All Forum Posts by: Camille Johnson

My husband and I have a renovation company and real estate investing group in the greater Chicago area and do pretty well.

My brother lives in Orlando and is struggling financially. I have the idea to teach him wholesaling basics and provide him access to all of our tools such as software, Google business phone, etc.

From there he can work the area and see if he can make something happen. I would love to help him financially and we can do some sort of split of profits.

This business is all about the work you put in and I would have appreciated so much someone who was there for me who already understood the business. My husband and I primarily buy directly from homeowners and then keep the properties to flip and not so much wholesaling so this would be different for him.

What potential issues/pitfalls might there be and how can we overcome them so I can help give him this chance?

Thanks!

Thanks so much for all of the latest responses... Seriously cannot thank you all enough for the encouragement and support. Like everyone else in this industry, my husband and I work so hard. To answer some of the questions I have read,

1. We do have a state of IL LLC and our renovation company and real estate group are DBA's under it. LLC established in 2017 with business bank accounts, etc.

2. We are offering double digit returns and have private lender packet that includes details of our business, attorney information, examples of deals (how they are presented, past budget examples, etc. 

3. Exit Strategy - At the moment we want to flip all properties simply bc of the deals in the pipeline.  As stated, I have developed a somewhat unique strategy where I am not so much targeting the distressed homeowners other wholesalers are.  The properties are in great school districts/neighborhoods.  Very dated.  After rehabbing to 2019 standards profits are too nice to hold. 

4. I am looking for all cash (potentially). Issue is that we simply have a very full pipeline of properties. Have not been on this thread the past couple days bc out vetting properties to purchase. If we did HML that would require a pretty good amount of them and total a good amount of cash.

5. I have taken the suggestions on this wonderful board and got out and NETWORKED. Got over my issue of being weirded out by the topic of money.  I created a private money packet outlining what we bring to the table as I mentioned above.  Since doing this, we are now speaking with some serious lenders who can have a great opportunity and help us too! They seem to be impressed by our 2 companies and how we are working to create peace of mind.  All we want to to create long term partnerships with the systems we have in place. 

Thanks so much again and please feel free to message me if I can be of any help.  :)

@Sean Senatore I agree that the market is changing and I have a couple strategies myself ;)

My background and strength is in sales and relationship building. Right now I have a marketing strategy in place where SF properties are coming to us and it’s not a competitive bidding war in that I’m up against multiple investors offering cash.

After I educate them on the value of getting a cash offer and not making the repairs/holding costs, etc. The odds have been in my favor and the margins are great. I keep things very clear/honest that we are running a business and need to make money and outline all of the expenses. People also really love the idea of working with a family type team and not a national “I-buy” deal.

I just need cash to move on these deals to the point where I've stopped marketing for deals until I sort this out. I am SO sick of being duped into what I think may be a prospective lender and spend an hour or more on the phone with essentially a bank HML. And then they won't let you get off the phone and keep calling.

We are capable of running three crews/jobs at once so you can see that I can keep lenders happy and busy. Because of this, we need to be working with lenders that can fund a project, when completed we can have another waiting to go that they can push their money (and growth) into and so on and so forth.

I am all about MF too and hope to be in that arena with you at some point too. :)

Can’t tell you and everyone on this thread how much the support means! I am hopeful and that feels good.

@Daniel Dietz What strategic advice! And truly that’s what we are all about. All are excellent ideas and my number one take away from this thread has been to get out and network.

We put together the processes that we felt were lacking.

Starting today I am putting together a mailing list and getting laser focused. Thanks again for your insight. Very much valued.

@Shelly Forte We are close! Let’s for sure meet up. I would be happy to help in any way I can. [Contact info removed by moderators] - more of an inspiration page and has lots of pics of our renovations too. :)

@Nathan Shotts Thanks for the feedback... we originally talked about offering 8-10 or up to 12% depending on the amount of money lent to us for a project.

I have looked into hard money however for us, we have several properties that come into the pipeline and want on-going relationships.

Something to consider again maybe...

@Bob Floss II - I have to say, I think you are right! I was raised to kinda keep money out of the discussion and I am not comfortable networking for money and it clearly shows :|

I get so many deals in my pipeline to purchase by networking because I’m comfortable talking about helping people get out of sticky situations with their homes but I need to get over my issue with asking for money.

To be honest, I have never been so direct as I’ve been on this thread so it is giving me some good practice. I do know for sure, I believe in the processes we have in place and the opportunities we have for individuals to earn passively because of our capabilities. I just need to get out and let more people know! Thanks!!

@Mark Waldrip - Hi Mark, I would actually love to pick your brain at some point (pun definitely not intended lol) as I’m sure you’re a wealth of knowledge!

To explain a bit further, the model that we have developed is that we are looking for lenders. In exchange, they receive 1. The deed to the property and 2. A promissory note to pay registered with the county.

As I mentioned we also have a renovation company and are very familiar with project management, timeline and costs. My husband and I feel this is where some investors get their final projected number or return off to be honest. We don’t outsource our labor and obviously it’s in our interest to complete quickly and produce a quality product.

We have a software system that we use to help vet/comp deals so our original offer is essentially a “win” for the lender. All funds are kept in escrow and pulled in draws as we complete and document the work assuring the lender’s asset (the property) is always valued more than any money he or she has put in.

We also agree to pay back our lenders within 12 months or less. Truthfully though that’s just to be completely safe. We are able to completely gut to the studs and rebuild in half that time so the lender will have their money back within 6 months (usually) with a healthy return and can reinvest. We never see a dime of their money or get paid until after the sale.

And our agent is involved in that process from the moment we take ownership. Ensuring a speedy sale.

Right now my problem is that I am having many properties in my pipeline. We have created a rock solid system trying to look at the deficits within real estate investing and then solving those issues. Our problem is capital...

We are continuing to grow and learn. My strength is sales/marketing and my husband’s is project management so any advice is very welcome!

@Priscilla Swantner - That’s a very creative approach and I appreciate the feedback!! I suppose my main issue is simply networking for money. Even though I’m not “selling” anything and am proposing making them money it’s a foreign concept for me and my circle is quite slim of people who have the type of capital needed.

Our other issue is that we were not expecting to find the amount of deals we have so fast. I too want to build a book of business so to speak w happy lenders who will continue to earn and keep investing. Racing against the duel clock of the deal and the capital!

Good luck to you... you sound like you’re well on your way!

@Will Barnard Thanks so much for the insight... My husband and I put together rock solid processes to try and alleviate the “fear” of private lending and thought it would be a no brainer. I have put together a list of meetups and am going to be attending.