Andre Merkerson on Helping Communities and Building Wealth with Real Estate

Real estate is a dynamic, constantly developing industry. Learning about the many potential benefits of the industry often gets investors interested in making investments into different real estate projects, including syndications involving teams of investors owning an asset together for several years. However, potential investors need to have a genuine passion for real estate while understanding the mistakes that others have made in the past to learn from them. When properly executed, a real estate investment improves communities and helps the investors build wealth.

One skilled real estate investor proves that anything is possible. Andre Merkerson of Fortune Equity Properties LLC has more than 200 rental units in his portfolio and has closed on more than 100 properties YTD. While he’s achieving a higher level of success in an industry that requires you to adapt quickly, the process of attaining such goals didn’t happen overnight. According to Merkerson, there were numerous challenges and obstacles to overcome while working in the industry. 

“While I was in my final year of college, I decided to take a real estate course to get more credits for graduation. I didn’t expect to fall in love with real estate, but it happened. Once I graduated, I bought my first duplex, rented it to tenants, and used additional funds to buy more properties. While it sounds like it was a quick success, it wasn’t. I made the mistake of using a mom-and-pop company for property management, which led to them stealing from me. It was a major setback for me,” shared Merkerson. “It got to the point that I decided to sell my properties and attempt to put my degree to good use by purchasing a Cold Stone Ice Creamery Franchise. I owned it from 2007-2010 but didn’t make much despite working as hard as possible while putting in long hours each day. Learning from these mistakes, I decided to get back into real estate, buying another rental property in Georgia. It went uphill from there.”

Most people would’ve allowed these unfortunate experiences to discourage them from staying in the real estate industry with concerns of dealing with more lies, manipulation, and profit loss. However, Merkerson didn’t allow these setbacks to keep him from achieving goals and making a name for himself in the real estate industry while positively impacting communities. “The one thing I love about what I do is going into these communities and renovating abandoned, boarded-up properties. I’m transforming them into rental properties that the whole neighborhood can appreciate. It adds value to the community and makes residents appreciate where they live even more,” shared Merkerson. “I’m involved in every aspect of my business, including flipping houses, handling rentals, and wholesale. I also work as a real estate agent. Now, my goal is to help others do the same through mentorship.”

With hopes of jumpstarting his mentorship program and helping others build a future for themselves within the real estate industry, Andre Merkerson relies on his past experiences and extensive real estate knowledge to further his career. He continues to put effort into building better communities while increasing wealth through his many business ventures.