Street Smart Success

Consistent returns are generated when there’s scarcity. One asset class that epitomizes scarcity is Manufactured Housing. Not only are new parks not being built, but the supply is also actually shrinking. Drawing on a unique foundation in data analytics and a decade at Capital One, Amanda Cruise applies rigorous financial discipline to acquire and optimize smaller mobile home communities. Amanda d...

Multifamily investment advisor Darin Garman returns with his "no-BS" assessment: the market is more resilient than expected, thanks to strong renter demand and savvy operators. Operating in Iowa, Darin details his strategy of acquiring well-maintained, garden-style properties (built 70s-2000s) from "mom-and-pop" owners to unlock significant value through income optimization. He...

Danny Catan, Founder of PIA Residential, returns to share his insights on the current multifamily market. While many have lost money due to variable debt and oversupplied southern markets, Danny explains why  disciplined investors are finding opportunities. He focuses on workforce housing in secondary and tertiary markets across the Southeast, looking for properties 30% cheaper than the 2022 peak....

How much you pay, your debt, and staying power determines your success. From 2019-2022, too many people over payed for multifamily properties and utilized floating rate debt. Now many of these operators are under water and unable to hang on to their properties. Christopher Urso, Managing Partner at URS Capital Partners, saw that properties were overpriced at this time and made only one acquisition...

The ability to see what others don’t can be the necessary ingredient to achieving outsized returns in commercial real estate. Real Estate is a creative business that requires original thinking and an ability to identify compelling themes and recognize upcoming trends. Tom Shapiro, President, CIO and Founder of GTIS, has been a forward-thinking investor in several asset classes both domestically an...

Although prices on multifamily have come down from their peak more than at any other time in recent history, they still have more to go before they present a good buying opportunity. Rents have not risen, interest rates have not been lowered as anticipated, and oversupply persists in many markets. Yet prices are not reflecting these headwinds. Senior living facilities, on the other hand, are gener...

When there’s a growing industry with a high demand for capital and few sources available, it creates an opportunity for solid risk adjusted returns. A current example is cannabis, one of the country’s fastest growing industries. For complex regulatory reasons, banks are not permitted to make loans in this industry. As a result, there’s a vacuum for private lenders to make loans to this category at...

Evan Polasky, Director of Capital Raising for Blackgate, reveals how his firm is achieving attractive 7-8% cap rates in suburban retail strip centers. Unlike the crowded multifamily market, Blackgate focuses on smaller community centers with necessity-based tenants like urgent care, dentists, quick-serve restaurants, and tutoring centers. With new construction at historic lows and high tenant dema...

While there’s still a lot of money chasing most quality real estate assets, great opportunities exist for those willing to take more risk with heavier value-add assets. One of the best examples is office buildings in rebounding markets that are selling at 10 to 20 cents on the dollar. Another example is well-located indoor malls that have rebounded and thriving since the pandemic. Travis King is F...

Donald Trump campaigned on reducing our national trade deficit. Despite this aim and increased tariffs over his first year in office, however, deficits have still persisted at their previous levels. The U.S government is investing aggressively in A.I. to become the world leader over China in this technology and remain the world’s preeminent super power.  Richard Duncan, author of “The Money Revolu...

Distress has emerged in the multifamily space. Lenders are taking projects back from sponsors and selling them for the debt or even taking losses in many cases. As a result, some great deals are being made by sponsors to capitalize on these situations and acquire solid workforce properties at a discount. David Lilley, Founder & CEO of Reap Capital, is acquiring 80’s vintage properties in Dalla...

Although many of the southern U.S. markets are oversupplied with new multifamily apartments and facing challenges, midwestern markets are seeing higher occupancy levels and growing rents. These markets have also experienced only moderate expense increases. Harrison Riley, Founder of Glass Beach Ventures, specializes in multifamily in Cleveland and Erie, PA. He buys older buildings from $40,000-$60...

