Episodes

Amidst the distress in commercial Real Estate, one asset class that’s striving is neighborhood retail. There’s been almost no new construction since 2008-09 and the tenant demand for space has been incredibly strong. National occupancy levels are almost 95% and many properties are fully leased. Between restaurants, gyms, medical retail, and recreation, the demand is at all time highs. Beth Azor, “The Canvassing Queen,” and Founder of Azor Advisory Services, is an incredibly successful leasing ag...

If you bought a multifamily property in 2022, it is likely worth considerably less now because higher Interest rates have driven prices down. Additionally, new supply has negatively impacted rent growth in many markets, which has further created downward pressure on prices. Declining rents, higher vacancy, and increased expenses has burdened operators. The long-term prospects for workforce housing are very strong because of a national housing shortage, but several challenges are making it diffic...

Even though average occupancy can be decreasing in a market, it doesn’t mean a well-managed property needs to experience lower occupancy. If you maintain the property, communicate effectively with tenants, and handle maintenance issues promptly, you can far exceed the average market occupancy levels and also exceed average rents. Jimmy Edwards, Founder and Director of Acquisitions at High Five Group, has excelled at adding value and repositioning Class C assets and selling them for a large profi...

Buying a great property at a fair price beats buying a poor property at a cheap price. When buying property, it’s essential to do enough due diligence on the property and the market to determine the future prospects for that property. It’s critical to evaluate rent to average income ratios to determine whether local renters can afford to live in your property. It’s also important to evaluate diversification within the local economy to mitigate risk of a stagnant or shrinking rental pool. If ther...

One asset class that has stood the test of time is Mobile Home Parks. As the housing shortage in this country persists, and the price of single-family homes continues to rise, mobile homes remain the most affordable housing option for many people. Additionally, the number of Mobile Home communities is not only not growing but is actually shrinking in many markets. Derek Vickers, Owner of Vicktory Real Estate Group, has acquired 38 Mobile Home communities since 2021. Derek is buying value-add pro...

Although gateway and other primary markets are difficult to find compelling value in, secondary, under the radar markets exist where you can still find great value, especially in smaller, non-institutional Flex Industrial properties. Many of these properties are still owned by ma-and-pa operators with significantly below market rents and prices up to 50% below replacement costs. Because of supply constraints, these properties can also be in the high 90%’s, or even 100% occupied. Grant Reaves, Ma...

As loan maturities come to fruition over the next couple years, great deals will emerge for experienced operators who can raise capital and secure financing. One asset class where there will be an inordinate amount of distress will be Class C Multifamily where inexperienced operators took on too much debt and overpaid for properties. Steven Gesis, COO at Smartland in Cleveland, specializes in Class C, and is poised to capitalize on this opportunity. Smartland has innovated the approach to adding...

We may be near the bottom of the market on Commercial Real Estate. As the Fed continues to tame inflation, interest rate reductions may result that creates cap rates compression and escalating prices. This may be a once in a generation buying opportunity. Nathan Clayberg, Vice President of MLG Capital, is responsible for raising capital for MLG funds and sourcing JV opportunities with other multifamily operators in the Midwest. MLG Capital specializes in acquiring multifamily properties built in...

Making a lot of money in Real Estate doesn’t require actively operating or directly investing in assets. Top-performing brokers can make a lot of money without any of the risk or brain damage of dealing with operations. As a highly productive broker, the sky is the limit in terms of how much you can earn. Many successful brokers make over $1 million per year, and the uber-elite can make several millions. The key is to identify the right niches and effectively market yourself. Dan Lewkowicz, Dire...

Maintaining properties efficiently and managing expenses can make the difference between making or losing money. Many operators of multifamily properties spend way too much on supplies and labor and don’t have effective processes to manage their assets. On larger properties, this can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or even more in profitability over just a few years, thereby adversely impacting overall returns. Strong operational efficiency reduces expenses and also lessens tenant turnover...

The best Real Estate in the world has historically appreciated through good times and bad. With the right properties, demand has always exceeded supply and values have increased over time. These properties rarely come on the market, however, because sellers know the value of what they own, and don’t need or want to sell them. Larry Taylor, Founder and President of Christina Development Corporation, operates in the five cities that make up West L.A, which comprises some of the most expensive Real...

Class C value-add projects are a rite of passage for most new multifamily investors. These assets generally have a lower barrier to entry than newer properties and promise higher returns. What most operators learn, however, is that these properties cost a lot more to operate than anticipated, and rent increases are harder to achieve than initially projected. That’s why many operators advance to newer properties. Newer properties can be more profitable to run and can appreciate more because more ...

