THE WELFONT GROUP: A HISTORY OF CLIENT SATISFACTION

The Welfont Group is a boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in underutilized and distressed assets. We help our clients look for real estate properties, analyze the long-term value of these properties, and finance their purchases. Our client base is composed mostly of individual or corporate investors and tax-exempt organizations who are looking to enter the real estate market through the purchase of properties that can be repurposed or improved for sale later on. Thus, we help our clients add value to their existing real estate property.

The Welfont Group is guided by the long-term mission vision set by our founder, Dr. Joe Johnson.  Welfont Joe Johnson, a Christian philanthropist, academic, and entrepreneur specializing in technology startups, ventured into real estate after 25 years as an angel investor. He founded The Welfont Group on two premises: first, that unused real estate possesses untapped value; and second, that tax-exempt organizations and non-profit organizations have to diversify their holdings through the purchase or acceptance of real-estate donations.

While completing his MBA at Ashland University, where he was captain of the swimming team, Dr. Johnson did research on microfinancing in developing countries and organizational leadership in tax-exempt organizations, and determined that most stable non-profits were those that owned and managed a portfolio of real-estate properties. He stumbled upon a little-known way to encourage the donation of real estate to non-profits: the IRS Section 170 Exchange, also known as the Bargain Sale. He perfected his 170 Bargain Sale business model while completing his Ph.D. in Entrepreneurial Leadership at Regent University.

The Welfont Group itself traces its history to the mid-2000s, when Dr. Johnson worked with a real estate broker to close a deal between an Alabama tax-exempt organization and a manufacturer of consumer goods for the sale of a warehouse building. Using the IRS Section 170 Bargain Sale transaction, the manufacturer was able to dispose of a property that would otherwise have been left in a state of disrepair, and the non-profit was able to expand its operations.

Over the past decade, Welfont Joe Johnson has worked tirelessly with a team of appraisers, financers, and brokers to match sellers looking to let go of property with buyers who were interested in investing in their community. To date, The Welfont Group has facilitated the sale or donation of over 10 million square feet of retail, commercial, residential, or industrial space spread over 1,000 acres of land across the country, with a total fair market value of over $200 million. The Welfont Group’s operations now stretch over 30 states from Massachusetts to California, and its client list, composed mostly of federally-recognized non-profits, is constantly growing. It is now the commercial real estate broker of choice for property owners who desire to give back to the community while benefiting from donations tax-free, leading to increased local investment.

Dr. Joe Johnson and The Welfont Group are committed to giving back to the larger global community; together, they have funded faith-based startups, pregnancy centers, orphanages, school-based ministries, college sports teams, and microfinance firms all over the world.