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May 1, 2006 Edition |
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Garfield Named HomeVestors' CFO Two decades of finance experience
"Howard joins HomeVestors at a critical time in our development," said John P. Hayes, CEO of HomeVestors. "Howard's knowledge in real estate investing will be an important asset for maintaining and improving a financially strong business model as HomeVestors continues to grow." Garfield previously served eight years with Hillwood Development, the high profile real estate and venture capital investment group controlled by Ross Perot, Jr. As part of that group, he was the CFO for the 75-acre Victory development and $420-million American Airlines Center in Dallas, home of the NBA Dallas Mavericks and NHL Dallas Stars. Prior to the Hillwood Development position, Garfield held positions as vice president of finance and controller for MEPC American Properties, the U. S. subsidiary of an international real estate company publicly traded in the U.K. Garfield also served as an audit manager and senior staffer at Touche Ross & Co, now Deloitte and Touche, early in his career. At HomeVestors, Garfield oversees the Accounting Department, Finance Department and Human Resources. | |||||||||
Hot Wings And Houses Houston franchisees give new meaning to the lunch meeting
These Houston franchisees have hit on something hot that involves more than just the wings. What began as an informal bull session four years ago has developed into some serious business between friendly franchisees looking to help each other as well as themselves on any given week.
Youngblood quickly pointed out that was an exception, but business seems to be constant nonetheless. "I would say a couple of houses get sold every month," Youngblood continued. And the lunch deals work both ways. "We've (TRED) bought just as many houses as we've sold," he said. How did this meeting…um, lunch…get so hot? For the 8 to 12 people who show up from as many as five franchise locations, talking about business simply transitioned into doing business. One day somebody just asked if anyone had some houses they wanted to unload, and a formula was born. It made perfect sense, so the guys started bringing their inventory lists each week.
Youngblood explained, "If one franchisee has excess inventory but low cash flow, there's usually someone at the table who has excess cash and needs some ugly houses." Mark Zimmerman, LMK Investments, said, "I've probably bought five or six houses over the last four years." When his office was in The Woodlands, a Houston suburb, it meant a one hour drive to and from lunch and time to eat. "It was three-and-a-half hours each Tuesday," said Zimmerman, who has since moved his office closer to the lunch site. But regardless of the location, the weekly get-together has always been worth it for him.
It also helps that everyone gets along. These lunches have built a camaraderie that no formal meeting would accomplish. "We like the other franchisees," Youngblood said. "So we don't get caught up counting other people's money." Klingberg agreed. "Each year, I end up with two or three properties that I hear about at that lunch," he said. "I just strike while the iron's hot. Whenever they give me the opportunity, I just throw out a number." At one lunch, Klingberg said a franchisee had a "waste case," but it was a house that actually interested him. A pseudo-auction was held at the lunch table, and Klingberg went back and forth with numbers. The house was sold to Klingberg in less than five minutes. He later turned around and sold it to one of his investors. The so-called waste case ended up being a good deal for both the selling and buying franchisees. Zimmerman added, "You're more likely to talk about opportunities at lunch than sit down at your computer and type out an e-mail to everyone." There's no pressure to make these deals happen. For these guys, it's just a nice sidebar to the old theory: Let's do lunch. "It's part of my Dig Lead Program," Klingberg joked. But all joking aside, these franchisees said other HVA franchisees in developed markets should consider doing the same thing. Whether it's cash flow or houses that you need, chances are there's another franchisee in the market who may hold the answer. And the deal could be done by the end of lunch! . . . Monica Feid of BizCom Associates handles public relations services for HomeVestors and its franchisees. | |||||||||
A Turnaround Story In Memphis "Finding good investors is more important than finding good homes. . ."