Once you turn a property into a profitable, cash-flowing asset, it makes sense to keep it indefinitely. If it’s built enough value, you can refi out and redeploy the capital into another asset and continue to benefit from the cash flow and appreciation on both assets. This is a repeatable process that builds multigenerational wealth. After years of trial and error, and investing in several valuable mentorship programs, Gino Barbaro has built an impressive, long-term multifamily portfolio with hi...

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Consistently passing on deals requires unusual discipline. It’s too easy to rationalize they work when they really don’t. It’s this lack of discipline and lack of underwriting knowledge that’s currently costing a lot of operators and their investors a lot of money. It also helps when sponsors manage properties in-house to avoid excess costs, slow and expensive unit turns, and ineffective leasing efforts. Wyatt Simon, Founder and Principal of Full Circle Real Estate, steadfastly adheres to his...

Many multifamily operators avoid C Class properties built in the 70’s or 60’s in tougher neighborhoods. These properties often have issues with crime and delinquencies, not to mention deferred maintenance. In the past, these properties were priced low enough to justify the risk and the work involved to make them highly profitable. In the past few years, however, newer operators paid too much for these properties and incurred aggressive floating rate debt that will be difficult to refinance. Man...

Investing in private credit is growing at a rapid clip as traditional lenders are getting increasingly restrictive in their lending practices and investors are looking for safe havens for their money. One of the most conservative Hard Money lending spaces is against single family homes in non-coastal markets because the home values are relatively predictable without dramatic fluctuations. Will Coleman, CEO and Founder of Urban Gate Capital, has a debt fund that loans money to single family flipp...

Buying properties in satellite markets within short driving distance to secondary or even tertiary markets can produce alpha returns, especially when buying them from older owners. Often times, these owners aren’t current on what their properties are worth, and their rents are significantly under market. To make money on these properties, however, you still need to buy them at a discounted price. Farris Gosea, Founder and CEO of Farris Gosea Capital, has amassed an impressive portfolio of multif...

One of the ways to become successful in Real Estate is through the path of brokerage. There’s almost no barrier to entry and unlimited upside. You can be successful as a broker if you develop a niche, passion, and discipline. Bob Knakal, a modern legend in the NYC brokerage community, leads the Private Capital Group for JLL in New York and has brokered the sale of well over 2000 buildings, more buildings in New York City than any individual broker ever, totaling over $21 billion in sales. In the...

Investing in Real Estate syndications can be risky, especially if you don’t have the necessary years of experience and the knowledge to effectively vet the operator and the specific opportunity. As a result, many investors have lost money, especially in the last year. One way to mitigate this risk is to invest in a fund that’s run by a fund operator with a lengthy track record of success and diversified holdings within the fund. Paul Moore, Founder of Wellings Capital, is operating his sixth fun...

Although core gateway markets have the highest appreciation for multifamily over time, secondary markets also offer tremendous growth and stability, and they have smaller barriers to entry. Bobby Larsen, Principal and Founder of Vanamor Investments, has invested successfully in submarkets of Portland, Oregon and Tampa, Florida, plus others. He’s deployed a very conservative approach to acquisitions and operations that’s minimized risk and produced great returns for investors. Vanamor also utili...

Maintaining high occupancy levels in apartment complexes can be an ongoing challenge, especially in highly competitive markets. This is why affordable, government-subsidized housing can be a great option for investors. If the properties are in the right location, occupancy can consistently run at 100%, with waiting lists for new tenants. Not only are these properties full, but delinquencies are a non-issue because most of the rents are paid by the government. Ira Fishman of North Loop Investment...

One of the hottest asset classes right now is neighborhood retail. Although it was out of favor just a few years ago because people thought ecommerce would replace it, it has proven to be not only resilient, but incredibly stable. There has almost been no new construction for over fifteen years, so existing properties are seeing occupancy levels at way over 90%. As a result, the competition to acquire these assets has gotten fierce. Nate Melchior, Principal of Dunton Commercial, vertically man...

Cracks are starting to show in the multifamily space. Several owners have expiring rate caps and are underwater on their properties as they face dramatically increased debt payments. This is starting to force sellers to get realistic and capitulate on price. Great deals are starting to emerge with healthy spreads between interest rates and cap rates. Julian Vogel, Fund Manager at Colony Hills Capital, is acquiring recession resilient Class B- to A- properties with 20% return targets in growth ma...