About Jim Davies

Hi, I’m Jim Davies, one of the founders of Wilmington Investors Network. In our business it is important for us to build strong relationships with our members. I’ve found that sharing some of my background helps me to find common ground with those who may be new to Real Estate investing.

I was born and raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Growing up as the third of four children, my brother and sisters gave my mother all she could handle on her own. She taught us the value of hard work to achieve goals and to never let anything or anyone keep us from achieving those goals.

After college I had several jobs while trying to define my future. I thrived as a project manager for a telecommunications company, as I was given the responsibility of most of the company’s large multi-million dollar projects. I really enjoyed traveling and meeting new people and the challenge that each new project faced. I was able to bridge the gap in dealing with the blue collar workers and also handling the client’s demands and expectations. After my position in the company was threatened by a union vote, I knew I needed to make a change. My long time friend and fraternity brother, Lou Anzalone, convinced me to start a contracting business with him with the intention of buying and flipping houses. The only problem was that we did not know much about real estate investing at the time.

After we read the books and websites about the different strategies investors used and tried many with out much success, we decided to invest in a real estate investing seminar which really turned things around for us. We learned the “Power of Networking” and working with a mentor, and how to learn the business by not making all the mistakes yourself. The class really provided us with all the tools necessary to become successful new investors.

Once we removed the fear of investing, we were on our way to success. We quickly learned how important meeting other like-minded investors was to our business so we started and grew a monthly networking group dedicated to the Wilmington Delaware Real Estate market. One of the big lessons that we learned from our mentor Jim Canale (founder of http://www.realestatelifestyle.com ), was to give back and teach what we have been taught knowing that we would learn more as well. Lou and I quickly got involved in this concept and began teaching the real estate seminar to Wilmington Real Estate investors in 2007. Since then our business has more than doubled and we now have a great deal more leverage in the market.

Beyond the financial freedom that real estate investing provides, the most important benefit to us is the control of our lives. We have complete control over when and how much we work at real estate and this enables us to manage our time around our families’ needs. I am married to a wonderful wife, Holly, and we have 3 beautiful daughters, Meredith (6), Emma (4) and Charlotte (2) who keeps us very busy. I love that I have created a life that always allows me to put my family first and I do not have the pressures that others do when trying to balance family and work. I am home every night to read books to my kids before bedtime and take them to the zoo or park when I want, not when my job allows. It feels like a tremendous weight has been lifted off your shoulders when you get control of your time, I highly encourage it.

If you are new to investing or an experienced Real Estate investor in Wilmington, Delaware, I invite you to check out one of our monthly Wilmington Investor Network (WIN) meetings so you can see how important networking with other like-minded investors is to your business. This has all the tools you will need to build your real estate team and business and with the power of the group behind you, you will have all the confidence you need to get involved in this great real estate market and get you on your way to financial freedom.

Jim Davies
Renovation Station Group, LLC

About Lou Anzalone

Hi, my name is Lou Anzalone. My wife Julie and I have been married for 10 years and live in Kennett Square. We are proud parents to Joey (7), Natalie (5), and Camryn (4). I graduated from West Chester University in 1992, where I earned a degree in business, majoring in management and minoring in marketing.

After graduating, I held several sales positions working in both car and copier sales, but I quickly realized that I no longer wanted to work at building other peoples’ businesses and wanted to be my own boss.

My first entrepreneurial venture was a company called Pipe Specialists Incorporated, which provided pipe inspections and repairs for municipalities, contractors, and the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. We quickly grew from two to 24 trucks in a two-year period. Our marketing and service were extremely strong, but due to rapid growth, the company took on too much equipment debt and was closed down in 1998.

In late 1999, I started a similar company called Trenchless Rehabilitation Services LLC. I was able to successfully build that business to over a million dollars a year in revenue with a steady profit margin of 20%. But with the start of my family, I decided to sell the company. Within a couple of months, I had secured a buyer and was able to sell it for over a million dollars.

I was always interested in Real Estate investing, and knew it was a great way to build wealth. I partnered with a neighbor, who already was in the business, and tried a couple of deals. We completed one flip that broke even, one rental project that lost a bit of money and one lease-to-own that tied up a lot of purchasing power for several years. Although the transactions did not yield the results that were projected, I was able to learn from the mistakes that we made and knew I had to find a better way to make money in Real Estate investing.

In 2005, Jim Davies and I started a home renovation company with the intent to purchase and rehab houses to keep as long term rental units. We sprang into action and attempted to locate properties for purchase. We did pre-foreclosure letters and went to sheriff sales. After much time and dismay with no results, we knew it was time for a change. We had the drive and desire to succeed; we just needed a proven step-by-step implementation plan and some guidance to make it happen. In January of 2006, we took a Real Estate investment course that would provide us with just that.

Immediately after completing the course, we took action and put three deals under contract. After a review by our mentor, Jim Canale, we determined that two of the three were good deals, and we started the rehab process by rehabbing one property ourselves, and using a general contractor for the second.The general contractor was able to complete the work faster and cheaper than our company, so we immediately shut down the rehab business to focus solely on Real Estate transactions. Within the first year, we had six single family units under our belts.

We have continued to purchase buy-and-hold investments for cash flow. In order to diversify our Real Estate portfolio, we acquired a duplex and 38 storage garages and have put together solid real estate deals for other investors as wholesale deals. Since making those additions, we have successfully flipped three houses for 20% profits and wholesaled over 75 deals. We also partnered with another investment company on a flip project that returned a 19% profit. It is our intent to partner up on some larger deals in the near future.

We realized that investing as a group of people was a more efficient and effective way to buy and rehab properties. With the power of a group, we are able to obtain better pricing and services from our vendors, which in turn increases everyone’s profit margins. We organized a monthly meeting to discuss current market conditions, legislative changes, and have Wilmington, Delaware-specific vendors come to speak about their services. This started with just a few people and has now grown to over 50 people. Currently, we are focused on building up Wilmington Investors Network. It is our belief that this group can have a huge impact on the revitalization of the city of Wilmington, Delaware. As the city is revitalized, property values and rent rolls should increase, therefore helping everyone’s bottom line. I am continually going on the radio and speaking at different Real Estate seminars in order to promote our group. I am dedicated to making the Wilmington Investors Network a success for both the investors and the city. With your help and commitment, this can be a win-win for everyone.

To our continued success,
Lou Anzalone
Renovation Station Group, LLC.