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GUIDING PRINCIPLES Integrity, Service Above and Beyond are Keys to Sells’ Success.
by James Hart
C harles Sells runs the highly success- ful Platinum Investment Properties Group, which helps clients around the world invest in distressed real estate assets. But Sells’ first job in real estate was much humbler: In his early 20s, he got his start stuffing marketing envelopes at $10 an hour. “I literally fell into it,” said Sells, 42, who was named Think Realty’s Master Investor of the Year earlier in 2016. “I was bartending in Atlanta, Georgia, and my girlfriend at the time was an administrative assistant for a company that was investing in tax liens.” That entry-level position was a tremen- dous blessing, though. Sells had always been interested in real estate. Thanks to his new job, he quickly learned the indus- try and rose in the company, becoming a real estate manager. He earned such a good reputation with clients that, after the business went under, four of his custom- ers wanted to keep working with him. Their initial investment? About $20,000. Sells’ dad let him borrow $4,000 for the legal agreements and other paperwork he needed to form his own company. And that’s what became Platinum Investment Properties Group. At last count, Sells and his team have managed more than $180 million for their clients. How did Sells build Platinum into what it has become? Steady, calculated growth. His old business partner, Don Fullman, who recently exited the com- pany, used to preach the importance of not doing too much too fast. “As a young self-starter,” Sells said, “I wanted to do everything. I wanted to be in all the states.”
One of Sells’ biggest challenges, ironically, came when Platinum expe- rienced a surge of growth. In 2009, its business nearly tripled overnight. It’s a “blessing” that might have killed a less prepared company. For many companies caught in un- expected surges, “they can’t handle the growth,” he said. “Their customer service goes down, and their profits go down.” Platinum powered through by going above and beyond for its clients. “Rather than hide behind contractual obligations and fiduciary responsibility,” Sells said, “we take it 10 steps further and try to always do what is right—not just what is required.” Another secret to success? Always level with your clients. Avoid pie-in- the-sky estimates. Instead, provide reli- able, trustworthy information—which
ends up convincing clients to trust you. Though Sells practices controlled growth, Platinum continues to expand. Its head count is about three times larg- er than it was two years ago. “Our business has consistently grown by about 100 clients per year for the past five years,” he said. A native of Hilton Head, S.C., Sells is married to Elena, who was an admin- istrator for a competitor before Sells hired her away. “And then I fell in love,” he said. The couple is expecting their first child together next year. Sells also has two teenage sons from a previous marriage. No day at Platinum is exactly alike, which keeps things interesting. Case in point: The property that held a treasure trove of hair extensions. “It was a running joke around the
office for about two weeks,” Sells said. “We had our field services director in the area checking on some repairs around northern Illinois and asked he check out the property with the hair extensions. We thought we had a few boxes to deal with.” Nope. There were 250,000 brand-new, brand-name, ready-to-sell hair exten- sions, plus a bunch of new windows and even a forklift with no known owner. Platinum was able to sell them and make a healthy profit for the client. “Oddly, we find little treasures like this more often than you think,” Sells said. “Last month, it was a custom-built $8,000 spa tub we sold in a day, on Craigslist.com for $2,000.” Every day, “there’s a new problem that needs to be fixed,” Sells said, “so there’s a new opportunity.” •
6 | Platinum Investment Properties Group, LLC
www.PIPGroup.com | 7
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