|
Economy turns serial entrepreneur to real estate investing
By Monica Feid
 |
| Mike Ciaramitaro |
“I believe in diversification,” said Mike Ciaramitaro, of Macomb, MI, near Detroit. And he lives by that motto in the businesses that he runs, the investments that he makes, and most recently…the houses that he buys.
A self-made millionaire, Ciaramitaro has built a personal fortune from the ground up by running companies and offering services that thousands of people have learned to count on in an emergency. That includes owning one of the most successful Mr. Rooter plumbing franchises in the country since 1989 as well as a water restoration company that handles service calls across the area.
But these days, Ciaramitaro sees a new dilemma where people need rescuing. And it’s not just fixing the plumbing or repairing a flooded basement. In a lot of cases, it’s tackling a whole house.
“The Michigan economy is tough,” said Ciaramitaro. “We have a lot of foreclosures. But people still need to live somewhere.”
It was that kind of logic that led the local entrepreneur into residential real estate investing. And as an experienced franchise owner with a famous plumbing company, he looked no further than the largest franchise in real estate investing to buy houses he could fix up and rent in the Detroit suburbs.
That’s how Ciaramitaro met HVA franchisees Jeff and Kim Drake of Motor City Home Buyers in Detroit. Together, they have found ways to prop up the local housing market while making sound investments with their money.
“They always have a supply of homes,” Ciaramitaro said about HVA. “There’s nobody else that does anything quite like what they do.”
And in quick fashion, Ciaramitaro has amassed a rental portfolio of 13 houses – eight of those homes he purchased from the Drakes since May. And he’s not done yet.
Some of the homes have already been rehabbed by HVA. Others were fixer-uppers that Ciaramitaro’s construction team has tackled. All of them have turned into quality properties in move-in condition for eager renters. And in these tough times that means a win-win for everyone according to Ciaramitaro.
Plus, Ciaramitaro is keenly focused on finding renters who will be responsible tenants and possible future homeowners at the very same address. If they can make timely rent payments and improve their credit scores, he has invested well at the right price and may be the avenue to help a renter become a homeowner one day.
But the added perk for Ciaramitaro’s latest endeavor and an important requirement for any business venture in today’s economy is the control he has over his money.
“Here’s what I preach to people,” said Ciaramitaro. “Your IRA or 401K is fine. But you don’t want to put all of your money there. On Wall Street, we’re relying on someone else to make us money, and that’s not the American way. With real estate, at least we have a little more control over the financials. In real estate, we can have that involvement with our investment. With real estate, we are creating our own destiny.”
That may explain why Ciaramitaro’s CPA has become one of his latest referrals to HomeVestors.
It’s just one more way another numbers guy is looking to “diversify.”
…Monica Feid is vice president of BizCom Associates, HVA’s public relations agency.
|
