Entrepeneur, Real Estate Investor, Hard Money Lender, Angel Investor, Mentor, Educator & Author, Philanthropist
Bio
With over 20 years of real estate investing experience consisting of acquisitions, property management, urban development, and financing, Mark Hayes is the founder and president of Bridge South Investments, LLC, a Nashville-based general partner specializing in multifamily, mobile-home and RV parks, and self-storage.
Over his career, he has built or renovated over 100 homes and managed up to 40 rental units in-house. In 2014 Mr. Hayes formed West Nashville Living, LLC, a residential development company concentrating in one zip code with the purpose to develop affordable and different style homes and participate in the local community. Mr. Hayes took WNL, LLC from a gross profit of $385,000 in 2014 to $1.3 million the next year. In 2019 Mark founded Bridge South Investments (BSI) lending to investors in the southeastern states of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In 2019, Bridge South Investments funded $1.43 million in loans. In 2020, Mr. Hayes propelled BSI to a 116% increase funding $3.1 Million in loans. 2021 was a record year totaling $4.6 million in loan volume.
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Mark received his Bachelor of Engineering from Vanderbilt University. Before his real estate career, he attained a Professional Engineers license and the series 6 license to sell mutual funds. Mark was a licensed real estate agent for twenty years. He has been a member of REIN (Real Estate Investors of Nashville) since 2002 and is a contributor to their monthly newsletter and has been a speaker at the monthly meetings on multiple occasions. Mr. Hayes has authored blogs in real estate and lending since 2015. Mark authored the book, "Dip Your Toe into Real Estate Investing" that was released in 2024.
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Mr. Hayes currently concentrates on asset management, partner relations, and raising capital for future deals. His expertise and experience allows him to offer innovative and attractive returns to his partners.
Outside of his business, you can find Mark playing pickleball, on the golf course, or watching one of his sons play hockey. He is an active philanthropist both with his time and finances. He has been a volunteer soccer coach, a big brother for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee, worked on Habitat for Humanity Homes, delivered meals for Charis Ministries, and a lunch buddy with Preston Taylor Ministries. He has served as Vice-President and headed the facilities committee of the Blast Youth Hockey League. Mark served three years as a deacon at his church. Mr. Hayes has financially contributed to numerous non-profits and charities such as Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Nashville Rescue Mission, Metro Nashville Police Youth Camp, Nashville Fire Fighters, Mission to the World, and Samaritan’s Purse to name a few. Mark lives in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife, Dawn, and their four children, Hank, Ike, Roy, and Margo.
Current Business Investments
Bridge South Investments, LLC, was formed by professional real estate investor, Mark Hayes, from a passion to help others buy, renovate, and sell homes in the Southeast. Mark’s personal experience of having a successful career in buying, renovating, and developing over 100 homes has made him an expert on both sides of the transaction. He has also built an impressive rental portfolio by investing in up and coming neighborhoods since 2002. This rich history of being involved with each step of the process qualifies Mark as a leader in assisting other investors with loans and continuing to guide clients throughout the process.
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The company name was derived from Mark’s background in civil engineering, the type of loans they offer, and their areas of practice. Bridge loans are short-term and are typically no longer than 6-12 months. “South” is because Mark is originally from North Carolina, has lived in Tennessee for 20+ years, and his services extend to several southern states. “What is great about lending is we are able to build a partnership with other real estate investors in several different markets than Nashville. Places like Clarksville, Chattanooga Knoxville, Huntsville, Birmingham, and Greenville, SC. Our goal is to help others succeed and our commitment to serve our clients is deeply rooted in our core values: honest communication, easy and prompt transactions, and the highest-quality customer service.
Newly Released Book
Dip Your Toe Into Real Estate Investing
This is a book covering the different types of real estate investing along with tips and advice on how to easily enter the industry without feeling so overwhelmed. “Dipping Your Toe into Real Estate Investing” is not only informative with actual action steps, but interwoven with real life stories; some funny, some cringe-worthy, but mostly were lessons learned.
The book begins with a unique preface, a dedication to the author’s father figure where a seed was planted. The first chapters cover the vast world of real estate and allows the reader to ask themselves, what area and investing strategy is interesting? The importance of networking and education along with guidance to the reader follows. The author then encourages the reader to get in “feet first” by learning some basics such as: mindset, valuations, and lead generation followed by simple steps to enter real estate investing for the first time.
After the reader realizes the water is warm, they move into the deep end of building a great team for support. The book concludes with real stories of first-time investors to show the reader, yes, it can be done. The final step is taking the real estate investing quiz to determine what type of investor they are based on their interest and experience.
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"Dipping your toe into Real Estate Investing" will provide all the information you need and the steps you should take to participate in real estate investing based on your strengths and interests. Actual stories from my experiences of success and failure are lessons learned, some hard to believe, some funny, and all involve interesting people."
- Mark Hayes, Author
Gallery
Media and Interviews
Service Name
Speaker
Why should you hire Mark for your next speaking event?
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Mark Hayes is a powerful and charismatic speaker that impacts his audiences with just the right amount of knowledge, experience, and humor.
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Mark understands that to change an entire profession, it will take an enormous amount of courage, with the first step being helping others tear down paradigms of old and adopting a belief in a new financial methodology that is better fitting to today's modern and advanced world.
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With all of the advancements in science and technology over the past decade, we are experiencing a true innovation boom. Millions of people are becoming millionaires each year, and tens of millions are joining the professional income ranks, but many are lost when it comes to knowing what to do with their money.
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Mark's speaking programs can show anyone not just how to enter the Real Estate market, but how to thrive in it.
Questions for the Media
1) How did you get started in real estate investing?
2) What were some difficulties getting your business started?
3) What are some changes you made in your business that increased productivity and profits?
4) Tell us about your childhood.
5) What is the most important advice you would give to a new real estate investor?
6) What are some words your business peers use to describe you?
7) How have you sustained success through different real estate markets over the years?
8) Besides market conditions, what big changes have you seen in real estate investing in the past 10-20 years?
9) What do you enjoy about the real estate business?
10) I understand you just wrote a book. What is it about?
11) You mentioned investing outside of real estate. What other areas are you investing in?
Contact Mark
700 51st Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 218-8354