WILMINGTON – A Wilmington homeowner with hundreds of properties in the area who took advantage of Section 8 homes was all the rage on Twitter Thursday for a TikTok that drew fierce reviews and memes.

The since-deleted video of Tom Cruz (uploaded by another user now circulating on Twitter) illustrates the real estate investor’s pragmatic approach to planning a vacation with his friends. In a spreadsheet, potential vacationers from her “Forbes Friends List” report their six-figure income, relationship status, willingness to travel to “third world” countries, propensity to gamble, interest in gambling. booking a private jet and qualifying vacation time.

The lowest income, which he said his group of friends called “Broken Bobby,” will take home $ 125,000 projected this year (Bobby is an accountant, Cruz revealed in a TikTok follow-up shared Thursday).

Video response ranged from light memes to serious criticisms, perceiving Cruz as disconnected. “Imagine making 6 figurines and always being called ‘the broken friend’,” the one viral response observed.

Cruz, meanwhile, absorbs the national spotlight –– “all publicity is good publicity,” he replied to a commentator –– using added eyes to promote his real estate classes. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As promised, Cruz shared a “Wellbeing 10” list on Thursday, containing a similar spreadsheet organizing friends who earn less than $ 100,000. Spreadsheets help avoid embarrassing money-related encounters, streamline vacation planning, and reduce wasted time, he explained.

On TikTok, where Cruz has over 820,000 subscribers, he shares a variety of videos, many of which show the wealth he’s amassed. In MTV’s “Cribs” style walkthroughs, the investor shared his million-dollar renovations, overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway (even the garage floor is heated). He reviewed local roofers, including a yell to Carolina Beach-based RW Mason Roofing for not hitting it with the “Ferrari tax” and for setting a fair price for a little repair job.

Most of the time, the investor tells instructional videos on how to make money in real estate, in particular, using the scheme of their choice: “Section 8 arbitrage”. He buys low-income homes in the Wilmington area using federally guaranteed loans, and then fills the homes with tenants through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher program, in where the government makes guaranteed payments to homeowners on behalf of shortlisted people. low income tenants.

What wealth is it pic.twitter.com/NTPTKT5CZG

– Karim Alammuri (@Radio_Reem) August 18, 2021

Cruz does not apologize in his approach and frequently engages with “warrior clowns of social justice” who criticize his style.

“You claim I’m enjoying Section 8. Well, I most definitely do,” he explained on TikTok last week. respond to a review. “They pay between $ 1,400 and $ 1,500 per unit. I buy them for $ 70,000 to $ 80,000 a door. It’s a program. They offer it. I take advantage of it. “

In June, Cruz responded to a stakeholder who doubted he was raising $ 1,300 per unit through Section 8. He shared an annual review of the Wilmington Housing Authority rent notice, explaining the mismatch of supply and demand on the local market and the reluctance of landlords to rent to Section 8 tenants have forced the program to raise its local rent cap because there is no place in town available at a lower rate. – It’s a three-room apartment in Wilmington. This should only go for $ 1,300 per month. They approved it at $ 1,500 per month for a unit that I might have paid $ 85,000 for two years ago, ”he said. “This is how you get rich rich.”

When the Kidder Street shooting happened, Cruz responded from a landlord’s perspective. Several shooters killed three people and shot dead four young adults and minors during the carnage on April 3 at midnight. The investor filmed a video covering “the downsides of real estate” in the hours following the massacre, still unsure if it took place at one of his properties, as he owned several on this street. Responding to a commentator who sarcastically wondered how he would pay his bills now, he said “I wasn’t saying this would affect me financially” and added the smirk to the face.

On Facebook, where he has since deleted his posts, Cruz shared a video of a tenant being evicted. In a January 2019 article, Cruz was looking for rentals under $ 110,000: fair and clear title, I buy it.

The 2006 UNCW graduate owns a portfolio of hundreds of properties in the area, mostly occupied by Section 8. On Wednesday he posted a pile of New Hanover County tax bills, totaling over $ 400,000 in annual property taxes. In February, he shared a video inside the New Hanover County Tax Office, as an employee printed and folded a tax bill for hundreds of properties, resembling a CVS receipt.

The following month, he struck a deal on a 100-unit portfolio in Wilmington, which he would have bought in 2018 for $ 6.3 million and sold for $ 10 million under LLC “TJ Real Estate Holdings”.

The The Greater Wilmington Business Journal reported on the 2018 transaction of 83 historic houses in the city center with 93 rental units located between the 7th and 17th; just two years earlier, the Olson family had bought the same wallet for $ 4.9 million. By filling these homes with reliable Section 8 tenants who are sure to pay on time thanks to the federal program, coupled with recent market appreciation, Cruz has significantly boosted the portfolio’s value.

Today, county records show no property owned by this LLC; it is not immediately clear what LLC Cruz is currently operating under. Cruz’s March close was the strongest appreciation and the highest portfolio price sale ever in Wilmington, he said.

Send advice and comments to Johanna F. Also at [email protected]