The value of national currencies has always plummeted to zero in the course of history, usually because of money printing and inflation. There has also never been an international fiat currency. This is what the role of cryptocurrency plays and why it is ultimately indestructible. Crypto has no issuer, so therefore cannot be destroyed. It also has finite supply, so will likely continue to apprecia...

Appreciation is great, but predictable cash flow is what enables a steady retirement. Real Estate funds are a great way to achieve steady cash flow because they’re less risky than syndications because of a diversified base of assets. Jay Patel, Founder and Fund Manager of Proptex, helps investors and pre-retirees earn 11% annually backed by collateralized real estate. Proptex has stabilized assets...

Alternative investments produce more cash flow with less volatility than public markets. This is why money invested in alternative assets have more than doubled over the last decade, from $7.2 trillion to $18 trillion, and expected to grow to $29 trillion by 2030.  Investments like Private Credit, niche commercial real estate, oil & gas, and specialized finance are exploding. Bob Fraser, Co-fo...

Many operators launch funds to achieve scale and create diversification for themselves and their investors. Funds also attract lower cost of capital and achieve operational efficiencies that result in improved yield. From an investor standpoint, funds mitigate additional risk because of compliance requirements and third-party auditing. Bridger Pennington, co-founder and CEO of Fund Launch, has hel...

Many think Private Credit has elevated risks, but the economy is strong and borrowers have healthy balance sheets. One of the least hyped but most interesting areas of credit are special situations and distressed debt. The potential for alpha, mid-teen returns is significant, but it requires precision. Distressed debt requires understanding legal frameworks, financial health, and industry landscap...

An asset class that thrives in different economic cycles is student housing, especially at the best colleges. The demand to attend these schools always far exceeds supply. On the operations side, revenue per square foot often exceeds multifamily apartments because leases are done by the bed. Mark Weinstein, President of MJW Investments, has acquired over $1.5 Billion of student housing, over $1.5...

Most of the problems in multifamily over the past few years have been related to debt. Many operators are now in their second extension phase and not making payments or keeping up with their properties. Several of these have been taken back by the lenders. Lenders are identifying experienced, local operators to take over these properties.  James Eng, “The Professor” of multifamily financing, is th...

Multifamily investing can be profitable, but it is not without risks. One of the ways to generate mid-teen returns while mitigating risk is to invest in pref equity. As an investor in pref equity, you’ll be paid after the first mortgage and before the common equity holders. It’s therefore safer than common equity and you’ll still get the same attractive tax treatment. Steeve Breton, President of V...

80% of new apartments built in the last ten years are luxury class A. As a result, the supply of B class workforce housing has not nearly kept up with demand. Unless someone can afford to own a home or pay close to $4,000 per month for an A class two bedroom or $1,500 for an A class one bedroom unit, they are relegated to renting a B class apartment. Class B apartments cost 30%-50% less. As $800 B...

Supply-demand imbalance drives value in Real Estate. In this country, we have a severe shortage of affordable housing in many markets and therefore high occupancy levels. In the case of Mobile Home Parks, supply is not only not growing, it is actually shrinking because municipalities are repurposing the land Mobile Home Parks occupy for better perceived uses. This is what’s creating an undersupply...

Although the Southeast and Southwest are still oversupplied with new multifamily units, markets in the Midwest have seen little to no new supply and therefore perennially low vacancy rates. Many of these markets are also growing, which creates a perfect opportunity for multifamily investing, as long as it’s with the right syndicator. Justin Spillers, Co-Founder of Real Estate Alpha, has built a po...

When deciding who to invest with, experience is what matters most, starting with the number of deals someone has done. Forty percent of Multifamily operators have done fewer than five full cycle deals. Like anything else, Real Estate takes years, even decades, to master. Elijah Brown, Founder of GoldHawk Capital, has first-hand experience operating multifamily and leverages this experience to help...

Alternative assets are getting a greater share of investor allocations as they seek higher yields and less volatility. Pension funds, endowments and other large institutions are directing more dollars to these assets in order to increase overall yields in their portfolios and to hit mandated returns. Kim Flynn, President of XA Investments, specializes in Private Credit interval funds, some of whic...