change in their re-brand is their values. For example, they don’t call themselves experts in every area. In the Atlanta area, they know 17 counties “like the back of our hand,” so they haven’t expanded into more counties. “We know the area. We know the strategy. We know the agents,” says Hardy. “We know what the buyers are desiring—and that’s made us success- ful.” In their new market of Memphis, they buy in seven counties. “So the reality is, we don’t call our- selves experts all across Georgia and Tennessee—our guidelines have kept us true to who we are,” says Hardy. “And that’s why we keep money hand over fist for our investors.” “We wanted to create the atmosphere and the concept that when the outside investors came to us, we took them by the hand and made buying and selling real estate easy for them,” says Hardy. “We’ve relaunched ourselves as a private equity company specializ- ing in real estate investments,” says Thompson, adding that real estate in America is where true wealth is built year after year. MOVING INTOMEMPHIS The partners researched many mar- kets before they decided to put “boots on the ground” in their second market of Memphis. The city was a good fit for their company, so they expanded using their proven systems and getting the right people in place. They’ve been operating in Memphis for more than a year and have purchased more than 50 properties so far. With Memphis just a half-day drive away, Thompson and Hardy visit the area once each quarter to oversee properties and process. The low cost of real estate was a compelling factor in their choice. While inventory is limited across much of the United States, the part- ners are “extremely excited” about the
they make money.” The company is interested in the long-term advancement and protec- tion of the investor. That value has resulted in a waiting list of investors. “We’re following the principles of helping out others and stewarding their money well—that has given us the reputation we have,” says Hardy. “One of the most gracious compli- ments we can get from our investors all over the world is, ‘We’ve never dealt with a company that gives us the communication like you as owners of the company do.’ We are personally involved by phone, email or in person
with every one of our investors on a weekly basis.” ONE-STOP SHOP Investor Network rebranded to better communicate the company’s full offering to investors. Thompson and Hardy noticed competitors might offer in-house flip programs or in-house wholesale programs, but few compa- nies offered a true one-stop shop for all services. Since 2014, they brought everything in-house, including real estate agents, property management, remodeling teams and brokerage. One thing the partners didn’t
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