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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Mark Hayes, the founding president of Bridge South Investments. Mark shares his journey into real estate investing, his focus on bridge loans, and the importance of building relationships in the lending business. He discusses the challenges he has faced, the keys to his business growth, and offers valuable advice for aspiring investors. Mark emphasizes the significance of understanding one’s investor type and the benefits of mentorship in navigating the real estate landscape.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Mark Hayes (00:00)
when I started, you know, I would, again, I borrowed a course from a friend and it was about a specific strategy.And I got excited about that. And then I went to a local real estate investor meeting and they were talking about another strategy and that sounded exciting. Or I would ask another investor about, you know, rental properties and people would say, oh no, you don’t want to do that. And talk about, you know, tenants call you calling you in the middle of the night and things like that. So, so I, you know, as a new investor, you can get torn in different directions.
because there’s so many different aspects of investing, but that’s a good thing.
Michelle Kesil (02:13)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil, and today I’m joined by someone I’m looking forward to chatting with, Mark Hayes, who is the founding president of Bridge South Investments, specializing in bridge loans for real estate investors. So excited to have you here today, Mark.Mark Hayes (02:32)
Thanks, Michelle. Thanks for having me.Michelle Kesil (02:34)
Of course, I think our listeners are going to take something away from how you’re approaching helping investors with their loans as well as your experience being an investor as well.Mark Hayes (02:46)
Great, great, looking forward to it.Michelle Kesil (02:47)
Yeah.So first off, for those who are not yet familiar with you and your work, can you share what your main focus is?
Mark Hayes (02:52)
Yes, so main focus is ⁓ doing hard money loans, bridge loans for fix and flips and new construction and then ⁓ as well as ⁓ DSCR rental loans ⁓ for investors for refinances or purchases.Michelle Kesil (03:16)
Awesome. And what markets are you operating in?Mark Hayes (03:17)
Alright, I’m sorry.Yeah, um you know based on the company name Bridge South, are mainly in the South. So I’m based in Nashville, Tennessee. So we primarily are Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas. But we are able to do those loans in
many other states as well. It’s just we kind of focus in the southeast.
Michelle Kesil (03:43)
Awesome. So can you share a little bit more about how you got started in your role?Mark Hayes (03:49)
Sure, sure. So, you know, I got into real estate investing in the early 2000s from a friend of mine back from my hometown who had bought a couple properties and I just kind of asked him, you know, hey, how did you, how did you do that? He basically kind of jotted down some.the basic numbers of a deal sounded interesting to me, interesting to me and so he let me borrow a course that was cassette tapes back then
So then, started listening to the course, on the way back to Nashville and, and I was hooked. everything they were talking about was something that just seemed really interesting to me. so I just started immersing myself, to learn as much as I could about real estate investing, while doing, you know, other jobs that I had at the time.
I did, started off mainly doing fix and flips and, I would sell them and then keep some as rentals, transitioned into, doing, spec building, ⁓ in the 2010s when, and that was a really good time, for new construction in this area and many other areas, as you guys probably know. And then, ⁓
things just kind of got a little more difficult with codes and contractors as time went along. And so I kind of set back and decided, you know, wanted to really think, you know, what, what do I really want to do? And so,
I decided to go into the lending business so I could still be involved in deals and also help investors because I had been in their shoes and kind of consult them through the process if needed.
Michelle Kesil (06:19)
Yeah, absolutely amazing. So as far as lending, are you lending to a specific criteria of investors or all kinds of investors?Mark Hayes (06:34)
Yeah, so we do direct lending for the bridge loans and fix and flips. But we also broker loans through a handful of other lenders so that, you know, we’ll do construction, new construction. I also have some sources for commercial bridge loans. And soSo, you know, I basically, I kind of call myself a matchmaker, you know, you know, are we, ⁓ we’re looking at the deal and the investor and, you know, what their objective is. And then, you know, trying to match that with the best loan and lender that I either bring in on directly from our, through our company.
or with the other lenders that we work with. And we only work with you know lenders that you know really do a good job that ⁓ are fast and easy to work with.
Michelle Kesil (07:30)
Yeah, absolutely. And what do you feel are some of the main keys that have made the biggest difference in allowing this business to be able to grow and to run smoothly?Mark Hayes (07:48)
Yeah, I mean, I think there’s a couple things. you know, one is just, you know, because I’ve been an investor myself and been that active one who’s renovated homes and done the fix and flips, built homes. I’ve seen pretty much everything in this business ⁓ when it comes to. ⁓contracting with contractors, dealing with sellers, dealing with a transaction, because there can be a lot of issues that come up when buying or selling, ⁓ dealing with real estate agents. So I’ve seen it all. ⁓ so I think.
you know, being able to ⁓ consult my borrowers ⁓ along their process if they’re running into any of those issues, which, you know, they will, you know, every deal has an issue or, you know, there’s very few that run, you know, totally as planned. And so I think that’s just kind of my added value.
you know, with building that relationship with that borrower because, you know, helping them out will, will help them close the deal quicker, ⁓ which, you know, is more profitable. And then they’re able to move on to the next deal. And then, you know, same thing with us, you know, we want to build that relationship. So they do, ⁓ more, more deals with us.
