FEATURED STORY
Master Investor
happened to fit his life mission. “Not only can I make money, but I can continue doing what I spent my whole adult life doing—helping people—by taking buyers who wouldn’t qualify traditionally for a loan and dealing with properties that wouldn’t traditionally pass for a mortgage,” he said. Through his mentor’s guidance and
ing and selling assets that banks want- ed to liquidate, and he became Davis’ mentor. In 2006, Davis began investing in “toxic low-end properties”—homes under $5,000, which came with issues his mentor helped him solve. To Davis’ surprise, these investments turned a profit at a time when other investors were floundering—and they
WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED that experience trading stock options, starting ministries and hunting elk would combine to form a successful real estate investment company? That’s the interesting path Kent Davis and Chuck Bates have traveled as co-founders of Equistream, formerly Kingdom First Holdings, based in Tampa, Fla. Today, Equistream buys large pools of residential properties from banks and mortgage companies in more than 34 states, at large discounts. The company has $30 million under investment. Its purchased properties are sold to other smaller investors, to flippers or to homeowners through its Buy Here Pay Here program, which offers nonbank financing. The end result is solid profit for investors, revitalized neighborhoods and new homeowners who, otherwise, would most likely have remained renters. FROM MINISTRY TO MILLIONAIRE As a pastor and missionary, Kent Davis spent 35 years in the nonprofit field. He founded a world mission organization that was in 38 countries, built churches and a drug rehabili- tation center and provided for food pantries. Davis even built a 31-acre campus with an “aging in place” vi- sion with everything from a preschool to an assisted living facility. He had certainly improved others’ lives. But one day, when acute stress made him feel like he was having a heart attack, he worried about his financial worth and ability to provide for his family. “Much of my adult life was serv- ing others, and I really didn’t worry much about my future,” Davis said. “I realized I’d opted out of Social Security and had very little retirement savings.” Through a hunting club, Davis met a man with 40 years’ experience in buy-
Success in investing has given Chuck Bates time for other passions.
20 | think realty magazine july :: august 2016
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