ForeclosuresMass - ForeclosuresMass Monthly - Nothing Succeeds Like Success

For our January success story we spoke with Jennifer Wilson, Founder and President of Home Financial Solutions, a real estate investment firm based in Ashland, MA. Together with her partner (and brother) Jason Wilson, Jennifer expects to buy and sell 25 properties this year. Read on to learn more about what's worked - and what hasn't - in Jennifer's rise to the top!

ForeclosuresMass: How long have you been investing in real estate and how did you get into it?

Jennifer Wilson: I've been involved in real estate investing for about 4 years now. Back in the early nineties I was working as a bank examiner for the FDIC. At that time, everything was failing and it seemed to me that there was potential for making money from foreclosures. I'd always had kind of a bug for real estate, and a few years later, after getting laid off from a high tech job, I took my severance package and used it to live on until the business got up and running.

JW: Slower! Four years ago there weren't all these real estate gurus running around offering advice on how to be successful, so I had to learn most things through trial and error. It took nine months of working at it before I made my first property investment.

* Next 37 17 investors only!

JW: When I began in 2001 I went to a lot of auctions. In Massachusetts it's particularly cumbersome since these occur at the property, and there's a lot of time spent running from place to place. Sometimes I'd make the effort to get there and the auction would be called off at the last minute. I don't go to auctions anymore - I try to make a deal with the property owner before it ever gets to that point.

Another mistake I made was enrolling in training programs offered by experts from other states. Foreclosures are very state specific, and what works in Utah might not work in Massachusetts. You need to know how things work locally.

FM: That makes sense. Can you tell us a bit about what's worked particularly well for you?

JW: Number one is to pick an area and market to focus on. Even though Massachusetts is relatively small, I focus my efforts in Hamden County (Springfield). At this point I'm intimately familiar with the area, and if a property comes up I know immediately if there's a good deal to be made or if a particular property is one to stay away from. This allows me to move fast - and moving fast in real estate investing is essential.

Number two is to focus on a particular investment strategy. I focus on foreclosures because I believe it's (unfortunately) going to be a growing market in Massachusetts. I use a variety of exit strategies depending on the particular situation - rehab, rental, flip, etc. - but I invest through foreclosures. Here too, by doing one thing, I get very good at it.

I also love taking something ugly and making it look nice, which is why I enjoy rehabs. It's not necessarily the most lucrative side of the business, but there's something about bringing up the quality of an entire neighborhood, and then finding a family to move in who loves what you've done with the place. That really gets me excited - it's got to be about more than just making money.

FM: One last question. Why do you think you've been successful as a real estate investor?

JW: For me I think it comes down to three things. First, perseverance. It took me 9 months to make my first deal, and there were plenty of opportunities to stop, but I was determined to make this work.

Second, I'm good at analysis. I like figuring out how to put the deals together and that's a big part of this occupation.

Finally, I think you need a certain amount of empathy to succeed in foreclosures. Bad things happen to good people, and not everybody who's in foreclosure is a deadbeat. If you can't approach people with empathy for their situation and genuine respect, you'll have a hard time getting anywhere.

Thanks Jennifer! How about you? If you've got a success story to tell, we want to know about it. Send an e-mail to editor@foreclosuresmass.com with the subject line: "success story."