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In this episode I interview Mike Simmons. Mike is a landlord, a flipper, a podcaster, and he coaches new investors on how to get started in real estate.

Mike’s husband and father of three. He, along with his wife Nanette, started flipping houses here in metro Detroit back in 2008. He’s been successfully flipping houses in Metro Detroit ever since. In November of 2013, Mike started a podcast call “Just Start Real Estate”, with the goal of helping new real estate investors “Just Start” their real estate investing business. Mike also recently launched a coaching program which helps him work more closely with investors who want to either launch their real estate business, or take it to the next level!

REI News

One REI news item this week – and it’s a serious one.

It looks like the Fair Housing commissions across the country are stepping up their prosecution of of fair housing violations. If you are a landlord – I strongly encourage you to read the two articles that I saw on this, then do an internal review of your process and policies to make sure that you are 100% in compliance with fair housing laws. This is critical, because one of the guys that was prosecuted recently and fined $36k was investigated simply because he didn’t return a call from a renter prospect.

You can find both articles and my blog posts that go with them at dennisfassett.com.

Again – if you own rental properties or you’d like to, these articles are a must for you.

And I want to remind you that I’m still looking to put a group of folks together to do some decent volume of suburban turn key properties for a couple of hedge funds that called me.

So if you’d like to participate with funding deals, or if you can do some volume in the suburbs (not including cities like Pontiac or Inkster) then drop me a line at REITalkDetroit.com/contact and let’s talk.

And if you have a news item to contribute or an event coming up, drop me a line and I’ll get it on the show.

Current Business
Mike and I have been friends since we met something like 6-7 years ago when we were both members of Mark Ijlal’s mastermind. He’s an unassuming guy who has quietly focused on building his business over the last several years, starting with a disastrous rental and his first stressful flip.

Now several years later he’s still doing flips. But he’s also now doing his own podcast, and he’s teaching new investors how to get started on the right track with real estate investing. If what he’s doing is of interest, then drop him a line. His contact information is below.

How He Got Started in REI

Mike got started accidentally when he married Nanette and decided to rent out his under-water house. Despite the somewhat bad experience he had with it, he realized that his retirement plan was’t looking so hot, and when he looked around for a way to invest, real estate really appealed to him. He attended a couple of seminars, then took the plunge and did his first flip. He hit a home run with it, and learned some valuable lessons as well, so at that point he was hooked. He continues to do flips, and he’s in the process of getting into rental houses, because it’s a great way to build passive income.

Biggest Mistake

Mike says that his biggest mistake was not checking out the contractor he hired to do his first flip. The guy hi hired stiffed the electrical contractor, who then demanded payment or else he was going to put a lien on the house. They worked it out, and now he always gets a release of lien from everyone who works on the house before he makes his final payment.

Biggest Success

He says that his biggest success was starting out on his first deal by documenting everything on his Facebook fan page. He posted videos and pictures during every step of the process, and by doing that he garnered a lot of interest from other investors and, most importantly, private lenders. Because he built a track record that was visible, several private lenders asked to do business with him. And he continues to do business with them now.

Money Talks

Mike is exclusively using private lenders to fund his deals. He’s been doing the standard 50-50 split with them, but now that he has attracted additional lenders through his investing and his podcast, he’s started to keep a higher percentage of the deals himself. He also explained how he structures the deals with his private lenders during our conversation.

Answer to Listener Question

The question that I asked Mike was “Since you coach a lot of new real estate investors, what’s the question that you get most often from them?”

This was an interesting discussion, because he said that the majority of the questions he gets are pretty basic. But the one thing he emphasizes to new folks is FOCUS, in that if you want to do flips, focus on flips, and don’t be tempted to do wholesaling or rentals just because they sound sexy. Learn one approach, and get good at it, and get profitable at it, before moving on to something else.

Links and Resources
Mike is primarily looking for deals. But he also offered to sit down with other real estate investors informally to talk shop, answer questions, or provide guidance. Mike knows what he’s talking about, so if you’d like to get a hold of him, you can reach him two ways:

Email: mike@juststartrealestate.com
Website: juststartrealestate.com/contact-mike

If you have feedback on the show, a question you’d like answered, a news item, or perhaps a recommendation of someone you’d like me to interview, or if you’d like to be a guest on the show, go to http://www.REITalkDetroit.com/contact and let me know about it.

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In this episode I interview Trent Dalrymple, former Hard Money Lender turned Real Estate Investor.

