This month, PIP turns the page to a new chapter. Don Fullman is stepping down as our trusted leader. Don and I have worked together for 11 years, growing from just a small handful of clients and a few hundred thousand dollars in acquisitions to over 600 clients worldwide and tens of millions of dollars in acquisitions. We went from two guys, trying to carve out a slice of this industry, to one of the largest and most reputable investor servicers in the country. Don will be greatly missed; however, he has certainly earned his retirement and the fruits of his labor.
Find the Pdf for this announcement here.
Don’s departure and the transition into new lead management will be a slow and calculated one. Don will continue to provide guidance for the next few months, to assist in client questions, as well to transition his responsibilities. We will not allow gaps in service to our clients. This is obviously not a sudden change; but rather, has been in discussion between Don and me for over a year.
Not only did Don and I want to make sure PIP continued to thrive, we wanted to make sure the transition was smooth and comfortable for our clients – seamless and transparent. The question we could never quite get solved was not really “who replaces Don” but rather “who makes certain this transition runs smoothly” and “who becomes the figurehead to keep the business growing responsibly, with proper controls and processes in place.” I am the boots on the ground guy running the troops; so, we knew I was not the right person for the job. Although now a large company, Don and I have always ran PIP like a family business and we were racking our brains as to how we maintain that identity as we grow. It is the foundation that has made PIP the company it is today and we knew we needed to preserve that personality before Don left. The solution was to bring in my father, Rich Sells. Bringing in my dad to oversee not only the transition, but the company organization took a lot of soul-searching. I have witnessed him build one of the largest international air cargo companies (before FedEx and UPS became so popular), build multi-million dollar shipping and sort facilities in China and Guam, and developed the largest hotel brand in the world in south Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan). Prior to considering him for the PIP job, he was doing something (no idea what) with a group of hospitals in Oklahoma to boost their profitability. More simply, he did not have a clue about air cargo, 100,000 square foot warehouses, or building a hotel in Pakistan, but he could organize people and make them more profitable, more quickly. Long story short, he has spent his career “transitioning” million to billion dollar companies through his consulting firm, Transition Management and clearly would be superb at filling Don’s shoes.
Be assured, Don is not totally out of the picture. PIP intends to engage Don for portfolio analysis, speaking engagements and other part-time projects for as long as we possibly can. Although he will be missed, we are excited about this new chapter in PIP’s history and look forward to the growth and opportunity these new changes will give us.
The dawn of a new day brings lots of new and exciting change along with it. Not just new opportunity, but an entirely new way of doing things. We know our existing and new clients are going to be as excited with the changes as we are and we would like to give you a sneak peek as to what’s to come.
The launch of the Client Portal means there is no need to get quarterly updates (or the invoices that are included). Invoicing for service fees will be billed every four months and loaded to your client portal for review.
Everyone loves to invest in Illinois, but only about half of you like the way our fees are assessed. We are bringing new investment models to satisfy all clients in the investment opportunities we offer.
Soon we will offer an ongoing series of recorded webinars and live events. We will notify investors as well as post in a library on our website. The topics will include subjects like how to get started investing in GA flips, in-depth discussions on the A-Z processes of IL tax sales, how to calculate your returns and everything in between. All information will be provided to investor and prospects free of charge. We believe the more knowledgeable the investor, the more profitable the investor.
For those clients that have been fortunate enough to take a run at GA and SC Foreclosures, they have found the profits are coming faster than anything else we have to offer right now. We say an average of 28% in about 9 months, but we are actually blowing those numbers out of the water. Still hung up about being an out of state property owner? Get over it! From a client perspective, this is no different than owning tax liens, yet the predictability of when the returns come is immediate.
More States, More Opportunities, Bigger Profits:
Most of our clients have heard whispers of a new company in development which caters to the Institutional Investor. What has not really been discussed, is how this company will benefit PIP investors directly. Opportunities like acquiring cash flowing properties for deep discounts, quick resale or fix/flips to bulk acquisitions/offload, institutional investors have the products that will benefit our investors.
We are pushing fast and forward into the tax sale investing “season.” If you haven’t already made your decisions about investing in IL auctions this season, now is the time to do it! We expect another competitive year; but, we expect to be as successful as years past. For a sneak peek into our New Investor Handbook and all the new opportunities available to our investors, just follow this link for all the details: