Real Angle: Building Success in Commercial Real Estate

In this conversation, Joshua and Kim discuss energy efficiency tax credits and deductions. They cover the history of these incentives, including the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and focus on two major programs: Section 179D and Section 45L. Section 179D provides a tax deduction for commercial buildings that meet energy efficiency criteria, while Section 45L offers a tax credit for residential units....

In this conversation, Joshua and Kim discuss energy efficiency tax credits and deductions. They cover the history of these incentives, including the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and focus on two major programs: Section 179D and Section 45L. Section 179D provides a tax deduction for commercial buildings that meet energy efficiency criteria, while Section 45L offers a tax credit for residential units....

In this conversation, Joshua Kahr speaks with Ethan Orley, managing partner at Oliver Hospitality (www.oliverhospitality.com), about his journey in the hospitality business. They discuss the challenges of operational oversight, the current deals and expansion plans of Oliver Hospitality, and the availability of equity and debt in the hotel industry. They also touch on the concept of self-check-in...

In this interview, I spoke with Malcolm Frodsham, Director of Real Estate Strategies ( www.realestatestrategies.co.uk ), an economic forecasting firm that focuses on UK commercial real estate markets. We chatted about a diverse range of topics including how one even gets into this line of work. We talked about what economic forecasting is, and how firms can best use it. We also discussed how inter...

In this interview, I chatted with Ashleigh Simpson, Head of Structured Development Finance for Grosvenor's North American property business. Amongst other things, they co-invest with residential developers in for sale and for rent ground-up multi-family developments in the United States and Canada. We discussed what co-investment means and what they look for in a development partner. We also discu...

I sat down with Adam Fruitbine, CIO at Maxx Properties ( www.maxxproperties.com ), in this interview. Maxx Properties is a family office that focuses on owning and managing its multifamily real estate portfolio. To start, we discussed what it means to be a family office, how they think about hold periods, and the role of debt. We also talked about their strategic plan to grow their operations and...

In this interview, I spoke with Ron Diamond, CEO of Diamond Wealth Strategies. They are a family office with a focus on commercial real estate. They aggregate capital from over 100 single-family offices and deploy this capital as a collective force alongside their own capital. This collective of capital allows them access to deals that they otherwise wouldn't see if they were investing on their ow...

In this interview, I spoke with Amol Sarva, co-founder of Aikito (https://www.aikito.co/), a platform simplifying commercial renovations. As a serial entrepreneur, he co-founded startups including Virgin Mobile USA, Peek, Halo Neuroscience, Knotel, LifeX Ventures, and CornerUp. His extensive experience in entrepreneurship, advocacy for open access in wireless spectrum policy, and commitment to sus...

In this interview, I spoke with Jonathan Feifer, CEO of Parkstone Management. They are a real estate development company that has built multifamily projects in New York City and New Jersey. They are now expanding to Reno, Nevada. Amongst other things, we discuss the state of the debt and equity markets and the challenges of development in other regions. We also discuss how to grow a development pi...

In this interview, I sat down with Kevin McCarthy, CEO of Southmark Capital. Southmark Capital purchases distressed debt and also offers short-term bridge financing. His firm was formed over 20 years ago when he worked with the principals of two family offices to deploy their capital in a specialized platform to purchase distressed debt as a way to obtain low basis cost land that could be develope...

Deryle Bourgeois and Shaun Bourgeois are the owners of NOLA Hard Money (https://nolahardmoney.com/) , a high-yield lender that services primarily the Louisiana market. We discussed some of the misconceptions about what "hard money" lending is and what place it serves in the capital markets landscape. We also talked about what a hard money lender looks for, what kinds of investments are not a good...

Erin O’Boyle is a Founder and Managing Partner of Harvest Capital Partners (www.harvestcp.com), an SEC-registered investment advisor that services Public and Private Pension funds and institutions in the commercial real estate space. We had the chance to discuss the state of the market, the mindset of pension funds when it comes to making investments, and how they formulate strategies. We also tal...

In this interview, I spoke with Stephen Hutto, CEO of 40|M. They are an opportunistic value-add investor in the Dallas market. He was previously the CIO of Gemdale USA, a real estate investment and development company that is the US arm of a Chinese-based multi-national developer. We discuss what it takes to grow a national development platform from scratch, what the transition is like to go from...

In this interview, I spoke with Keir Renick, CEO of FarmOp Capital (www.farmop.com). They are a specialty lender that provides operating capital to farmers. His company provides an alternative lending source for farmers who otherwise would not be able to access credit. They have had rapid growth in the last few years. We discuss what it's like to manage 100% year-over-year growth, how his entity m...

In this interview, I spoke with Paul Rabinovitch, a Senior Advisor at a single-family office. For confidentiality reasons, the name of his employer has been withheld. Paul’s experience includes building one of the largest private portfolios of net zero energy operating buildings in the USA as well as leading-edge workforce housing, affordable housing, historic preservation, and community-oriented...

In this interview, I spoke with Laura Rapaport, CEO of North Bridge (www.northbridgeops.com). Her company provides C-PACE financing ("Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy"). C-PACE is a financial tool for property owners to obtain low-cost, long-term financing for energy-efficient equipment, renewable energy, water conservation, resiliency, and indoor air quality projects. It can provide up t...

In this interview, I spoke with Joseph Ouellette​, COO of Standard Communities (www.standard-communities.com). His company is a major developer and investor in LIHTC ("low income housing tax credit") properties and workforce housing in approximately 20 markets throughout the United States.   We discuss what it's like to manage organizational growth vs. being a "deal maker", what makes an investmen...

In this interview, we speak with Josh Fuhrer, VP of Development at Bedrock Detroit (www.bedrockdetroit.com). His company is working on what is arguably the largest-scale private sector development currently underway. We discuss the resurgence of the City of Detroit, his company's role as an engine of economic development, and the impressive scale of their projects. We also talk about the overall r...

In this interview with Parag Goswami, CEO of clik.ai (www.clik.ai), we discuss AI-assisted real estate underwriting and the future of AI and machine learning in commercial real estate in general.  We also talk about the overall real estate cycle and whether the health of the industry overall affects the health of "proptech". We also discuss how the funding for proptech ventures is often different...

In this interview with Min Suh, Managing Partner at Steady Capital (steady-cap.com), we discuss co-GP funds vs. "friendly equity", the evolution of the capital stack in today's market, and what it's like to raise capital for a first-time fund. We also reflect on whether or not we're about to experience an epic level of debt defaults. Good times. --- This podcast is sponsored by Kahr Real Estate Se...

In this interview with Steve Surridge, CEO of Forbury, we discuss the technology landscape for real estate investment analysis software, growing into international markets, and how their products expand the usefulness of Excel in analyzing commercial real estate.   --- This podcast is sponsored by Kahr Real Estate Services (https://www.kahrrealestate.com/), a leading provider of in-person and onli...

Welcome to Real Angle. I'm Joshua Kahr, and in this episode, I interview Brandon Gibson, Managing Director at Steinbridge.  I think you'll find this to be a very engaging interview. We discuss real estate development, working with not-for-profits, and unlocking hidden value in underutilized land.   --- This podcast is sponsored by Kahr Real Estate Services (https://www.kahrrealestate.com/), a lead...