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Show Summary
In this conversation, Thomas F Chappell discusses his journey in real estate investment, emphasizing the importance of building a reliable team, understanding one’s purpose, and the challenges faced in the industry. He also shares insights on giving back to the community through nonprofit initiatives aimed at helping foster youth transition into adulthood and home ownership.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Thomas F Chappell Jr (00:00)
well, when I talk to people, I asked them one, what’s your why? Why you want to get into this industry? And if you’re looking at the money aspect, you might as well continue doing your your eight to five because it’s not peaches and cream all the time. There’s actual things that do happen. You know where the deal might fall through and you don’t get it or.Let’s say for instance, you didn’t do your due diligence correctly and it’s going to cost you more money that you did not budget for and different things like that.
Michelle Kesil (02:06)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil And today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to chatting with, Thomas Chappell, who’s been making serious moves as an investor, who has done a lot of flips around the California area. So excited to have you on the show today, Thomas.Thomas F Chappell Jr (02:19)
ThankThank you for having me.
Michelle Kesil (02:28)
I think our listeners are really going to take something away from your ability to knowing the right properties to invest in and those strategies that you have. So let’s dive in. First off, just for those that are not familiar with you and your world yet, can you give us the short version of what your main focus is?Thomas F Chappell Jr (02:49)
My main focus as far as being an investor is single-family residence. ⁓ That’s what I look for at the moment. Eventually sometime next year I start getting into multifamily. But right now my main focus and my bread and butter has been single-family.Michelle Kesil (03:07)
awesome. And you mentioned you’re in California. Is that the only market you’re operating in?Thomas F Chappell Jr (03:14)
At the moment, yes, I’m getting ready to start coming next year to dabble outside of California, especially I’m in the Inland Empire area, Riverside, the whole entire Inland Empire. So I’m getting ready to dip my feet into going outside of the market.Michelle Kesil (03:29)
Awesome. How did you get started in investing? What led you here?Thomas F Chappell Jr (03:33)
Well, the biggest reason why is because I was able, I was a single dad. My son is 22 now, so I was raising him and I wanted something that gave me the ability to be a part of his academic life and things like that. So I got into it because I watched a lot of the HDTV movie programs and I’m like, okay, I can do that. instead of me. ⁓Going that route, found several mentors that helped me in the right direction.
Michelle Kesil (04:52)
amazing. I love that you are inspired by your family and able to achieve success through that.What are some of the keys that have allowed your business to become successful and to run smoothly?
Thomas F Chappell Jr (05:08)
One of the biggest keys and I tell anybody get your mentor I had several and they helped me out. They gave me bits and pieces from their different backgrounds I’ve had some that does strictly mobile homes. I have some that done multifamilies I have some that done ⁓ Buying holes and fix and flip so I learned a lot from them They took me up under their wing and they taught me everything I need to know about this business andThat’s how I ended up becoming very successful at it.
Michelle Kesil (05:41)
Yeah, I think mentorship is so important. How did you find your mentors and begin that process?Thomas F Chappell Jr (05:48)
Well, basically, I went to a lot of real estate investment clubs. They’re everywhere you can go. If you go to meetup.com, look for real estate investment clubs in your market. You can find a bunch of them. Before COVID, there was a lot of live versions to where you got an opportunity to mix and mingle and then you’ve built that rapport and then you turn around and just continue to build a rapport on that.There are some virtual still because of what happened during COVID, but the live versions are the most important ones to me.
Michelle Kesil (06:23)
Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that in-person networking piece can really guide you to so many people and opportunities.What are you most focused on right now when it comes to solving or scaling the next thing in your business?
Thomas F Chappell Jr (06:32)
Yes, of course.basically, like I said, especially in the real estate space is that I’m starting to dip my toe out of state. California market is, is, is profitable, but it is kind of hard basically because of the margins here in California are so thin to find a decent property to fix and flip or to buy and hold. It’s kind of scarce where
Other markets are starting to open up a little bit more and depending on the market that you in, if it’s not a metropolitan city, then you can buy houses with cheap, less fix up and you can keep them as rentals or you can resell them.
Michelle Kesil (07:23)
Yeah, absolutely. What does that process look like for you for scouting out what the best properties are for investments?Thomas F Chappell Jr (07:33)
Well, as far as out of state’s concerned, making sure that I have boots on the ground, that the people that I’m working with out of state are understanding my vision and I understand their vision and we can work together for a common goal. That’s one of the things when it out of state, especially in state here, since I’m not going to be in that state, there be my eyes and ears on the ground versus with me here in the market that I’m in.I can go visit the property and project and see how everything is going. Different things like that, making sure I have the right GCs out there, making sure that I’m within compliance as far as permits and all the different things that the state or the city or the county requires.
Michelle Kesil (08:19)
Yeah, absolutely. Those are all really important components. I know that you mentioned that one of your strengths is the ability to know what the best things to invest in are and the strategies for how to invest in them. Can you expand on that for the listeners on what that looks like for you?Thomas F Chappell Jr (08:23)
Yes, ma’am.Well,
well, when I talk to people, I asked them one, what’s your why? Why you want to get into this industry? And if you’re looking at the money aspect, you might as well continue doing your your eight to five because it’s not peaches and cream all the time. There’s actual things that do happen. You know where the deal might fall through and you don’t get it or.