Trent’s story is inspiring. He was cursing along with a profitable lending business when the government jumped in and changed the rules. Overnight he had to switch gears and find another way to earn a living. And he did. We talk about what he experienced and what he did about it during our conversation.

REI News

No local REI News to report this week.

Just a reminder though that I’m still looking to put a group of folks together to do some decent volume of suburban turn key properties for a couple of hedge funds that called me.

So if you’d like to participate with funding deals, or if you can do some volume in the suburbs (not including cities like Pontiac or Inkster) then go to the contact page http://www.REITalkDetroit.com/contact and let’s talk.

And if you have a news item to contribute or an event coming up, drop me a line and I’ll get it on the show.

Current Business

Trent is now on the investing side of the business instead of the lending side.

Because good numbers are hard to come by with straight rehabs, he’s primarily focusing on doing straight new builds in Birmingham and Royal Oak. He has a pretty cool business model where he has licensed contractors bringing him deals and doing the work. He has one property on the market, two nearing completion, and he closed on the purchase of a new property a coupe of weeks ago. He’s busy.

It’s a unique and pretty simple business model as well – if you’re interested in how it works then this episode is for you.

Also – because the new build business is highly capital intensive, and because he’d like to do more of them, Trent is also looking for additional finding sources. If what he’s doing is of interest, then drop him a line. His contact information is below.

How He Got Started in REI

Trent started his career as a radio DJ. He was “spinning records” on the radio in Southern California in the 80’s! Once he got married he realized that he’d need to do something more substantial to support his family. He started on the retail agent side like many do, and got frustrated with it.

So he jumped over to the lending side. He did that for a while in California then he moved his family back to Michigan. When the lender he was working for went out of business during the crash, he and one of his former money partners decided to start their own Hard Money lending business. He did that until the Dodd-Frank legislation put him out of business as a lender.

Biggest Mistake

Trent says that his biggest mistake was not trusting his gut instincts with some of the folks that wanted to do hard money loans with him. He tells the story of how he made a loan even though his gut told him there would be issues. And sure enough the borrower was a problem from the start is is presently in foreclosure.

Biggest Success

He says that he particularly proud of two things. First, that his business is going so well now and that he enjoys it so much. The second is that he won a sales contest to sell a premium mobile home back in the 80’s which lead to a nice bonus check but also a lot of new business selling additional models of the premium home that he had sold.

Money Talks

He has numerous sources of capital, which you’d expect from someone who spent so much time with private lenders in the past. At present he’s using family money and partner money to fund his deals. Nothing really fancy – but Trent is yet another example of someone who has spent a lot of time cultivating respect and a solid reputation, which in turn makes it really easy to attract investment capital.

Answer to Listener Question

The question that I asked Trent was “How do you go about delegating and outsourcing work in your investing business?” And as a follow up, “How do you keep track of the work that you delegate?”

Trent is like most investors in that he knows that he need to keep up on what’s happening in his business. So he’s starting small by delegating some of the tracking and office work. Because he wants to grow his business and do more deals, he thinks that delegating might take the form of having someone visit in-flight projects and take extensive video and picture to document progress.

Links and Resources

Trent’s looking for three things:

1. Licensed contractors with deals
2. Additional sources of funding
3. Deals! Particularly in Birmingham and Royal Oak

If you’d like to talk to Trent about any of these, or if you have questions for him, you can reach him via email at trent@Metro-MI.com.

He also has three new build projects that are completed or near it. They are:

• 702 Golf Avenue in Royal Oak. Presently listed for $415k
• 1817 N. Lafayette in Royal Oak. Nearly ready to be listed. Will be available for $415k
• 501 N. Center in Royal Oak. Nearing completion; will be available for around $450k

If you have feedback on the show, a question you’d like answered, a news item, or perhaps a recommendation of someone you’d like me to interview, or if you’d like to be a guest on the show, go to http://www.REITalkDetoit.com/contact and let me know about it.

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In this episode I interview Ron Walraven. He’s a former top REO broker turned real estate investor and deal maker.

Ron is incredibly knowledgeable about REI. Having done over 3000 BPOs, he has a lock on property values which is a great advantage when he sizes up deals. He’s also a great resource to new and experienced real estate investors.

Even though we’ve both been in real estate in this area for a long time, our paths have really never crossed. So I really enjoyed sitting down with him and catching up. I think you’ll enjoy it too!

REI News

One item today:
My friend Oscar Garner has started a new company called Garner & Associates LLC. They’re doing Venture Capital and Commercial Lending, and so he’s now facilitating venture capital and commercial mortgage loans.

