Tackling Real Estate with Chad Carson

Tackling Real Estate with Chad Carson

We are always thinking real estate on BP, but for this blog post, we also mix it with big time college football, just in time for the semifinals and the national championship.

One BP member who has a unique mix of real estate and college football in his background is Chad Carson.

Here’s Chad’s real estate story in a nutshell:

• Chad currently owns and manages 57 units (primarily small multifamily) in Clemson, S.C.
• He began investing full-time right out of college 13 years ago, and has done many flips and rental properties since.
• You can hear more about Chad's real estate details on his BP podcasts (#84: Getting Started With Creative Financing or #141: 7 Ways to Find Incredible Real Estate Deals ).
• You can see his regular BP blog articles here.

Chad’s personal story is also an interesting one.

Chad was a member of Clemson University’s football team. Here’s a snapshot of his football bio:

• Team captain for 2 years
• One of the leading tacklers in the ACC and even among top in the nation (4th in tackles per game).
• His teams made appearances in the Peach, Gator and Humanitarian bowls for coach Tommy Bowden.

For a fun read and some insights into real estate, here is my four down series of questions with Chad Carson below.

First Down Question:

Chad, you found the football as well as anyone in the nation, how does that compare with finding and analyzing real estate deals? With 57 properties on a relatively small field (Clemson SC), is it getting harder to find good deals? How do you get the vision and shed the blockers to get a deal done?

Finding good deals is certainly the most challenging part of the real estate business. Like when I played football at linebacker, it requires a lot of focus, intensity, and hustle.

I have tried a lot of strategies, including direct mail, signs, auctions, mls listings, driving for dollars, birddog networks, and more. All of those can work depending upon how you apply them.

But I’ve found that cultivating referrals has been the most profitable use of my time over the long run. It doesn’t happen quickly. It requires building relationships for the LONG term. But once the ball gets rolling, it’s hard to stop (which is great for business).

I love getting a call or email from another investor, agent, attorney, CPA, friend, or neighbor who tells me about a deal that no one else knows about. These people know me as an expert in my area, and for that reason they think of me when an opportunity comes across their desk.

My best deals have come from these referral sources.

Second Down Question:

Are there other lessons from the gridiron that you translate into your real estate operations, be it preparation, teamwork, etc?

Teamwork is critical. We real estate investors like to call ourselves “self-made,” but there is no such concept. Our success is always a product of the team and network of people around us.

I love this quote from hall of fame basketball coach John Wooden:

“The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of your team.”

As the head entrepreneur of your business, you are undoubtedly the leader. But your team members are the stars.

The trick is that finding (and keeping) good team members is not easy. You have to give something to them if you hope to receive something back. This can paying them well, when applicable, but you also need to give things like loyalty, honesty, sincerity, and friendship.

Those old school virtues matter a lot when it comes to building a close-knit, successful team that lasts.

There are many important people on your team, but as a full-time investor here have been some of my most important:

• My wife
• Business partner
• Bookkeeper/administrator
• CPA
• Real estate attorney
• Real estate agents
• Handyman
• Plumber
• Electrician
• HVAC company
• Painter
• Pest and moisture control company
• Local banker
• Mortgage lender
• My mastermind members
• Investor colleagues on BP and my local REIA
• My tenants!! (last but not least)

Third Down Question:

One the most interesting parts of your biography is how you turned to real estate after you graduated college. I read you were an Academic All American, honors graduate, applying to be a Rhodes Scholar and looking at medical school. Then you start buying duplexes and row houses. Can you tell us more about this point in your trajectory? What influenced you into real estate?

I’ve always had a tough time getting pigeon-holded into one life trajectory. I value personal flexibility, variety, and freedom above just about anything else.

I think that flexibility is what ultimately pushed me away from career paths as a doctor or working for big companies.

I love being an entrepreneur. It’s challenging, because every day you either make sales or you don’t eat. But I’ve found that daily challenge has also pushed me to become a much better person.

Real estate is the perfect form of entrepreneurship in my opinion, because it’s 50% business and 50% investment. You can make money today from real estate, and you can use it as a tool for wealth building and income.

So, I have made my living in real estate ever since college by flipping properties, wholesaling occasionally, managing my own units, and consulting others.

I have built my wealth by accumulating and paying down income properties. Unlike other wealth building tools like stocks, transitioning from the growth phase to a more passive stage is much easier in real estate because of the steady income it produces.

It’s been a fun journey that I don’t regret for one minute.

Fourth Down Question:

What's the next play? I noticed at coachcarson.com you write and coach on real estate and personal finance. I saw you were even on your town’s local planning commission. And in the Joe Fairless podcast you mention some interesting possible real estate development possibilities. Do you look to stay focused on your current operations, tackle some new real estate opportunities, or even write, or maybe branch into something else?

The effect of my business on my life is always the top barometer for any new business action.

Part of that strategy is to get rid of properties and debt that are less than optimal, and replace them with deals and capital structures that are more helpful. That’s been happening for a few years and will continue in the future.

I still love a small, simple business model for my rental business, but we have been looking at a some bigger multi-unit deals and possibly some small new construction developments if the opportunity is right. I may find, put together, and invest in these deals, but they will likely use 3rd party management and development partners in order to keep a lid on personal time investment.

I also love learning, growing, and trying new things.

I joined the planning commission in my town in order to contribute (I hope in a positive way) to managing the red-hot growth of our little college town in Clemson, SC.

I also helped start a non-profit to build a greenway network throughout our town. It’s called the Green Crescent Trail, and we recently got funding for a feasibility study that will begin in early 2016.

In 2017, my wife, 2 young kids, and I plan to travel to either Argentina or Spain for a year. We both speak spanish (my wife much better than I), so we’d like our girls to go to school in a spanish-speaking country and become fluent. And we just love traveling and immersing ourselves in different cultures.

Other than that, my biggest passion has become writing and teaching others about real estate investment and money. Real estate has been such a beneficial vehicle for me, so I enjoy sharing and paying it forward to others who have similar aspirations.

A book may come in the future, but for now I’m just focusing on sharing ideas that resonate.

Writing and teaching real estate also forces me to become better at my craft. I’ve realized that as much as I’ve learned, I still have an ENORMOUS amount still to master. That’s exciting!

Bonus Down Question (Championship Football):

This may be an easy question (especially for an alum of the team housing a big chunk of the town), but who do you like to make it into the National Championship game and who comes out on top? (BP readers, you can make your bold predictions below in comments, too!).

This is the toughest question of them all!

I’ll say up front that I’m too biased to make an objective pick. I played pick-up basketball for years with head coach Dabo Swinney. And I was teammates with the offensive coaches Jeff Scott, Tony Elliott, and Brandon Streeter.

But with all of that said, I think the playoff will play out like this:

Clemson over Oklahoma

Alabama over Michigan State

Clemson over Alabama, in overtime in the Championship Game.

Feel free to argue!

Thank you Mike for your interesting questions! You are a great resource for the BP community with your expertise in law, real estate, and property management. I’m also enjoying reading your book on property management! ~ Chad

You Pick Em':

And if you are a bold BP college football fan, put your pick for the title game contenders and the new national champions (in the comments).

(For those too engrossed in their current flip or rental turn around to follow NCAA Football, the four teams vying for the championship in semifinal bowl games are: #1 Clemson v.s. #4 Oklahoma (Orange Bowl); #2 Alabama v.s. #3 Michigan State (Cotton Bowl), with the winners meeting in the national championship.)