"In August, I thought we were about to go under," Jennings said. "I had a lot of sleepless nights." Sure, he was getting leads as a result of his HomeVestors advertising. But Jennings said his leads were nothing but lemons. They were run-down shacks that, even if rehabbed, would mean little financially. In a bear market like Memphis, there just weren't enough of the homeruns to make it day-to-day. "It's really easy to make money on hundred thousand dollar properties that you can get for sixty-five thousand," Jennings said. "That's a no-brainer." But in a depressed economy like Memphis, a typical rehabbed home might fetch $70,000 to $80,000. Jennings said there's not a lot of room for error, and there are not a lot of buyers for the effort. "I was getting killed when I was trying to buy, rehab and sell properties," Jennings said. "I was running all over town, chasing down contractors, realtors and more." All his concentration was on homeruns, which were few and far between. And when he had one, he had to sit on it longer, make better decisions and have more operating capital. Meanwhile, the clock was ticking on his business. Jennings was so busy rehabbing for resale to the general public that he put off developing an investor list – a critical mistake. But all of that changed when he asked his closing attorney to refer "junk buyers" that she worked with who were buying a lot of properties in low-end neighborhoods. What could it hurt for her to seek permission to relay some of those names? Her clients could buy more houses, Jennings could sell more, and she could be the closing attorney. Everyone would come out a winner. That one conversation turned into a whole new approach to business for Jennings. After a couple of solid names for what Jennings respectfully calls "bottom feeders," HomeBuyers Express began mounting a comeback. Jennings said his investors are guys that own 300 of these homes and don't mind spending $15,000 on a rehab to put it under Section 8 housing and rent it out. It was a match made in heaven for Jennings and his new contacts. Jennings may not have been getting a lot of homeruns, but when he went back through old BMS leads from day one, he found plenty of so-called junk properties for his investors. That's when he got busy on skinny deals. In his words, he turned lemons into lemonade. Today, he might buy a house for $7,000 and turn around and sell it to one of his investors for $10,000. The past two months, he bought 10 houses each month, and 75 percent of the homes came from old BMS leads that Jennings originally passed over! Additionally, his business has grown leaner and more efficient. HomeBuyers Express moved out of big space in an office park and into a shared suite. Jennings now has low overhead and does most of his deals on paper and over the phone. By focusing on investors, Jennings has transformed his franchise and boosted his operating capital. If a homerun comes along, now it's considered gravy for the business rather than a necessity for staying afloat. "Finding good investors is more important than finding good homes," Jennings said. "I would rather find a good investor than a good property, because a good investor can get you long-term business over and over." Jennings assigns most of his houses to investors. "If it's a property I want, I will close on it," Jennings said. But he added, "I spend a good part of my day just calling investors asking what they're looking for." Jennings discovered that finding ugly houses for his investors was good repeat business. It was also a world apart from trying to hit a homerun with a rehab and resale it to the general public, one-time customers on any given day. As for all of the BMS leads he had previously considered useless, Jennings said, "The answer isn't always how many leads you get. It's if you know what to do with the ones you have." . . . Monica Feid of BizCom Associates handles public relations services for HomeVestors and its franchisees. | |||||||||
Oak Partners Ready To Set Sail Franchise wins second 3-day cruise
In addition to the three-day cruise for two (roundtrip airfare included), Sutton also received an advertising credit, as a result of the referral. His name also will be entered in the grand prize drawing at the HomeVestors annual convention in Dallas, where one franchisee will win a seven-day cruise for two. HomeVestors franchises are awarded an advertising credit in the amount of $3,500 for each successful referral that becomes a new office ($2,500 for each transfer). Each successful referral equals one entry into the Waves of Success cruise giveaway during the quarter that the new franchise sale is complete. In order to qualify for the credit and the cruise, you must register the referral by completing the Prospect Referral Form on the HVA Web site. This form can be found on the Franchise Operations page under Forms and Documents. Both you and your prospect must complete and sign the form for it to be valid. Additionally, the prospect must come to us as a direct result of the referring franchisee – in other words, the prospect found HVA because of the referring franchisee. HVA has had seven franchise referrals in the first quarter (through the end of March 2006) that resulted in new franchise sales and transfers. Thank you for your referrals! We look forward to sending you numerous advertising credits and registering you for the Waves of Success cruise giveaway this year. . . . Jason Killough is HVA's director of franchise development. He may be reached at 972-761-0046, ext. 187. | |||||||||
For more information, contact HomeVestors 10670 N. Central Expwy. Suite 700 Dallas, TX 75231 Telephone: 972-761-0046 Or visit http://www.HomeVestors.com. Copyright, 2010, HomeVestors of America, Inc. All rights reserved. |
There's a Hooters restaurant in Houston that buzzes with ugly house activity at lunchtime every Tuesday. It has become a standing appointment for several area HVA franchisees to get together each week, chat about their businesses and chow down on some hot wings. Oh, and these guys also find time to buy and sell houses to each other. 
