Realty411 Magazine Featuring OCG Properties - Part Two | Page 12

in Memphis. I got through my initial learn-
ing curve and kept striving for more deals
with a magnificent obsession for real estate
that only few can really understand. It was
tough, but after getting through the strug-
gles, you find yourself breaking through
and finally achieving success. Working that
much taught me multiple things. But one
thing stuck more than anything else: Pas-
sive income is the goal!
Ginger: You live in Southern California
and invest in Memphis, Tennessee. Why
do you invest so far away from where
you live?
Mathew: That is right, I live in sunny
Redondo Beach and invest in Memphis.
Most of the investors I meet ask me this
exact question, and the simple answer is:
I invest with logic and statistics, not based
on what my emotions are telling me.
Look at the economics in the Memphis
market. It has one of the highest price-to-
rent ratios in the nation! It did not take a
huge dip like a lot of markets, it had an av-
erage annual appreciation of 4% per year
over the past 20 years. It’s a very stable
market. The population is also expected to
increase and you can pick up property that
not only cash flows but gives you apprecia-
tion potential in the next 10 years, which is
that the current reported unemployment to go out and develop a team in every mar-
rate is 12.8%, there is a $19.9 billion dollar ket, which is exactly what we did out in
gap in the California budget, the California Memphis. We have in-house management
mortgage delinquency is up almost 100% and a team on the ground there that helps
year on year, 90% of
us get all of the
the Alt-A and Option
Mathew Owens, his brother and little sister. information we
ARM loans coming
need to be suc-
due are underwater in
cessful.
California, 1/3 of Op-
tion ARM loans are
Ginger: What
delinquent already, the
team members
California tax rate rose
should one have
from 9.3% in 2008 to
when investing
9.55% in 2009, and it
out of state?
will rise again to cover
Mathew: There
the gap in the budget.
are a number of
On top of all that,
team members
people who are under-
you need in order
water in their homes
to be a success-
and not in financial
ful real estate
hardship are starting
investor. At the
to walk away because
top of the list
it does not make finan-
for any buy-and-
cial sense to hold them
hold investor is a
and hope they go up
great, and I mean
$200,000!
G R E AT,   p r o p -
e r t y   m a n a g e r.
Ginger: I’m an out-
Property man-
of-state investor too but other investors agement is the number one reason an in-
may be skeptical about owning property vestment property will fail to produce posi-
so far away.
tive cash flow, assuming you did your
numbers correctly and did not buy in a
ghetto. In addition, an investor needs lend-
ers, REALTORS ® , inspectors, appraisers,
attorneys, CPAs, IT consultants, marketing
agents and the whole nine yards to really
develop a good system. Each team member
is crucial to your success, and that is why
investing in real estate can be so difficult
at times.
Your team can make or break you, and
you need to have reliable team members
that communicate well with you to be suc-
cessful.
A sample OCG Property.
not something I can say about California.
California is a huge risk right now for buy-
and-hold investments.
If you take a look at some of the econom-
ic indicators in the California real estate
market, some of the things you will find are
Realty411Guide.com

Mathew: They are really missing out!
Ginger, we both know that with technolog-
ical advances you can invest anywhere in
the world now, and it’s as if you’re invest-
ing in your own backyard.
The reality is, everyone has the resources
PAGE 12 • 2010

Ginger: What separates your company,
OCG Properties, from the rest?
Mathew: At OCG we have in-house prop-
erty management, which is the key to our
and your investment success. We also take
an ethical and conservative approach to in-
vesting and do all of the right due diligence
on every investment.
We really care for our clients and care
about their goals and what their interests
are. We have a guaranteed tenant and reno-
vation on every property, and put the proper

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