All Forum Posts by: Mallie Messri

@Justin Bergman Hey Justin! I have spoken to plenty of investors local and out of state and while some do get deals on the market it's more bit more rare these days because of the insane amount of competition. The number one marketing method I've heard that works best and has gotten these investors the best returns are deals they have sourced direct to seller, whether they were driving around and saw a dumpy looking home or they were just talking to neighbors next to another property they bought, the juiciest deals will always be the one you get yourself and negotiate directly with the seller. However if you don't have the resources to build out a marketing leg to reach out to homeowners or aren't local to the market I've found the second best way is to build a network of not only wholesalers but Realtors and property managers that can consistently keep you in the loop of off market deals and new inventory before it hits the market. Get on as many lists as possible, connect with as many other individuals that are in the same space as you can and soon you'll have a steady flow of deals coming to your email or phone. I will say this, it takes time to build these relationships but if you can show people that you are serious, respectful of their time and willing to do good and genuine business you will definitely build yourself a solid network to last a lifetime. Chattanooga and TN in general is a very close community and you can surely find your place in groups as long as you don't burn any bridges :)

@Melody Evans Knoxville has a pretty strong online investing community on Facebook, I highly suggest joining some local groups to keep up in the know of local happenings and investments. I myself have made quite a few connections in these groups! I sent you a PM!

Hey @Maj Valero Nice to meet you on here as well! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving :) I noticed you were in Socal! The short answer is yes you can wholesale as a Realtor in CA but there are rules and things you need to disclose as a Realtor approaching a seller for a wholesale deal. I would talk to your Broker or the CAR legal hotline in your state to find out all the details. I'm licensed in CA and I've done a few deals here before we started wholesaling in TN, which now isn't an issue because I'm not licensed in TN. Also you can find an investor friendly broker to work with! I understand you may have a relationship with your broker now but that doesn't have to be the end all for your wholesaling career. You should call around and find Brokers that own Brokerages who are investors themselves, they most likely will also work with investor/wholesale friendly title companies as well. There may also be the exception of you wholesaling through an LLC, which you can create and that would be separate from your real estate agent business. In short, it's possible you just need to do a bit digging. Start with CAR legal hotline, figure out the general rules for your state and city what you can/can't do with wholesaling and then I would ask your Broker if they're okay with you doing it under their Brokerage. If not, and you know you can do it legally as a Realtor in your area, then you may try to find yourself a wholesale friendly brokerage. In LA there are plenty of them and I worked with a few that were totally fine me wholesaling a few deals on the side. Best of luck to you Maj!

@David Hanson Hey! I live in CA but I've connected with you before :) I'll send you a message!

Hey! @Maj Valero Congrats on getting your license! I think both Cleveland, Knoxville and even Chattanooga are great markets to be in as a Realtor and investor. I would say your best bet is to connect with local property managers and realtors that understand and work in your markets to give you your ARV's, rents and other important neighborhood specifics. They really will be the best people to speak to in regards to what you're looking to do and are the type of industry players you want on your team. You'll also be able to service your market with their services and they'll soon become a great resource to you and your clients.

@Warren Bryant Being a realtor who invests myself, I look for other agents who can understand both the residential and investment market fluently and can switch hats pretty easily. I have a few good recommendations for you, shot you a message as well! 

@Teague Anderson That's killer! Congratulations on a successful exchange! Don't know if it could have gone better. Enjoy that cash flow!

@Zach Gring I'll shoot you a message with the referral! I've got someone who's been building and working on homes for 30+ years and knows Knoxville like the back of his hand. 

Hey @Ross Vincent I second Heath, Joey is great! 

Hey @Madigan Tumilowicz Congrats on your decision to invest out of state, been convincing my parents for the longest time and they finally trust me enough to start looking at Tennessee themselves! There's a few great markets in TN, I specifically am a fan of Knoxville and Chattanooga for their appreciating and cash flowing markets. 

The median price point in both markets still hovers around 200K-250K and there's huge growth in both markets for similar economic reasons. I would say you could still achieve both long term rentals, BRRRR's and purchase some high producing vacation rentals in both markets. One thing we've noticed as out of state investors is although there is a lot of attributes to both markets growth such as the college, tech industry, large international plants (like coca-cola and volkswagen) and then there's the tourism part to it for the nature activities, you have to be very specific as to which neighborhood you are investing in as the demographic and income level can vary significantly just street by street (school systems and education seems to be the dividing factor). Although we have mainly been working in the Chattanooga market I do have some insight as to the growing areas in Knoxville and seeing as you already have resources there and it may be easier for you to take a look into.

The counties I would look at are, Anderson County, Blount County, Knox County (City of Knoxville isn't particular in permits but County of Knoxville can be very difficult for permits) and Sevier County. Take a look at West Knoxville and Farragut (however higher prices, better returns and great school system), Maryville and Oakridge (Oak Ridge is home to two large government plants that employ over 10,000 people (Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex) but be careful with with city taxes there. There are little neighborhoods close to Downtown Knox that are "up and coming", however they are rougher areas but you can typically buy a little lower and still see a good return there. The city of Maryville and Alcoa seem to be booming and growing but be careful with certain parts of Alcoa. Lenoir City offers cheap property taxes, a lake, and quick access to Knoxville. Kingston offers a lake as well and "country" style living but with quick access to Knoxville as well. We had some leads in Louisville and Lafollete by the lake and those seem like great areas with high ARV's and good potential for VRBO's. Hamblen County and Jefferson County are seeing a lot of job growth over the next several years

A resource I like to refer to is the Knoxville Planning site https://knoxmpc.org/ as it's pretty informative and you can stay updated on the new plans and developments. It would be great if you could even get on an email blast that gets sent out with updates. For chattanooga I subscribed to timesfreepress.com and for the most part been I've able to stay up to date on the latest developments in Hamilton County and surrounding areas (super helpful on keying into upcoming markets). 

Always happy to chat further as well! Hope that helps a bit! Best of luck to you!