Memphis Invest Increases Home Buying Events

Monday, September 27, 2010
SARAH BAKER | The Daily News

With the recent completion of Memphis Invest LLC’s office space expansion for its sister company, Premier Property Management Group, and new implementation of traditional rehab services for those wanting to remodel their home, the family-owned company continues to do the majority of its business with out-of-town investors.

A 1,200-square-foot development on the west side of Premier’s existing building was completed earlier this year by the Memphis Invest rehab services. The expansion offers offices for the staff of five full-time and 14 part-time employees.

The addition is also equipped with closing office and tenant waiting room where tenants can come inside and wait for an appointment, make a rental payment, receive a receipt or wait for their closing.

Chris Clothier, director of sales and marketing, said Memphis Invest built a separate entrance just for Premier’s tenants.

“It definitely makes it a more formal process, which benefits everyone – not only the tenants but also the owners whose properties we’re managing because it really makes it a more professional approach to managing the properties,” he said.

Memphis Invest now also provides rehab services, refurbishing full renovations on more than 200 properties a year for investors around the world. A supplementary service company, Memphis Invest Renovation Services, renovates investment properties and performs rehab work for homeowners looking to upgrade their houses.

The majority of Memphis Invest’s clients – 75 percent – are located outside of the Memphis market. And it’s all due to exposure and the lure of Memphis investment properties, Clothier said.

“Local investors are just a little more timid about buying here in town because of their preconceived ideas about what Memphis is like,” he said.

Memphians are “insulated,” and often overlook the treasures right in front of them, Clothier said. And investors inhabiting other cities with a higher cost of living cannot buy properties there for $20 to $40 per square foot.

In fact, investors came this past weekend to learn about the Memphis market and the Memphis Invest process and, of course, to buy property.

Memphis Invest hosts these buying parties once a quarter, bringing in anywhere from 40 to 60 investors at a time, with 30 to 40 serious buyers, and the rest wanting to learn more about the market or Memphis Invest.

“We go to Graceland, and depending on the time of year, we’ll go to a Redbirds or Grizzlies game – just little things so they can see that Memphis is more than just the bad crime list that you hear about each year,” Clotheir said. “There’s a lot more to the city than just that, and that’s really what these weekends highlight.”

But since the demand is so high, Memphis Invest is changing the event to the second weekend of every month, limiting the attendance to 25 investors who are qualified and ready to invest in the Memphis real estate market.

And now with its new 400-square-foot multimedia room at its 130 Timber Creek headquarters, Memphis Invest will begin these smaller tours the weekend of Nov. 6.

Just one weekend is all it usually takes for many investors to get hooked. They not only return to purchase more, but they also bring colleagues, friends and family to invest as well.

Brack Shaver of Fort Worth, Texas, attended the weekend event in April and returned this weekend, bringing his son with him.

Shaver, a registered investment adviser, said Memphis Invest spares him the one thing that matter the most – time.

“As an investor, you are always looking for a situation that lends itself to you that is turnkey,” Shaver said. “This way, I get a good property, it’s already been rehabbed – in my case, it’s already been rented – and I get a check every month.”

Brian Rowan, on the other hand, is one of the select few investors from Memphis. He has bought 15 properties from Memphis Invest and hopes to acquire five more within the next two and a half years.

“I want to get in, get out and have my properties paid for before the market changes,” Rowan said.

A Well Done Renovation by MemphisInvest.com

MemphisInvest.com is now providing traditional rehab services to those wanting to remodel their home.

“We have remodeled over 500 properties in the past three years for investors across the country.  We have reliable and professional local contractors that we have kept very busy in these tough economic conditions, allowing us to maintain competitive pricing and high quality work. This is the reason we have formed the remodeling side of our business, catering to local Memphis homeowners,” says Ryan Flannery, Project Manager at MemphisInvest.com. “Our high quality rehab coupled with the low prices we deliver are fundamental keys to making purchasing and investing in Memphis successful and profitable.”

Fix Magazine, a bi-monthly publication that is distributed through the Commercial Appeal, covered a before and after of a recent MemphisInvest.com renovation. See the full article here.

Brian Douglas finds the missing link in MemphisInvest.com

“I have to admit that when I first heard about your process, I was skeptical. Would and could a company actually do everything hat you promised? You set the bar high for yourself, and I thought that it would be difficult to reach your goals. You have far exceeded what was promised.”

