We recently caught up with one of our real estate entrepreneur clients, LaTimothy Dudley. LaTimothy is a North Carolina-based entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the real estate development industry and has been funding some of his work with Groundfloor since 2019. We enjoyed chatting with LaTimothy to learn about his experiences in real estate and share his biggest piece of advice for prospective or beginner real estate developers.
How many projects have you completed with Groundfloor?
I started with Groundfloor around 2019, and everything I've done since has been elevated. I'm not sure of the exact number of projects I've done with Groundfloor over the last five years, but I've paid back roughly $1.7 million. I still have three loans out with Groundfloor and am about to close on another one! Rachel Lessard has been an absolute pleasure to work with at Groundfloor. Her exceptional communication skills make closing loans a breeze. She treats every loan with the utmost care and attention, contributing significantly to my success with Groundfloor.
What I do with these projects is that I buy a property, fix it up, and rent it out to those in need of affordable housing (veterans, people living with mental health issues, etc.). It's a full circle. It gives them an opportunity to find housing where it's normally difficult to do so, and I'm able to sleep at night knowing I helped house someone who was struggling.
4312 Buckhurst Dr, Hope Mills, NC
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Do you have any advice to share with someone who is starting out?
One thing I’d tell people is don’t look to get rich; look to build wealth. I feel like some people make that mistake because they see these different media out there that make it look easy, and some people's focal point is just on money. Wealth is accumulated over time; it's a marathon, not a sprint. So if you go into it to get rich, then you won't be successful. You get into it to build long-term wealth and get financial freedom.
Anything else you'd like to add about yourself?
I actually do this without social media. I haven't had social media in about 9 years. I treat this as a hustle, and I do my marketing through post cards, phone calls, etc. I'll go out to lunch with people, and I talk to them in person. I give them a list of references (around 20 people). To me, this approach is more personal and it better confirms the legitimacy of my work and expertise. I'm also always trying to learn more and get more education to continue expanding in real estate. In fact, I recently got my appraisal license.
I always encourage people to partner with Groundfloor! Groundfloor definitely changed my life and my portfolio, and the communication has always been great. We've built a relationship to the point where they know I'm not new to this, and they trust that I know what I'm doing.
Thank you so much, LaTimothy, for sharing with us, and we look forward to continue working with you on your future projects!