Investor Profile
Vince and Noelle Mora
ACHIEVING WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Achieving a “work-life” balance is a basic human need and desire that everybody strives for, but few ever achieve. For Vince and Noelle Mora, that is the very reason they started VinLex Ventures LLC, an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchise, in 2014.
“I needed to be my own boss and get some balance in my life,” said Vince. “I needed to avoid that awful commute from New Jersey to New York City every day and start spending some quality time with my wife and children.”
Vince graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Economics in 1988 and within three weeks he was working at Merrill Lynch trading mortgages. He worked for Merrill Lynch for twenty years culminating his career as the Managing Director of whole loan trading. “In a nutshell, I would buy loans, bundle them in a securities package, and then sell that package to investors,” Vince recalled. That experience in “securitization” and financing, coupled with his degree in Economics, laid the foundation for Vince to become a real estate entrepreneur.
A NEW BEGINNING
VinLex Ventures LLC is part of the HomeVestors Central New Jersey Advertising Council, of which Vince is the President. While Vince is the buyer, risk assessor, and “field manager” for VinLex Ventures, Noelle is the coordinator and administrator. “Noelle is very analytical. If I have a problem, I turn it over to Noelle and let her analyze the situation and solve it,” said Vince.
Starting their franchise business in 2014, Vince and Noelle recently hit the important 5-yr milestone with HomeVestors and renewed their franchise agreement for a second term.
Being a HomeVestors business owner in New Jersey is different than other markets. The MLS systems in New Jersey are not beneficial to the iBuyer group of investors. As one example, MLS home data in New Jersey does not provide consistent information such as square footage, only the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. HomeVestors, on the other hand, offers a virtual or in-person visit to the home so the prospective buyer can determine the square footage and make a firm cash offer.
Since becoming an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® business owner in 2014, the Mora’s lifestyle has changed, just as they desired. For both Vince and Noelle, who have been married for twenty-two years, the work-life balance has substantially improved. Vince became the coach of his daughter Alexa’s softball team. “I love teaching young people skills and then teaching them how to apply those skills and execute,” he reminisced. And he finally was able to spend some quality time with his son. “My son Vincent is a piano player and a singer. I missed so many of his performances while working at my other career,” Vince said. Vincent still plays piano and sings at local venues while a freshman at the University of Tampa. He is also the only freshman to be accepted as a member of the University’s real estate club.
A Big Heart
HomeVestors provides its franchisees many opportunities to help people because real estate is a people business. And as is often the case with “self-made” people, Vince and Noelle have big hearts.
They recently received a call from a gentleman (a stranger) who had inherited a mortgage-free home from his mother. This gentleman was 62 years old and unable to work, which meant he had zero income. He could no longer afford to keep the home because of the outrageous New Jersey property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. As time went by, the tax bills kept mounting. And he could not move; with no income, every time he filled out a rental application he got rejected. Vince and Noelle came up with a “big heart” solution! “We are exploring the idea of buying a condo for him, letting him live there, and he can start paying rent when he begins collecting social security,” Vince said. “Once he has a place to live, then we can help him with the house he inherited.”
Best Advice and Rules
Vince does offer advice for people looking to become real estate investors.
Rule #1 – Be prepared to work extremely hard!
Rule #2 – You only get out what you put in!
Rule #3 – Manage your risk. Make sure you are well capitalized and do not over leverage yourself!
Rule #4 – Be patient. Do not chase a bad deal for the sake of a deal!
Rule #5 – There are no quick riches in real estate!
HomeVestors does not offer, or promote, a “get-rich-quick” scheme! Your house-buying business is yours and you run it as your own independent venture. HomeVestors does provide the tools necessary to help ensure success and provide the opportunity to build a business and not just create a job.
Contact
Vince, Noelle, and their two children (Vincent, 18; Alexa, 15) currently reside in New Jersey. If you wish to contact Vince, he can be reached at Vince.Mora@homevestors.com.
