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Build a real estate empire—that was the plan Mike Vogel, Greg Vogel and Dave Lund devised to achieve financial freedom.
The phrasing makes it sound a bit Mr. Burns-ish, evoking a caricature of a Machiavellian tycoon wringing his hands in the shadows while plotting to gobble up more land. But there’s nothing haughty or conniving about the young investors, they’re three good-natured guys who just want to deal in smart finances, and now they’re on a mission to help Fort Collins residents interested in getting a leg-up on their money. Their open-to-the-public group, the Investor’s Club of the Rockies, meets the fourth Thursday of each month. The club brings in financial experts and hosts conversation catered toward the average real estate investor.
Fresh out of college, the brothers and Lund traveled from Wisconsin, working odd jobs to make ends meet. They had been toying with the idea of buying a house, and eventually picked Northern Colorado as the place to lay all their chips on the line and invest in their first property.
Wisely, they decided to find a reliable expert to help ease them into the market. They more or less stumbled upon Sam Case, a lender with The Financing Group.
Case recalls the day when the two young brothers sat in his office for the first time.
“I always start with my clients by asking, ‘What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to achieve?’ These guys come to me and they say, ‘We want to build a real estate empire,’” Case said.
Aside from some personal research and reading on real estate, the Vogels had no foothold in the market and were in dire need of direction. Case’s first advice was to get started by buying a property. The two scraped up what they had and bought their first house next to New Belgium brewery. Mike says they had to borrow money from their parents to make the down payments on it.
“It was a fixer-upper, to say the least,” Case said.
Lund, who had been living in Boulder at the time, relocated to Fort Collins and moved into what he calls “the pink dragon,” named because the interior of the house was painted pink. When asked what their first experience in a house was like, Lund laughed.
“There were three guys living in a two-bedroom, 800-square foot house,” he said. “That was a lot of on-the-spot learning.”
The three avidly restored the house and within a year it appraised for $60,000 more than they bought it for.
“A success story from the start,” as Case puts it.
A mere two years later, Lund and the brothers now run seven to eight houses at any one time. Lund isn’t a blood brother, but he might as well be; he is involved in the minutest details of each financial venture.
“They basically consider Dave one of their brothers,” Case said. “It’s kind of like the three musketeers.”
With success beyond their years, the three investors are eager to assist others with how to see equal financial results. That’s why they’ve created the Investment Club of the Rockies.
“Our goal with this club is to bring together a community,” Greg said.
His brother agreed.
“I’m hoping the club can help network those people you need to know,” Mike said.
The club primarily focuses on the strength of its creators: real estate. However, many of the lessons are easily applied to myriad financial ventures. Everything from taxes to credit to helpful tips on buying your first home are covered from meeting to meeting.
Even though there’s a small fee to join the group each month, the Vogels say the club is not a money-making scheme.
“Our goal is to provide way more than $15 in value. It’s not a club meant to make us money,” Greg said. “If there’s extra it’ll go back into the club.”
And while they currently need the funds to provide quality resources each month, they are hoping to convert the operation into a non-profit in the near future.
“There’s a lot of collaboration here,” said Lund. “The club’s still pretty new but the response we’ve gotten so far has been really positive and the amount of people coming has been great.”
The phrasing makes it sound a bit Mr. Burns-ish, evoking a caricature of a Machiavellian tycoon wringing his hands in the shadows while plotting to gobble up more land. But there’s nothing haughty or conniving about the young investors, they’re three good-natured guys who just want to deal in smart finances, and now they’re on a mission to help Fort Collins residents interested in getting a leg-up on their money. Their open-to-the-public group, the Investor’s Club of the Rockies, meets the fourth Thursday of each month. The club brings in financial experts and hosts conversation catered toward the average real estate investor.
Fresh out of college, the brothers and Lund traveled from Wisconsin, working odd jobs to make ends meet. They had been toying with the idea of buying a house, and eventually picked Northern Colorado as the place to lay all their chips on the line and invest in their first property.
Wisely, they decided to find a reliable expert to help ease them into the market. They more or less stumbled upon Sam Case, a lender with The Financing Group.
Case recalls the day when the two young brothers sat in his office for the first time.
“I always start with my clients by asking, ‘What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to achieve?’ These guys come to me and they say, ‘We want to build a real estate empire,’” Case said.
Aside from some personal research and reading on real estate, the Vogels had no foothold in the market and were in dire need of direction. Case’s first advice was to get started by buying a property. The two scraped up what they had and bought their first house next to New Belgium brewery. Mike says they had to borrow money from their parents to make the down payments on it.
“It was a fixer-upper, to say the least,” Case said.
Lund, who had been living in Boulder at the time, relocated to Fort Collins and moved into what he calls “the pink dragon,” named because the interior of the house was painted pink. When asked what their first experience in a house was like, Lund laughed.
“There were three guys living in a two-bedroom, 800-square foot house,” he said. “That was a lot of on-the-spot learning.”
The three avidly restored the house and within a year it appraised for $60,000 more than they bought it for.
“A success story from the start,” as Case puts it.
A mere two years later, Lund and the brothers now run seven to eight houses at any one time. Lund isn’t a blood brother, but he might as well be; he is involved in the minutest details of each financial venture.
“They basically consider Dave one of their brothers,” Case said. “It’s kind of like the three musketeers.”
With success beyond their years, the three investors are eager to assist others with how to see equal financial results. That’s why they’ve created the Investment Club of the Rockies.
“Our goal with this club is to bring together a community,” Greg said.
His brother agreed.
“I’m hoping the club can help network those people you need to know,” Mike said.
The club primarily focuses on the strength of its creators: real estate. However, many of the lessons are easily applied to myriad financial ventures. Everything from taxes to credit to helpful tips on buying your first home are covered from meeting to meeting.
Even though there’s a small fee to join the group each month, the Vogels say the club is not a money-making scheme.
“Our goal is to provide way more than $15 in value. It’s not a club meant to make us money,” Greg said. “If there’s extra it’ll go back into the club.”
And while they currently need the funds to provide quality resources each month, they are hoping to convert the operation into a non-profit in the near future.
“There’s a lot of collaboration here,” said Lund. “The club’s still pretty new but the response we’ve gotten so far has been really positive and the amount of people coming has been great.”
Other Clubs in the Area
The Fort Collins Investor’s Business Daily Meetup Group has been meeting since 2003 and exists as a venue for people to network and educate themselves on trading stocks and funds. “We basically cater to independent traders, although some of the educational stuff would apply to managing mutual funds,” James Schmidt, creator and facilitator, said.
The group is free and meets twice a month. “We welcome anybody that’s interested in trading or learning to trade,” Schmidt said. “We’ve got people with zero trading experience to 20 years of experience.” The Fort Collins Investor’s Business Daily Meetup Group meets on the 2nd and 3rd Wednesday of each month at Advanced Micro Devices. To get a schedule of their meeting times go to http://ibd.meetup.com/26/ or call Schmidt at 484.8954. WHEN IT MEETS The Investment Club of the Rockies (ICOR) meets the fourth Thursday every month at the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center at the intersection of US-34 and I-25. The club is free for the first month and $15 for subsequent visits. A membership is available for added benefits at $165. For more information go to www.icorockies.com or call 223.5369. The next meeting is Aug. 28. |