Let’s say for instance, you didn’t do your due diligence correctly and it’s going to cost you more money that you did not budget for and different things like that.
So when you are doing it, you got to make sure that you did your due diligence and then find out what’s going on and then be able to ⁓ take a look at the property instead of doing it sight and see. I know we want to bid on it to get it off the market, but they do give you a contingency.
period to where you have time to take your GC to figure out what all work needs to be done. GCs are very, very important when it comes to rehabbing a property.
Michelle Kesil (10:20)
Yeah, absolutely. And how are you finding the right team of those people that support you in this process?Thomas F Chappell Jr (10:29)
Well, like I said, it’s ⁓ sometimes it’s word of mouth. So if you’re connected with some people and they you don’t have no work for their GCs, they’ll let you use their GCs or like I said, go to these real estate investment clubs, you know, and then go ahead and interview them and find out what their work habits are like. Find out. You can go to the state county board and see.if there’s been any complaints on them and if they have any with the BBB, the three B’s, Better Business Bureau. There’s a lot of ways you can skin a cat to find out who you want to work with and how you want to work with them. You just got to go figure that out. I mean, everyone is different. So you can’t just put one size fit all. You know, you got to have that personality to where you guys are going to click or not.
Michelle Kesil (11:22)
Yeah, definitely. I think that piece is important to find out who the right people are that support your vision and align with your values.Thomas F Chappell Jr (11:33)
Pardon me, I didn’t hear what you said.Michelle Kesil (11:33)
So,⁓ sorry, I said, yeah, it’s important to make sure you have the people on your team that align with your vision and your values.
Thomas F Chappell Jr (11:41)
Yes, correct. You’re absolutely correct.Michelle Kesil (11:43)
Awesome. So every business owner has those moments where things get more real. Maybe you have a deal that goes sideways or you need to make a fast pivot. Would you mind sharing one of those moments that you’ve experienced and how you overcame it?Thomas F Chappell Jr (12:01)
Well, the biggest thing, like I said, is making sure you have the right GC because he is going to make or break the deal. The money part of it is easy because you can either have money or you could, you know, get with ⁓ a get with a private lender or get with a hard money lender and different things like that. But if you got a time frame, if you know for a fact, if it’s a lipstick on a pig kind of deal,It shouldn’t take you no more than maybe a month to get that successfully taken care of and making sure you are in compliance with everything. You get the contractors, you get your permits, and you get your inspectors to come out to make sure everything is in compliance before you put that property back on the market. So one of the things that I do is I make sure that I have a report
With that GC, I can’t stress it no more. That is the most important key for your success, is having a good GC. ⁓
Michelle Kesil (13:04)
Definitely. Did you have any experiences with the wrong GC?Thomas F Chappell Jr (13:08)
⁓ Yes, I’ve had some and then we ended up letting them go and we had to find another one. But that’s when I first got started. After I got started, I’ve been having the same GC ever since.Michelle Kesil (13:21)
Yeah, that’s good that you found one that you trust and can rely on.Awesome. So maybe some of the listeners are newer to investing. What are some other advice that you can offer for people that are more in the early stages of their journey?
Thomas F Chappell Jr (13:38)
Well, like I said, the biggest thing is understanding what’s your why. Why you want to do something like this. A lot of people look at the GC TV ⁓ shows and they say, I can do that. Want to come off the couch. You think it’s very easy. And they look in at the amount of money you get just because you say you made $200,000 don’t actually mean that that money is yours. That money’s got to get allocated to pay the GCs, pay for the supplies.pay for the permits, pay for the utilities, why are they on? So you have to be realistic in using a spreadsheet that calculates everything to let you know how much you’re gonna be into the property when you first get it all in, this is what I’m all in at, how much if you was going to wholesale it out, what your wholesale fee would be, or what you would get.
on the backend as far as ⁓ your profits concerned. Now, if you do it by yourself, you know what your profits are going to be. But if you do a split, a ⁓ JV split, you know what the split would be. It just all depends on your ideology on how you calculate your numbers.
Michelle Kesil (14:51)
Yeah, absolutely. That makes sense for people to have more of that realistic expectation.Thomas F Chappell Jr (14:57)
Yeah.Michelle Kesil (15:40)
So what are your goals coming up for your business? Where are you bringing your attention moving forward?Thomas F Chappell Jr (15:45)
Well, it’s the same thing.It always has been. Like I said, I used to have a real estate investment club here in the Inlet Empire. It was called Black Inlet Empire Real Estate Investment Club. I had it for eight years, but I kind of got over it, you know, and the biggest thing was getting talent to be able to ⁓ come and speak. also have, I used to have a real estate radio show called
the real men of real estate hosted by me, Thomas F. Chappell Jr. ⁓ You can go on YouTube and road crew and you can look at my previous shows. did it for two years. So I tend to enjoy the interview process like what we’re doing now and getting to pick people’s brains and understand because when I came into it, it wasn’t just about the money. It was about me being able to spend more time.
with my child as he was growing up. So when he played sports, I was there. I helped coach his team. As far as his academics, I was there. I volunteered to work at the school. Different things like that. So that was my biggest why, why I did come into real estate.