If you’re looking for some big ticket funding, I recommend that you call Oscar and see if it makes sense to work together. You can reach him by phone at 248-718-0173 or email at garnerassoc@gmail.com.

And I want to remind you that I’m still looking to put a group of folks together to do some decent volume of suburban turn key properties for a couple of hedge funds that called me.

So if you’d like to participate with funding deals, or if you can do some volume in the suburbs (not including cities like Pontiac or Inkster) then go to the contact page http://www.REITalkDetroit.com/contact and let’s talk.

Ron’s Current Business

Ron has transitioned from being one of the top REO brokers in the metro area to being a full time real estate investor and deal maker. Spending so much time on the REO side has given him tremendous insight on values, so it’s no surprise that his investing business is going well.

He’s also working on an opportunity to get access to pre-REOs. He’s looking for funding to do it in the amount of $500k to fund one or two deals at a time. If you’d like to participate with him, contact him via email or give him a call. His contact information is below.

Ron’s also a board member at the Oakland REIA, and he recently took over the Advanced Investor Subgroup. He repurposed and refocused it from more of a networking group to an Advanced Investor Mastermind. The group meets once a month, and you can find the logistics information below.

And finally, he’s creating a Private Mastermind for newer real estate investors. It sounds like a great opportunity to get access to him. So if you’re looking for some direction or guidance, you should get in touch with him. His contact information is below.

How He Got Started in REI

Ron was a high-end auto mechanic when he severely hurt his back and had to find another way to make $100k per year.

So he chose real estate!

He got his license and started doing the retail agent thing, which turned out to not be a great fit with his mechanic background. So he jumped at the chance to work the REOs at the office his was in.

He grew his business to a highly profitable nine person team. Then the foreclosure moratorium was put in place and he saw the handwriting on the wall. So he made the transition to real estate investor.

Biggest Mistake

Ron doesn’t have any regrets – but the one thing he says it might have made sense to consider was shifting to short sales once the foreclosure moratorium went into effect. He thinks it might have made the transition from broker to investor a little bit smoother.

Biggest Success

Ron says that his biggest success was opening himself up to new opportunities outside the comfort zone of metro Detroit. He worked with another local investor – Bob Norton – in Arizona and Washington DC.

In both cases he went into the area cold, and with Bob used his experience from this area to analyze and evaluate those areas and decide where the most profitable deals were.

Money Talks – How He’s Funding His Deals

Ron is exclusively using Private Money to fund his deals. He’s not doing anything really fancy – he says that when he finds the deals then the money is the easy part!

That’s the power of building a sterling reputation in the area where you invest.

Answer to a Listener Question

The question that I asked him is “Is it worth it to me as a relatively new investor to pay to be in a mastermind?”

His answer is – it absolutely makes sense! If you pick the right Mastermind.

He made the point that while you can have success with the big-ticket coaching programs that cost a fortune, you need to be careful because you may not get the information that you need.

He talked about the value of a local Mastermind, where you meet with local folks to talk about the local market and local issues, and how valuable that would be to people that are relatively new to the business. He also emphasized that that was the point of both the Advanced Mastermind and the private mastermind/coaching program that he’s thinking about starting.

Links and Resources

If you’d like to contact Ron about any of the topics that we discussed, here are the two best ways to do that. Remember – he prefers getting a text over a voicemail message:

Cell: (586) 413-6190
Email: teamw@BlackwaterREO.com

Ron’s Advanced Investor Mastermind
Date: Fourth Saturday of each month.
Time: 8:30 – 10:30am
Cost: $20 per meeting, free if you join the Oakland REIA
Location: Kerby’s Koney Island 5407 Crooks Rd in Troy
Website: http://www.meetup.com/Real-Estate-Investment-Association-of-Oakland-County/events/171548072/
You can also contact Ron on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ron.walraven

Oakland REIA: https://www.facebook.com/groups/31744834164/
The Advanced Investor Meetup information is on the home page in the right side bar

If you have feedback on the show, a question you’d like answered, a news item, or perhaps a recommendation of someone you’d like me to interview, or if you’d like to be a guest on the show, go to http://www.REITalkDetoit.com/contact and let me know about it.

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In this episode I interview Jeremy Burgess, the Detroit Market Expert and Urban Homesteader.

Jeremy has been knocked down and lost everything. Twice. And he goto back up both times. I think he epitomizes the guts and determination that’s required to succeed if you invest in the city of Detroit.

