OH NO! NOT DETROIT!

[Tommy Desmond]

Hello BiggerPockets community! I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone in advance for all the care and considerable knowledge that's been put into this site. It's an incredibly powerful resource that I've lurked for quite awhile. I've loved so much of the content and conversation I've read here.

After a recent road trip (white water rafting in West Virginia), during which I had a BP podcast marathon, I decided that when I got home, I would engage with the community more. It's my first time really taking part in a community. I've read forums of all types for decades, but I've never really got involved with one before.

My name is Tommy Desmond, I'm a real estate investor and agent in southeast Michigan (THE DREADED DETROIT!). Actually not Detroit proper though, my primary areas of activity are in south Oakland county (immediately north of Detroit) and west Macomb County. I'm an agent at the Keller Williams in downtown Royal Oak, where I serve on the Agent Leadership Council (ALC) and as the chairman of the Technology Committee. I work mainly in Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, Rochester Hills, as well as Ferndale, Berkley, Clawson, Madison Heights, Sterling Heights, Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods, Shelby, Utica, and Warren. I've been with KW since 2009.

In my capacity as an agent, I'm more of a listing agent than a buyers agent. As an investor, I'm already a rehabber and I plan to buy and hold multi-family in the (near) future (haven't found the right deal yet).

I'm active with a few local REIAs, and I attend sheriff sales (Oakland county's) on a fairly consistent basis.

I'm married to the love my life, Katie, I have three great kids, and a boxer named Charlie.

My wife is an active part of my real estate investments. She's great at construction and design, and as of Oct 21st of this year, we're both getting our Michigan builder's licenses.

I've owned quite a few businesses over the past couple decades. Over the years, I also owned a print shop, a screen print shop, several e-commerce sites, and a video production company. I've got a solid web development background, writing PHP since its inception. I was one of the developers for early database-driven iterations of the MLS in our area, back when they were still faxing new listings to each brokerage for daily inclusion into stacks of 3-ring binders (though I doubt any of that code is still powering our MLS today).

I came to real estate thinking that it would be a lifetime business. My previous companies, never really seemed like permanent business models for me. They felt more like companies I was cutting my teeth on, and learning the basics of building and running a company, managing people and processes. Some of my early businesses had pretty decent success, others I smashed into the ground. Sometimes I lived with a hefty bank account, and other times I was counting the change rattling around in my cup holders to buy lunch.

Through it all, I've always been persistent, and I've never lost the belief that entrepreneurship is the only way to live my life with passion and the potential for freedom for my family… a philosophy I've seen over and over again here at BP, which I think is great.

I'm looking to network with other investors for idea, network, and resource sharing. Rehab wise, I'm buying around the $50-100k mark, with the goal ARV of between $135-200k respectively. Buy and Hold wise, I'm still looking and learning, and building my leverage to acquire my first multi-family. My current 5-year goal (for Holds) is to add 20 units/properties to my portfolio that cash-flow at around $500/month each. I'd love to find some mentorship relative to that. I'm also interested in meeting international investors who are interested in the Detroit area.

I'm pretty good with HUD deals, and have gotten quite a few good deals there, so if you have any questions about them, that's an area I might be able to provide some value.

I look forward to meeting many of you, and hopefully working with a few of you.
More than anything I wish everyone the good fortunes they seek.

… But for the record, no, I can't help you get a $400 house in Detroit.

Onward!