“When people ask me what  I do in investment real estate in Memphis and I explain that I have ‘People’ that help me purchase rental property for little or no money down, rehab the property, locate tenants and manage the property for me, most people don’t believe me.”

“You have shown me that missing link in the process and made the outlook for my future brighter.”

- Brian Douglas

Memphis, Tennessee

MEMPHISINVEST.COM ANNOUNCES REAL ESTATE INVESTING SEMINAR AND BUYING TOUR

MemphisInvest.com is pleased to announce that Than Merrill and JD Esajian, stars of A&E’s Flip This House, and FortuneBuilders have teamed up with MemphisInvest.com to host the Ultimate Cash Flow Buying Tour, a two day buying conference and tour to be held in Memphis on September 24-25, 2010.
Day one of The Ultimate Cash Flow Buying Tour will be held at the Holiday Inn Downtown where guests will have a chance to learn about investing in Memphis from the experts and an opportunity to network with the MemphisInvest.com and FortuneBuilders teams. Other teams will also be available to meet one on one to discuss the buying and investing process including property locators, closing attorneys, insurance agents, rehab specialists and property managers. Day two will begin at the Holiday Inn Downtown, where guests will depart to tour available homes in the stages before, during and after the rehab process. An optional day three will be available for those guests who chose to stay over a second night for a hosted tour of Elvis’ home.
Memphis is the perfect city to invest for many reasons. Due to its low cost of living, affordable housing and surprisingly stable rental market, Memphis offers advantages that few cities in America can boast. A few other statistics: Memphis was 21% undervalue entering 2010. Over 48% of Memphis residents rent their housing. Memphis is home to four Fortune 500 company headquarters. If you are interested in earning positive cash flow each month and building wealth over time, Memphis is the place to invest.

For more information or to register for this great opportunity, go to http://bit.ly/bkxbis.

Roy Stroud purchases investment homes from MemphisInvest.com

When I got back from my trip to visit you, people started asking where I had gone and what I was doing. I  am sure my excitement showed on my face and in my voice as I started to tell people about your company. The reason that I am sure is that 4 of my friends have already purchased their first houses in Memphis and others are watching thinking it is too good to be true. (I try to assure them that it is not too good to be true. Your company is the real deal.) I am sure some of them will be buying in the future.

I have now purchased 4 houses in 4 months and I am in the process of buying my 5th house in my 5th month. The 4 houses that I have already purchased are all refinanced with permanent financing and have ll been rented within 1 week of the rehab being complete.

It is a pleasure to see that there are still honest people like you in the world.

Roy Stroud

Real Estate Investor Jeff Charlton Impressed with system at MemphisInvest.com

I am writing to let you know how impressed I am with your system. I just closed on the re-finance of my second house in Memphis, and signed the contract for the third. When this third deal is completed, I will have put zero of my own money into any of these deals, walked away with almost $20,000 in cash from closing, and have a positive monthly cash flow of almost $500 per month after all expenses.

I can’t think of another investment I have ever made that has paid me back more or faster. I literally invested zero money, maybe 10 hours of my time just to review the various deals and sign some papers, and have money flowing back to me .What is even more amazing is my renters will be paying down the mortgages for me over the next 15 years, and every month, my net worth gets larger doing nothing.

I plan to keep buying as many properties as I can. our turnkey system, where you handle everything, is awesome!

Thanks for everything.

Jeff Charlton/Chesterfield, Missouri

Real Estate Investor Dan O’Leary Believes in MemphisInvest.com

It wasn’t until I was introduced to MemphisInvest.com, followed up by the seminar your company held, that I was convinced slow times were not in all aspects of business. I was able to refocus my investment strategies with the knowledge I obtained at the seminar and pass that information on to my group. After attending your seminar and many diligent hours of research I was unable to find a legitimate reason not to invest!! This made my job effortless and an easy sell to my group.

Because of the turnkey operation, the services the company offers, the professionalism, the relentless start to finish attitude, the entire staff at MemphisInvest.com should be very proud. My group and I have purchased over 10 homes in just the past 4-6 weeks because of the high standards your company has set for itself in customer service and honesty. This truly goes a long ways in purchasing additional properties. I do not believe there is another company that offers such a program.

