All Forum Posts by: Steve Chaisson

I was born in Memphis and my sister lives there. If I were inclined to invest there, I would definitely talk to the guys at Memphis Invest @Chris Clothier . They are nationally recognized for running a solid turnkey operation. There is a feel that you have to connect with to understand Memphis the right way. If you don't live there you really need some solid boots on the ground to guide you.

A 22 year old came to work for me a few years ago.

She selected a few mentors for whom she simply did a lot of work for free. One of them was a big rehabber in town. One was a commercial investor who was a multimillionaire. One of them was a so-called guru named Robert Shemin. She dug in and just did a lot of work and learned as she went.

At age 26 she is now one of the biggest infill developers in town. She has over 100 units going into construction.

The moral of the story is find someone successful and ask how you can be of assistance to them. Some people may use you in the bit and take advantage of an ambitious person giving them some free labor. That's ok because you can learn from them. When you've found the path you enjoy the most dig your heels in and go for it.

Bellevue is doing well. A lot of flood properties from 2010 have been reabsorbed into the market. It's a great starter home market for those who want more bang for their buck than coming into west Nashville. I'd watch condo purchases but some of them can be great rentals.

@Bill Gulley - I know one of them is a commercial broker. She remarried an architect who drowned in a boating accident falling off of their boat. I think she's still single if you want to give it a shot. :)

My primary HML is my financial planner. He keeps about a million in play with me on call for any deal. He furnishes a funding letter to my attorney who forwards it to any party requesting proof of funds. It has never been questioned.

@Bill Gulley - Rusty knows quite a bit. His ex-wives are all millionaires lol.

The boat sits on the slip. It's for parties. He doesn't pay for fuel. Ten people can rent it and sleep there for the night. He doesn't allow them to take it out.

My buddy Rusty, who is a commercial real estate broker, smoked a deal on a houseboat at an auction. He bought a boat for 100k that is worth 300k. He knows boats very well though - he is a tournament fisherman and has his own tv show. He was able to finance the entire purchase with a local bank and leases the boat for events at $300-$500 per night depending upon the season. If you know boats well you can make a lot of money, but like anything it requires a certain expertise that takes experience to develop.

My friend had a short sale available there - I emailed your post to him. I'm not sure if he still has it but I'll check.

I'd have to qualify exactly what you mean by "multifamily". Are you speaking of 2-4 unit properties or apartment complexes?

I've done condo conversions of apartment buildings in Bellevue, Murfreesboro, and Green Hills and sold several hundred multifamily units in Middle Tennessee so I feel as if I've got my fingers on the pulse of things, but I'd need a bit more info.

There's an infill boom going on in town right now, so anything with density in Germantown, The Gulch, West End, and East Nashville is going to be difficult to find and pricey. At the same time, parts of East Nashville are still a bit rough. Williamson County has very little multifamily property available.

Rutherford, Wilson, and Sumner Counties are strong. You need to include Hendersonville and Mt. Juliet in your search.

If I've got 200k cash ready to strike on a deal in Florida, my amount of leverage would depend on the value of the deal. With all of the carnage in Florida right now, I would first worry about trying to take someone's head off and get the best deal possible. Leverage isn't as much of an issue as the value of the kill. If your credit is good a 400k loan will be easy with 33% down, provided that your debt to income ratios a bankable.