Michelle Kesil (16:59)
Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s important to have that centered in your heart for why you’re doing this and keeping your head on that vision. Awesome.Thomas F Chappell Jr (17:10)
Exactly.Michelle Kesil (17:11)
Yeah, so when you were hosting this club and this radio show, what are some of the topics of conversation that you were focusing on?Thomas F Chappell Jr (17:23)
What the biggest thing was, and I like to ask all my guests on the real estate show right before we ended the show, if you had an opportunity to go back and talk to your younger self, would you A, pick real estate or B, would you pick something else? And some people say they will pick something else, but it’s just like you go to school, you get your degree, and then all of a sudden you get worn out by it you want something challenging, you change careers.And some people, that’s what they end up doing with changing careers. Some people, this is what they wanted to do from, from jump. Excuse me. They got into real estate, they fell in love with, and they do. And a lot of them like teaching, you know, teaching is a great aspect because not only are you teaching someone else, but you also learning at the same time, you know, so it’s just not you giving out information. It’s kind of like a, a back and forth dialogue.
They give you some insight. You get them some insight. You help direct them because somebody helped direct you. Sometimes you charge them for your expertise and sometimes you don’t. A lot of times when I mentor people, didn’t charge them. All I said was take me to breakfast and lunch. And I had to stop there because I started getting a little big because I was eating too much. But I get a joy and a kick out of interviewing people and watching.
their reactions on their choices in life that they make.
Michelle Kesil (18:48)
Amazing. That is so important to create the space to have those bigger discussions.Thomas F Chappell Jr (18:56)
⁓ yeah, I would love to start a podcast and the podcast I would love to start is I want to live audience and I want to open it up, not just to real estate, but all different types of topics, you know, and get that feedback from the audience, whether they picked a topic or I picked a topic and we have a discussion from there, but it would be live. That’s what I’m looking at doing. I’m still doing real estate. Like I said, I wasjust putting offers in today, you know, before we got on and we’ll put more offers in probably later on today. You know, but that’s still my one love is, you know, doing real estate.
Michelle Kesil (19:34)
Yeah, of course. I love that you’re so passionate about it.Thomas F Chappell Jr (19:37)
Yes, I am. Yes, I am. I love teaching. I love it.Michelle Kesil (19:38)
Awesome.Yeah, when it comes to business growth, whether that’s through networking, like you’ve mentioned, or those strong relationships like we’ve also talked about, what are some of those other facets that have made that biggest difference for you in growing your business?
Thomas F Chappell Jr (19:42)
I’mWell, like I said, ⁓ my wife and I, just started a nonprofit. Neither one of us been in the foster care system, but God laid it on my heart to work with foster kids that are transitioning out of the system. So I got with the mayor of Paris, California, and now I’m his number one priority too, because he wanted to work with the foster kids. So ⁓ basically we built a curriculum to where A,
This is after they get out, so 18 and up. So A, they can go ahead and further their education or B, they can find a career job like civil service or C, they can learn how to become an entrepreneur. So if they end up finishing the course, there’s gonna be a lot of other things that go along with it. As they finish the course, depending on what age we get them, by the time they’re 25 and 30 years old, they’ll be home owners.
You know, when I was coming up being a homeowner, that was a part of the American dream. Having a home with some land and things like that. And I want to take it back to that. So that’s what I want to do. So there’ll be a homeowner, whether it be a stick built or a modular home, there’ll be a homeowner. And then if they do very well, then I would give them a car as well.
Michelle Kesil (21:19)
Wow, that’s so beautiful. I love that you’re helping people in such a big way like that.Thomas F Chappell Jr (21:22)
Yes, ma’am.Yes, ma’am. It’s just a way of giving back. That’s just what we need to do today. That’s the one thing we lose in this world is that we don’t give back and help.
Michelle Kesil (21:34)
Absolutely, that’s so important.Awesome. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more from you. Where can people find you and connect with you?
Thomas F Chappell Jr (21:43)
Well, they can Google me Thomas like Frank C like Charles H like Harry A like Apple P like Paul P like Paul E like Edward L like Larry L like Larry Jr. ⁓ They can go on my ⁓ social media page, Facebook and Instagram. Facebook they can go and when we start going virtual, they can go ahead and look at some of my shows.that I did on with my club. And then they can go to, like I said, road crew and YouTubes and look at my radio show. Or they can call me directly at area code 4048441828. Once again, that’s area code 4048441828.
Michelle Kesil (22:33)
Perfect. Well, listen, I appreciate your time, your story, and your perspective. Thank you for being here.Thomas F Chappell Jr (22:38)
I appreciate you having me. Thank you. It’s been fun.Michelle Kesil (22:42)
Awesome, I love that. And for those listeners tuning in, if you got value from this, make sure you’ve subscribed. We have more conversations with operators just like Thomas who are building real businesses. We’ll see you on our next episode.