MemphisInvest.com Announces Cash FLow Pros Expo

Kent Clothier & Family are hosting a one time only 3-Day Bootcamp for Building an INCREDIBLE Real Estate Business…
Are you going to be one of the lucky few who ACTUALLY USES this opportunity to take action!!  Learn from the best and get on the right track to success.  This is an amazing opportunity…  Kent Clothier is the founder of Mid-South REIA, and many of you have had the opportunity to hear him speak. Now he and his sons are going to share ALL of their expertise to help your build your business.

With the over-whelming demand we have opened up an  additional room and doubled the size fot the weekend!  Seats are only $97 per seat for the FULL 3-Days (ALL study and  note materials are included)!

Here are the details:

Embassy Suites Hotel – Shady Grove, Memphis, TN
Initial Check-In will begin 30 minutes prior to start each day!

August 27th  8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Starting Your Real Estate Business
- Secrets to Purchasing Real Estate at a Discount
- Raising Capital Funding for Your Deals

August 28th  8:00 Am – 6:00 PM
- How to Market Your Real Estate Business
- Secrets to Building a Buyers List and Selling
- How to Properly Manage your Rehab Properties
- How to Sell 20 Houses in a Day

August 29th  9:00 Am  - 4:00 PM
- How to Set up and Operate a Property Management Company
- The Top 2 Secrets to Exploding Your Real Estate Business

* All Materials will be provided
** There are no houses for sale!
*** Content only & the Event WILL BE Filmed!

Registration at http://conta.cc/CFPEMem.

Investment property management tips from Memphis Invest

When I bought my first property and placed my first tenant…I was a complete disaster!  No point in beating around the bush right!  As a Memphis real estate investor, I learned just enough about rental property management in Memphis, TN. to be dangerous and I certainly was.  I was dangerous to my bottom line and dangerous to my future earnings.  By not being diligent with the learning process and making sure I had all the information I needed in place, I was jeopardizing my families investment in that property.  Here are some tips that I learned the hard way and you can learn the easy way!  Follow these steps and operating an investment property as the landlord can be made easier and less stressful.

What are the laws in your state or municipality

There are different laws around the country for both landlords and renters and you absolutely must know the laws that pertain to your area.  That being said, here is the easiest way to learn those laws.  First, contact local property management companies and ask for their guidance with local land lording laws.  It may take more than one call, but be proactive and ask for their assistance.  Most will be more than happy to answer a few of your top questions.  Second, contact local landlords that advertise properties for rent in the local papers.  Many times, with an offer to buy them lunch or dinner, a local landlord will spend time telling you how they operate and what they know about local laws. (Read More)

The “Buy & Hold” Strategy is a True Long-Term Wealth Strategy for Real Estate Investors

Did you see this article online this week about real estate investing?  This is EXACTLY what we do in Memphis, TN and why our clients are poised to do fantastic on their discount investment property portfolios.

Source: Les Christie, staff writer, On Thursday August 5, 2010,  CNN Money

No More Flips? RE Investors are now in Buy-and-Hold Mode

The real estate market is still dominated by distressed properties, and as opportunistic investors, we can’t ignore short sales, foreclosures, and defaulted note buying. One thing seems to be changing though. Whereas the preferred exit strategy used to be flipping a property or note for a quick profit, that strategy no longer works in many cases, due partly to new federal rules such as HAFA and HAMP, restrictions on same-day transactions, seasoning requirements, and general market factors.

Cash(flow) is King Again

However, there are other reasons that vulture investors are looking beyong the quick flip–and that’s because buy-and-hold returns are so good right now. (Read about Tanya the “vulture investor” below and do the numbers yourself.) All of a sudden, investing for cash flow never looked so good. (Robert Kiosaki is smiling and nodding…)

Like everything, the current situation creates new winners and losers. The real winners seem to be well-capitalized investors who can pounce on these distressed properties–either by buying at auction, buying REOs, or by acquiring non-performing notes with the intent of getting access to the underlying assets. (This lasts strategy, a favorite among hedge funds, is probably the least understood method of picking up distressed real estate, and we’ll go deeper into in a future article.)

The losers may be individual investors who know the local market well but who either don’t have ready investment capital or who can’t let their cash get tied up for months or years in a buy-and-hold scenario. Solutions for these investors may involve teaming up with private investors as “bird-doggers” or partners. Plus, it’s an exaggeration to say that house-flipping is absolutely dead. It’s not. It’s just getting harder and harder, and the returns often aren’t as good as they were in 2008 and 2009.