Michelle Kesil (10:03)
Yeah, absolutely. And as someone that’s been an investor, what would you say is your perspective when it comes to lending and knowing how to get the best loan for people? Is there a certain process that you walk your clients through or that you have found as you’ve combined both of those worlds?Mark Hayes (10:31)
Yeah, mean, it’s pretty easy and we’ve, know, we try to simplify the process so we can get quotes, you know, as quick as possible. So, you know, we use a software that has a quick app embedded on our website. You know, some people…It also kind of depends on the investor, because some investors like to call and talk about the deal and kind of talk it through. Maybe there is a little unique situation or an issue. So, you know, we try to set up those calls as soon as possible. And then, ⁓ but others, you know, just want to go ahead and fill out
the quick app is what we call it. It just takes a few minutes to fill out. And then, you know, and then we’re getting quotes and underwriting the deal within, you know, within a bit one business day is our goal. So again, you know, we understand, you know, that time has money and usually, especially with a fix and flip closings.
Those usually need to be done pretty quickly. You know, they’re getting the deal because they need they can close fast. And so ⁓ so, you know, and that way we can close the deal, you know, if it’s with the lenders we work with, it’s, know, usually we can close within about a week.
Michelle Kesil (11:55)
Awesome. Have there been any challenges that you have maybe recently overcome throughout this lending journey that now looking back in hindsight, you kind of see what went wrong and have those lessons?Mark Hayes (12:10)
Yeah, so, you know, I think, again, it’s a relationship business. I think it’s just trying to navigate who you want to work with. And um that depends, and that’s not only with the lenders that I work with, but also the borrowers, you know? I mean, we…really trying to figure out, know, okay, who is our, who are the lenders that are, again, relationship driven, that can, that are able to act fast and able to do what they say. And, cause you know, I guess one of the learning experiences in this past year was,
We went through alone because the terms were so much better than everybody else, but then the closing was just a major pain. It was very difficult. And so the underwriters, I mean, was like, it ended up taking so much longer. So there’s those things to consider.
It’s kind of like when you’re shopping, you don’t always buy the cheapest thing because maybe there’s not the quality there. So yeah, it’s just navigating the quality as well as the opportunities with the borrower as well as with the terms you know that are available.
Michelle Kesil (14:15)
Yeah, absolutely, that makes sense. What are you most focusing on solving or scaling to next in your business?Mark Hayes (14:16)
ThankYeah, I think, you know, I’ve got an engineering background. So you know, I’ve got, I guess my mind just works where, to put things, in kind of systematic processes and spreadsheets to be organized. So I’m able to be very efficient, you know.
basically with just me and an admin person. I think, as we build the volume, I think the next step would be to bring on another loan officer. And then that way they can, they can take on, a lot of the
tasks that I’m doing right now. And then I’m more in just business development relationships with the lenders and with the customers as well.
Michelle Kesil (15:10)
Awesome. Are you focusing on investing as well?Mark Hayes (15:14)
Yes, yes. So, you know I have, I still have a rental portfolio that I’ve built over the years and, I’ve sold some properties over the years and done 1031 exchanges into other properties. So I do.kind of moved up into multifamily properties. have an RV park and a mobile home park with some partners. So we’ve moved into other commercial projects or properties. But I still like the single family homes and the small multifamilies that I have.
Here around Nashville They stay rented We’ve got good tenants. They pay on time But I have different property managers for different cities where I invest So so yeah Still, you know look for opportunities from time to time and especially when
you know, deals like package deals, like, you know, maybe a portfolio of rental properties that are all around the same area in the markets that I like to invest here in Tennessee and Northern Alabama.
Michelle Kesil (16:19)
What advice would you share with maybe those that are aspiring investors or just starting out?Mark Hayes (16:25)
Well, I wrote a book about that and I mean, I’m not like necessarily promoting the book. If you want to go on Amazon, it’s called Dip Your Toe into Real Estate Investing. But just to tell you the reason why I wrote it was becausewhen I started, I would, again, I borrowed a course from a friend and it was about a specific strategy.
And I got excited about that. And then I went to a local real estate investor meeting and they were talking about another strategy and that sounded exciting. Or I would ask another investor about, you know, rental properties and people would say, oh no, you don’t want to do that. And talk about, you know, tenants call you calling you in the middle of the night and things like that. So, you know, as a new investor, you can get torn in different directions.
because there’s so many different aspects of investing, but that’s a good thing.
So what the book is mainly about is trying to figure out what investor type you are. So and base it on, you know, your experiences and your interest. So because what happens is people say, oh well,
you know, I want to do rehabs because you can, make a big chunk of money. Well, that’s not really a great reason. you know, there’s a lot involved to that and it’s hard and it’s there’s, especially if you don’t have, you know, any sort of construction background or you’re not bringing in a partner that has that construction background. so that’s just an example, but you know, basically try to figure out.
you know, what avenue to take. And maybe it’s, you know, more than one at first, just to kind of venture and really learn from, from others. and then as well as, trying to kind of find a mentor, someone experience that you can call on time to time.
Michelle Kesil (18:18)
Yeah, definitely that’s important to have that support and that knowledge to guide you on that journey.Mark Hayes (18:27)
Yep.Michelle Kesil (18:27)
Awesome. So before we begin to wrap up here, if somebody wants to reach out, connect, learn more, where can people find you and connect with you?Mark Hayes (18:36)
Sure, yeah, I mean the easiest is just our website is Bridgesouthinvestments.com and it has a contact page but you can also find me on LinkedIn and message me through there.Michelle Kesil (18:54)
Perfect, well, appreciate your time, your story, your perspective. Thank you for being here.Mark Hayes (18:59)
Thanks a lot, it was fun talking.Michelle Kesil (19:01)
Of course. And for those tuning into the show, if you got value, make sure you’ve subscribed. We’ve got more conversations coming with operators like Mark who are building real businesses, and we’ll see you on our next episode.
