THE JOURNEY...
PHOTOS FROM THE PAST
TIMELINE - THE SHORT VERSION
It’s 2009 and I’ve just graduated from MCPHS – Boston. I accepted a Director of Pharmacy Position in Valdez, AK. During the first week, the pharmacist (Steve) training me asks me a question that shaped my future: “What would you do if the hospital doesn’t need you anymore and pharmacists start getting laid off?” This is where Steve first introduced the idea of Real Estate Investing in my head.
In December 2010, on my birthday, I met Aimee, (then girlfriend now wife) for the first time in the only Safeway in town. Shortly after, she and I sat down and wrote our life plan (click on the pages). 6 months later, we lived out my dream of owning a restaurant. Yet another 6 months later, we sold the restaurant and learned a valuable lesson: we never want to own a restaurant again! However, a change was in order.
In 2011, Aimee and I packed our Coose trailer and left Valdez, AK for Nashville, TN. Steve had invited us to learn real estate investing with him. However, after 10 days in TN, Aimee and I decided the local vibe wasn’t our cup of green tea. We picked up and started Boston, MA bound to visit my parents. While in Boston, I found a job in Florence, SC. Why South Carolina? Well, I heard the barbecue was great and always wanted to see the cotton fields that I read so much about in history books. Long story short, I got the job and we were on the move again.
2 weeks later, I quit my job for unsavory reasons and got a job at Tuomey Hospital (picture on the left) in Sumter, SC. It’s 2012 and I am now living in Sumter, SC and working 7-on-7-off shift at the hospital, I finally had some time to start working on my Real Estate investment. Steve constantly sent me books to read up on and Aimee supported me with enthusiasm. Then tragedy struck and I decided to leave Tuomey just a year later.
2013 brought irony into life. I got a job at Mcleod in Florence and I just didn’t have it in me to pack up and move again. So, I commuted. During this time, I finished reading Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad and played the associated CashFlow game. It made a tremendous impact on me and influenced me to start thinking about buying my first home instead of renting. I also met Michael Periera, a pro tennis player at Palmetto Tennis Center. As like-minded people usually like each other’s company, Michael, Aimee and I hung out often and talked about getting out of the rat race while playing the game. Talks about flipping homes and having a rental portfolio became regular and over time, we became best friends. Michael decided to make the first move and bought a house on Baldwin Dr. in Sumter. His plan was to fix it up and sell it for more after he got married.
2014 came and I was finally ready to make the jump into Real Estate. Aimee and I bought our first house at 2230 Graystone Dr., Sumter, SC 29150. Michael was a little jealous since we got a fantastic deal but it still needed work inside. Commuting was getting old so I got a job at Walgreens on Mccrays Mill Road in Sumter. Now saving a lot of time during the week, and having a stable job, it was time to on our first flip.
It’s 2015 and I identified a property right around the corner from us: 2190 Graystone Dr., Sumter, SC 29150. Itching to get after it, I asked my dad to invest with me but that fell through. So I reached out to Michael to see if he’d like to jump in with me. After doing preliminary numbers, we both found out we didn’t have enough savings to come up with the down-payment for a mortgage. That’s how I met Jimmy Jones, a fellow pharmacist. Michael coached Jimmy at Palmetto Tennis Center and asked him if he’d like to invest. Feeling like the three musketeers, we negotiated, bled and bought the property for thousands less than list price. Then, as any good story progresses, tragedy struck. Our contractor decided to raise the price $10,000 just because he could. All hopes of making money were lost momentarily. Our saving grace: behind successful men, there is usually an incredibly smart woman. Aimee urged us to start making phone calls to all the sub-contractors and start dissecting the project. In the end, we supervised the project ourselves and came out with $7ooo profit each. It wasn’t a treasure chest but I had found my footing. Oh, and we also experienced what a good realtor and a bad realtor feels like. But that’s a story for another time.
It’s still 2016 and I am still high on life. Doing our first flip and making a profit on it had left me wanting more. I started networking with banks, contractors and even Lowe’s employees. A new world was now visible and I meant to explore as many places as I could. Our realtor then, Charlie Fossett, brought us 3 Gerald St., Sumter, SC 29150. Running the rental numbers, I decided to purchase it. However, I didn’t have $36,000. So, I did what any sane person would do when they go shopping and don’t have enough money. I opened up a credit card. But not just any credit card. This one offered 0% balance transfers for 21 months!
It’s 2017 and Real Estate is in the air. Aimee and I founded Porchd, along with a few other local investors. The idea was simple: create a platform to provide unbiased, anonymous ratings and feedback on residential properties. The execution of it was anything but simple. After a tough year of building the website and apps, we decided to launch it at Inman Connect 2018 hosted in Times Square! The response was unbelievable. After the end of just first day, we had connected with brokers from seven different states who were interested in implementing our program in their lead generation systems. By the end of the second day, we had meetings lined up with CoStar (the largest commercial property data provider in the nation) and talks of possible acquisition. For a blast from that past, listen to our podcast from 8/14/2018 here.
A few years go by and we have quite a bit of flips under our belt and another residential rental. Aimee became a Real Estate Agent to further our goals We met a contractor, George Wilson aka Handsome George, who understood our vision and matched our hunger to grow. However, we now had a problem prevalent in “Breaking Bad”. What to do with the money we made from all the flips? Around this time, we were considering buying a lot in Western North Carolina mountains and turning it into a glam camp. But, life had a different plan (in hindsight, it was also the better plan). 19 N Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150 (pictures on the left) came up for sale in 2020 and we went to take a look at it. We realized that only half the building was for sale and the other half was not. I decided I didn’t want to buy it as it was only half the building and I had no idea what to do with a commercial building. Aimee had a different idea because she saw the bigger picture. She reached out to the broker that had the other side for sale at one point and asked if they would still be willing to sell. They agreed. I ran the numbers 21 times (that is the God’s honest truth) because I was that nervous buying my first commercial building. After we bought it, Aimee proceeded to find renters for it and to this day, it is one of the highest grossing building in my portfolio.
It's 2021 and I heard Simon Sinek on Youtube:
“A company is just like a car. The purpose of a car is not to buy gas. The purpose of a company is not to make money. The purpose of a car is to go somewhere, and fuel helps you get there. The purpose of a company is to accomplish something to advance a greater cause, to contribute to society and money will help you get there."
When my company was conceived in 2015, our mission reflected the values of most new entrepreneurs: generate extra household income through real estate investing. Fast forward to now, what started as a hobby has turned into a full fledged business.
In 2021, the video from Simon Sinek compelled me to reflect on my journey. Multiple investments and life lessons later, our mission has evolved to look at each investment decision from different angles to make sure it’s executed to benefit everybody involved. And this is where we are today.
