All Forum Posts by: Neal Richardson

@Christine Mwai I appreciate your kind words and support.  I have a very experienced real estate and nonprofit focused legal team working with me on this project, so I am definitely covering my bases and paying a pretty penny to do so (out of pocket).  

@Connie Bhimireddy Financial literacy is the foundation of this program's curriculum. I agree with all of your statements. We will definitely teach them how to calculate ROI and Cash on Cash.

@William Brown Good luck in your real estate endeavors.  Keep pushing and learning as much as you can about the business, then learn some more.  I have been in the business for years and assumed several roles, and still learning a lot everyday.  

@Jeff B. and @Account Closed Dream Builders will definitely create opportunities for the students to learn the acquisition process. This portion of the course will be more of a simulation. We will be visiting a title company, completing purchase and sale agreements, and go through the entire process of purchasing a home, even having them visit an financial institution to apply for a loan (again a simulation). We are going to be using the most typical practices in purchasing a home (Conventional or FHA for owner-occupied properties). I wouldn't teach them anything I wouldn't do or have seen during my real estate career.

In no way will I earn a profit or any proceeds (I have already spent $10k of my own money), not even a salary as the President.  Real Estate has provided me with a great life for my family.  As an African-American male raised in a poor household and low-income community, I would be remiss if I did not give back to my community and other young people who feel as though they don't have opportunities to be successful. I was those kids and I want to provide them with something tangible to build the confidence necessary for them to want to do good with their lives.  Also I am  tired of seeing vacant and dilapidated homes in these communities.  So, this is why I started this organization.  My reward comes from seeing these kids become successful and inspired to want more out of their lives.  Money can never compare to that for me.  

Thank you all for your comments, feedback, and suggestions.  Please keep them coming. I want to provide as much benefit as possible to these young people. 

@Bill Gulley, I definitely understand your concerns in regards to real estate scams and get rich quick schemes.  I have over 10 years of real estate experience, most recently in Community Development of Low-Income Communities, using tax incentives such as LIHTC, NMTC, and HTC.  The reason I liked the guide was due to the simplistic approach it took about the basics of financing, identifying prospective property, and budgeting - I agree some of it is not best practice.  The youth will learn about how to fix the issues of the blighted neighborhoods they are living in and surrounded by, and how to engage their Alderman and local Community Development Agencies to receive funding to off-set development costs due to the market not being able to support the costs to rehab homes in LIC neighborhoods. 

They will do very minimal "labor work", only as it relates to learning about the trades, because a lot of these students will be interested in a career in these skill trades.  Definitely not the extensive amount labor you are probably imagining. :-)

All of the homes that will be redeveloped using this program are owned by the City that have been sitting vacant for years.  So, it is not about making money at all.  It is about building up the youth and the neighborhoods that have lacked development for decades.  

If you have any fun game suggestions for the students, please send them my way.

Thanks.

I greatly appreciate everyone's comments, critiques, and suggestions.  This program is tailored to teach high school students about financial literacy, investing, and entrepreneurship.  An aspect of the curriculum is real estate investing.  I did not include this in previous post, because BP is a RE site.  The actual hands-on work they will be doing on-site will be mostly acting as the General Contractor.  They will be obtaining bids, selecting contractors and then shadowing those contractors to learn about the trades.  They will do very minimal "labor work", only as it relates to learning about the trades, because a lot of these students will be interested in a career in these skill trades.

Due to many of these students aspiring to be first generation college students, we understand how important it is in creating social equity, by assisting them with the opportunity to participate in unpaid internships or just cover a semester of room & board will be impactful on their future; this is why the scholarship fund is so important to this program.  The scholarship agreement is written in a manner that they will still receive funds even if the property isn't sold.  However, we want to teach them about the risks of investing and the pride of earning money through a entrepreneurial venture they started.

Thanks again.  

Hello, 

My name is Neal Richardson, President of Dream Builders 4 Equity ("DB4E").  DB4E is a nonprofit organization that teaches at-risk high school students about real estate investing and development.  The students will earn financial equity in the real estate projects by participating in the construction and/or rehab of the properties.  Profits earned will be allocated to a 529 college savings account in their name.  

Our pilot program is launching in 2 weeks.  We are planning to use the Ultimate Beginners Guide To Real Estate Investing, to teach them the basics of real estate investing.  The guide is very well written and will be easy for them to follow, even as high school students.

Is there a PowerPoint presentation that accompanies the pdf?  If not, I hope to gain your permission to create a presentation based on the information in the guide.  

Thank you much for your time and I hope to hear from you soon. 

- Neal Richardson