any other questions, please reach out to me.  I have a had so many people share their wisdom with me, I'm always happy to share what I have learned.

@Dimas Rinarso - Actually, we started out doing everything related to single family (flips, BRRRR, foreclosures, lease option,etc) so all my rentals in Memphis have been single family.

But haven't added any in a couple of years.  I transitioned to doing solely commercial work.  Still think rentals are great investments, but as a full-time job commercial fit my background better.

Let me know if I can be of any other help!