Street Smart Success

Investing passively is a great way to generate cash flow and appreciation, without having to deal with day-to-day operations. You just need to develop the skills at vetting operators and specific deals. David Shirkey, a fellow passive investor, has done a great job finding quality operators and profitable deals over the past eight years. David has made numerous successful multifamily investments p...

Most multifamily syndicators are facing major headwinds including interest rate increases, new supply, and escalating expenses. In order to thrive in this environment, you have to have an excellent organization that executes on business plans and maintains healthy working relationships with their lenders. Zack Haptonstall, Founder of Rise 48, has never made a capital call or missed a debt payment....

Eventually, ma and pa Mobile Home Park operators will be swallowed up by professional operators, so the opportunity to invest is now. The demand to live in Mobile Home Parks is growing while the supply is shrinking. The average Mobile Home Park owner stays in their home 17.5 years, some stay even longer. Many ma and pa owners, especially second or third generation family members, don’t reinvest in...

Even before covid, the Southeast was rapidly growing, but the trend accelerated during covid, and still continues. The population of Atlanta, for example, is projected to multiply three times in the next thirty years to over 15 million. Currently, office leasing activity in Atlanta is 80% of the volume of 2019, which was robust. As recently as 2022, however, companies were still questioning whethe...

Compared to most other Real Estate asset classes, Self-Storage has more resilience in the face of different economic climates. Self-Storage has a steadier revenue stream, a smaller percentage of operating expenses, and therefore greater margins and profitability. There’s also a shortage of self-storage facilities in smaller markets. Tom Dunkel, Managing Director of Belrose Storage, has acquired 14...

One of the time-honored ways to make money in Real Estate is flipping single family houses. For years, this is how many successful Real Estate investors have made a great living. In fact, many Real Estate moguls started with single family homes. Sharad Mehta, Founder and CEO of REsimpli, has flipped over 400 homes in Lake County, Indiana, 45 minutes outside of Chicago. Sharad currently owns 50 hom...

Over the past several years, as prices in multifamily have escalated, the greatest value has been in acquiring older, C Class assets with the highest returns. As interest rates have pushed prices down more recently, however, and the market normalizes, great opportunities are also emerging in newer vintage Class B assets that don’t require as much work. Vadim Kleyner, CEO and Chairman of Smartland...

The rate at which the Real Estate market has unraveled is unprecedented in recent history. The debt and equity markets have all but frozen, which has suspended the market. Many operators and lenders are in trouble because operators are unable to make payments and rate caps are expiring. In the near future, more lenders will be forced to take properties back from borrowers, and prices will continue...

Many Real Estate investors start out investing in residential properties before migrating to asset classes like industrial, self-storage, or office for less day-to-day management. Jonathan Hayek, founder of Endurance Properties, started with single family houses and small multifamily properties before acquiring a vacant office building in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After he realized that small office buil...

Nothing pays off like tight geographic concentration and laser focus on one asset type. In multifamily, there are critical subtleties that vary by neighborhood that can make or break an investment if you don’t know what they are. That’s where intimate market knowledge pays off. Natasha Falconi, President of Falconi Capital, buys C Class properties in Hialeah and Miami Beach built from the 1940’s a...

When you’re dealing with family offices, you’re dealing with the top .0001% of America’s wealthiest families. As a result, your approach to allocating capital needs to be nearly flawless, with well-developed strategies and investment theses. Sal Buscemi, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Brahmin Partners, allocates capital on behalf of 13 Family Offices. Sal is an expert at building relationships...

Once a Mobile Home Park is fully stabilized, it has the most predictable cash flow of any Real Estate asset class. The average Mobile Home Park tenant who owns their own home stays 17.5 years, and some stay even longer. Many ma and pa legacy owners, especially second or third generation family members, don’t reinvest into their properties and the assets become mismanaged and neglected. These parks...

If you want consistent, predictable cash flow and easy-to-manage property, you should consider single tenant retail. There’s currently an insatiable demand for quality locations in this property type relative to the amount of supply. It’s an attractive asset class because you have long lease terms with strong tenants and very little maintenance. Aaron Zucker, CEO of Zucker Investment Group (ZIG),...

In the past few years, hundreds of new Real Estate operators began syndicating deals. Many of these operators are great marketers, but unfortunately inexperienced, and unqualified to operate their properties. Many paid too much, got overleveraged bridge debt, and have been unable to execute on their business plans. As a result, they’ve lost a lot of passive investors (LP) money. The smartest thing...

Regardless of cap rates or interest rates, heavy value-add projects still make a lot of money if there are proven ways to dramatically increase revenue and Net Operating Income in the short term. The key is having the knowledge and the systems to find off-market deals and the ability to consistently execute on the business plans. Matt Ricciardella, Founding and Managing Partner of Crystal View Cap...

In the past several years, hundreds of new operators and capital raisers have emerged into the Commercial Real Estate landscape. Unfortunately, many of these new entrants are out of SEC compliance in how their corporations are structured and the way they raise capital.  Additionally, many of these operators joined with other new operators with a similar lack of experience and are having massive tr...

Steady cash flow is the holy grail of Real Estate investing. Stable, predictable cash flow with tax advantages is what investors are seeking. Nothing fits this description better than highly sought after, well-located NNN retail properties with creditworthy tenants. Phil Boggia, Director of Acquisitions at NNN Invest, acquires stabilized properties with in-place cash flow plus value-add vacant or...

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, “...

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...

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 Gro...

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 diver...

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...

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...

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 Clas...

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 multif...