News

Enter ContentIn a number of cities, especially those hard hit by the recession, investor groups have swooped in, buying up hundreds of REO properties as quickly as they can be located. To some observers, this appears to be problematic, because the new owners won't be living in those houses and renters can destabilize a neighborhood.

Then there is the issue of whether investors are simply being predatory, stealing away these busted residences before anyone else might consider a purchase because they have raised the capital and pretty much can call the shots.

I'm not going to say the critics are wrong, but I will make the case that investor groups are doing a service to the lenders by putting the homes back into private ownership. They are resurrecting neighborhoods, because when investors purchase they reinvest in the homes (some of which have been trashed), making them market-ready.

There is a third argument in favor of the investors. Thousands of contractors who have lost their jobs or are suffering reduced income because of the collapse of the homebuilding industry are being employed by home investors, as there is millions of dollars in rehab work to be done.

Memphis Invest was started on six years ago, when President and CEO Kent Clothier, Sr. sold one of his companies and began dabbling in real estate.  All three of his sons, Kent Jr., Brett, and Chirs, has come to real estate investment on their own terms in Florida, Tennessee and Colorado.  But the three decided to join their father in business to help create something special.

Kent Sr.'s father was also a Memphis entrepreneur, opening Pizza Inn, Inc, in 1975 with restaurants all over the Mid-South. 

"The original idea was that investing in Memphis was a good opportunity, " says Chris Clothier, a co-owner also with his siblings.  "It started with investors asking us to help them find real estate.  They didn't want to deal with realtors, they wanted to deal with actual investors who knew it from the investment side.

"We are real estate investors that sell our portfolio to other investors and offer them services such as renovation and management that make investing easy," he continues.  "On our end, we simply sell deeded real estate."

Soon after it's founding, the small enterprise began to flourish, expanding to four companies that each offer unique services with the utmost skill.  The company is now the largest pricate real estate investment firm in the area.

Topping the charts with the 18th highest foreclosure rate in the nation, only one thing is certain for Memphis in 2009: there is no shortage of residential properties on the market.At Memphisinvest.com, (from left) Brett Clothier acquires property for rehab, Ryan Flannery is the project manager, and Chris Clothier is in sales and marketing.

Memphisinvest.com is in the process of rehabilitating a home at 4388 Old North Bridge. Michael Dykes of MBD Home Improvement paints the stairway at the home.While the abundance of homes for sale in Shelby County paints a bleak picture for some, local real estate investment services company is helping a niche of investors capitalize on the opportunity.

Beyond the Wall Street screams and cries both for (mostly) falling stock prices and through the expensive palm tree and exclusive housing markets on the West Coast, there lies in between a treasure that has many investors flocking South, and it’s not winter anymore. Banks are bulking under the pressure and most consumers have lost faith in a recession-riden economy that might be getting worse—who knows these days? However, right in the heart of America lies a lifeline of sorts, and it happens to be in the distribution capital of the world. Depending on where you’re from, you might call it one thing or the other of lesser esteem, while at the same time you might call it the Promise Land—some surely are. Geographically, it’s called Memphis, TN, and it’s home to booming industry giants like FedEx, Autozone, and International Paper. And not to mention, a booming real estate market.


A major proponent of it all is a firm called Memphis Invest, a company that assists both locals and carpetbaggers trying to make a buck in this faltering economy. CEO Kent Clothier runs the family operation which owns more than 150 homes in the Memphis metropolitan area, in addition to managing over 800 residences. And this isn’t just another one of those get-rich-quick schemes, Clothier assures. Clothier believes in long-term turnkey investments for real returns, cutting the gimmick. Originally a grocery store owner and operator from Texas, Clothier discovered the potential of America’s heartland in 1983 when he began investing in Memphis real estate. Since then, he’s launched a non-profit for real estate investors and hosted numerous of workshops to help eager investors who might have lost a little money in the stock market. The best part? Clothier wants to help you.

If investing in the stock market had become an American religion, then these are people who lost their religion.

People from nine states showed up Thursday at the Embassy Suites in East Memphis for the first of a free, two-day conference presented by MemphisInvest.com.

The presenters’ goal: Take that faith lost in Wall Street and move it to the streets of Memphis by preaching the value of owning real estate as an investment.

Charles Haney, who owns a laser cartridge business in Arlington but is nearing retirement, listened closely Thursday morning.

“I took a tremendous hit in my 401(k) and I’m looking to retire in a couple of years,” Haney said. “I’m looking at cash flow.”
Edith Moore, 60, of Memphis, told much the same story. The 401(k) went down, down, down. But Moore also isn’t a newcomer to owning real estate as an investment. A few years ago, she sold some rental properties.

At the beginning of the decade, she still felt comfortable handling such business herself, and she even has made a couple of recent purchases.

But she is concerned about her two daughters and a grandchild, and is looking to hedge her bets.

“I’m building their future,” she said. “With the economy the way it is, I want experts.”

Kent Clothier Sr. began dabbling in the real estate market more than 20 years ago when he owned American Wholesale Grocers. As real estate investment evolved into more than a hobby, Clothier sold that company in 1995. By then real estate was a full-time career – and a passion.

A few years later, in 2004, Clothier further committed to his passion by launching a nonprofit organization called the Mid-South Real Estate Investors Association Inc., which helped, and continues to help, aspiring investors through monthly workshops.

Eventually, Clothier formed , a real estate investment acquisition and management firm. Through this entity, Clothier contracts with real estate investors of all expertise – from first-timers to seasoned investors – to acquire, finance, rehabilitate and manage homes.

The goal is to help investors identify undervalued properties and turn them into long-term income generators and sources of tax benefits.

“They’re looking for a turnkey program where someone can take it and guide them all the way through,” Clothier said. “Our typical investor is probably an entrepreneur or a business professional that has lost a little bit of money in the stock market. We’re seeing more and more of that.”