What do you see happening out there? Are you still able to flip houses profitably?  Or is the Flip dead as a viable RE investing strategy? Leave a comment below…

Want more? Check out this article from CNN Money on why “vulture investors” (defined loosly as investors who focus on the distressed RE market) are choosing to sit on their investments

The New Profile of the Vulture Investor…

Vultures have a new face–and game plan.

These are the glory days of the residential real estate investor. Low prices, rock-bottom interest rates and stable rental markets have created huge buying opportunities.

“It’s awesome right now. I don’t think we’ll ever see another time like this,” said Tanya Marchiol of Team Investments, which has operations in about 10 states but focuses mostly on the Phoenix market.

These investors are known to many as vultures because they swoop in and buy “distressed properties” — foreclosures and short sales — cheap. Places like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami are popular because home prices there have dropped as much as 70%.

But how they’re investing has changed. In the boom years, they would buy a property and flip it for a quick cash out. Today, they are holding and renting for hefty, steady incomes.

Once they analyzed their decisions based on home-price appreciation, which is very speculative. Now they consider potential rental profits, which is far more stable.

Back then, they flipped often and helped to bid up home prices into a froth. Now, the investors say, they can be a part of stabilizing neighborhoods.

“People are not in it to flip like back in the old economy,” said Matt Martinez, an investor and author whose new book, “How to Make Money in Real Estate in the New Economy” comes out next February. “The new economy dictates that you have to have a long time horizon.”

Marchiol, for example, does not even factor in home price appreciation for at least a year. After that, she calculates only a 3% annual increase — a return that won’t turn heads of investors who only want to buy low and sell high.

Marchiol just purchased four separate four-plexes in North Phoenix. Three years ago, each four-unit building sold for $310,000; she paid just $70,000 per building. She intends to spend about $64,000 rehabbing the properties, making her total investment $344,000.

In total, she currently owns about 17 rental units. Usually she buys the properties to keep herself, but she also works with a group of investors who are intent on holding them and renting them out. She can spot the deals and then sell to them.

For example, with her North Phoenix buildings, the investors will buy the buildings for $95,000 each. They’ll put 20% down and finance the rest, about $76,000 per building.

At today’s low interest rates, they’ll get a near 5% loan. That yields a payment of about $400 a month. Figure another 10% of the price for property management, 10% for maintenance, an 8% vacancy rate, taxes, insurance and other home ownership expenses, and you’re talking about a monthly nut of roughly $1,300.

Marchiol projects the apartments will rent for $600 a month each, for a total rent roll of $2,400. That gives the owners a profit of $1,100 per month and $13,200 per year — a nearly 70% annual return on investment.

Although conditions are very favorable, investors have to be adaptable because the market is evolving rapidly. In Phoenix it’s changed in just the past six months. Foreclosure auctions are no longer a fertile hunting ground for Marchiol.

“Amateurs have come in and run up the prices,” she said. “In 2009 I bought 76 properties at foreclosure auctions, at an average of about 60 cents on the market dollar. This year, I’ve bought four.”

Glenn Plantone faces a similar situation in Las Vegas. A veteran real estate broker and investor, he has switched from buying mostly foreclosures and repossessions to short sales almost exclusively. That’s because the inventory of distressed properties available in Vegas is way down, to about a two-week supply.

“The banks make better profits with short sales, so they’re not foreclosing,” Plantone said. “They’ve switched staff to processing short sales and they’ve gotten faster at processing them.”

He tries to purchase properties for at least 10% less than what he considers to be true market value, then he does some light rehabilitation and sells them to some of the 3,000 buyers he works with.

Since prices have fallen about 70% in some Vegas communities and rents have only declined by about 20%, it’s possible for his investors, who are cash buyers, to make money from the first month the homes are rented.

“We’re getting cash flow (net return on investment) of 12% to 14%,” he said.

He doesn’t completely ignore potential profits from home price appreciation because he believes the town is bouncing around the bottom. (Homes already sell for below what it would cost to build new homes.) He does not, however, emphasize that aspect of the investment.

It’s the income from rentals that’s paramount right now.

The beauty of cash flow, of course, is that even if the prices decline another 10% or 20%, the investors should be able to live with that.

“I tell them to plan on holding for five years,” he said. “With cash flow, there’s no need to worry about price drops.”