REI News

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by two smaller hedge funds. Both are looking to build a portfolio of rental homes here in the suburbs. They’d both like to build up to a purchase volume of ten homes per month. So I’m looking to put together a small group of folks with the money and the ability to do that kind of volume here on a consistent basis.

So if you’d like to participate with funding deals, or if you can do some volume in the suburbs (not including cities like Pontiac or Inkster) then go to the contact page http://www.REITalkDetroit.com/contact and let’s talk.

Jeremy’s Current Business

Right now Jeremy is focusing on his real estate networking group – the Renegade Detroit Investors. He’s on the downhill side of several lawsuits that have taken him to the cleaners and limited his involvement in real estate investing for the time being.

He’s planning on jumping back into wholesaling – in the city of Detroit – when he finally gets through the lawsuits.

How He Got Started in REI

He was living in Spokane Washington and going nowhere when he and a friend went to a REI seminar in Idaho. He was looking for a life-line, so he jumped in with both feet.

He started investing in Detroit from Washington state, and came to the conclusion that he needed to be here. So his wife quit her high paying job and they packed up and moved here in 2007.

Biggest Mistake

He says that his biggest mistake is not having multiple exit strategies for his deals. He attributes some of the losses he’s experienced to not having planned better.

Biggest Success

Not surprising, Jeremy’s biggest success is getting back up after being knocked down twice.

Answer to Listener Question

The question that I asked him is “What do I have to do to be successful investing in the city of Detroit?”

His first recommendation – you need to be here, boots on the ground.

His second is that you need to understand that Detroit is a medium-risk market at best, and that you need to prepare to lose money on deals. But if you put the time in, learn, and get proficient, you can reap the substantial profits that are available in the city.

Links and Resources

Renegade Detroit Investors Group
Date: First Tuesday of each month, except the month of July.
Time: Networking and dinner at 6pm. Program is from 7-8pm
Cost: $25 per meeting, which includes dinner. Annual memberships are available
Location: Silas Italian Restaurant 4033 12 Mile Rd in Berkley
Website: http://www.meetup.com/renegadedetroitinvestors/
You can also contact Jeremy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/detroitjeremy

Also mentioned in this episode:

Jesse Boyd
https://www.facebook.com/jessecboyd

Shawn Friend
https://www.facebook.com/shawn.friend

If you have feedback on the show, a question you’d like answered, a news item, or perhaps a recommendation of someone you’d like me to interview, or if you’d like to be a guest on the show, go to http://www.REITalkDetoit.com/contact and let me know about it.

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Welcome to REI Talk Detroit – the show for and about real estate investing in metro detroit.

In this kickoff episode I introduce the show, tell you how it’s going to the structured, and very briefly give you my background. And in the money talks segment I tell you how I’m funding my deals.

REI Talk Detroit is a show by and for real estate investors here in the Metro Detroit area.

Each week I’m going to interview someone in the real estate investing space here in metro detroit.

Most of the people I’ll be interviewing will be investors. A few though will be service providers such as private money lenders, property inspectors, and contractors.

Each quarter we’re going to talk to one or two real estate agents about the state of the market, and I’m also planning on having shark tank type sessions and open Q&A sessions with private lenders

Everyone that I talk to though will have one thing in common – they will be actively involved in real estate investing in some way in metro Detroit.

Some of the folks you’ll know. Others you won’t. Some will have big business, some won’t. And some will have a ton of experience, and some will be rookies.

And I don’t plan to do any lecturing.

Instead, I’ll be focusing on experiences. Success and failures. Challenges and stories. And through them we’ll do some knowledge sharing that I hope will help educate you, inspire you, and give you new ideas that you can implement in your own real estate investing business.

Each episode will be broken down into four parts.

Segment 1 will be local REI news.
Segment 2 will be the interview
Segment 3 will be Money Talks, where I’ll ask each guest how they’re funding their deals, since that the question that I get most often.
And in Segment 4 my guest or I will answer listener submitted Questions

In this kick-off episode I basically interview myself for segments 2 and 3. If you already know me then this will be a repeat. If we don’t know each other then I encourage you to listen in and let me know if we should be doing business together.

I do need to make a request. If you have feedback on the show, a question you’d like answered, a news item, or perhaps a recommendation of someone you’d like me to interview, or if you’d like to be a guest on the show, simply go to the website for the show REITalkDetoit.com/contact and let me know about it. And I’ll take it from there.