Street Smart Success

After many years of peak prices, distress is starting to appear in multifamily apartments, including newer properties. As debt maturities are looming, operators aren’t able to absorb the new debt costs plus all the other increased costs of the past few years including taxes, insurance, and other operating expenses. As a result, properties are now selling at prices at significant discount to replacement costs, thereby offering a once in a decade buying opportunity. Alex Roudi, CEO and Chairman at Interwest Capital, is buying newer properties at significant discounts. His latest deal is a 2022 build in Milwaukee with an in place 9.5% cash-on-cash return.

Investing in older, infill markets that are being repositioned and growing can be a recipe for huge appreciation. Over the past decade, several cities in Northern New Jersey with easy access to transportation have seen explosive growth in values. Gentrification has led to changes that have made these areas desirable to live in for upscale demographics. Aaron Fragnito, Co-founder of People’s Capital Group, is an apartment syndicator who invests in smaller apartment buildings in Northern New Jersey and rehabs them to optimize their full potential. Aaron is a buy and hold operator who achieves return-of-capital via refinances. 

There are over 20 million rental homes in the U.S. Because of the higher prices of these homes, however, investors are making less on them than they have in decades. These days, investors are making more money by financing the homes than owning and operating them. When you’re the lender, you get monthly payments without having to manage the properties, and you generate higher returns. Eddie Speed, President and Founder of Note School, Coach, Discount Note Expert, and Author, has over 40 year’s experience helping diversity investor portfolios with investments in first position mortgages. 

Single family homes have always been a great way to invest in real estate if you buy them at the right discounted price. If they’re in the right neighborhood in a stable or growing market, you will have no problem renting them, and they have historically appreciated over time. You also can use other people’s money to acquire them. Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority, has flipped over 500 houses using other people’s money with no origination fees and low rates. Jay teaches real estate investors how to skip the banks and get better rates, better terms and faster money for their deals.

An often overlooked and misunderstood category of Real Estate investing is tax liens. 2% of property taxes annually don’t get paid, which presents an opportunity for investors to invest in tax liens or tax deeds. With tax liens, you can earn interest when the property owner pays off the delinquent taxes up to 18–36% annually, depending on the state. In tax deed sales, you can acquire properties at a heavy discount. Brian Seidensticker, CEO of Tax Sale Resources, has built a SAAS platform that provides insight into over 8,000 annual auctions nationwide. Brian also has a successful fund where you can invest passively in tax deeds.

The largest asset class in the world is single family houses in the U.S., worth a total of $35 trillion. Not only is it the largest asset class, it’s the least risky if you invest with low leverage. One way to participate in the appreciation of this asset class without the potential downside is with Home Equity Agreements. Home Equity Agreements are contracts between investors and homeowners where investors get a percentage of the upside of the home in exchange for a lump sum of capital. Jesse Stein, Chief Investment Officer of Homeshares, has launched a fund of Home Equity Agreements where investors can generate a conservative, high risk-adjusted return.

In order to become an expert in multifamily takes decades. From knowing all aspects of the physical properties and maintenance, to the nuances of property management, and how to buy properties at the right price, requires a lifetime of knowledge. Paul Carassone, The Property Boss, has been acquiring and managing properties in New York for over the past 25 years. Paul started with his father and brother in the Bronx and transitioned into the Hudson Valley over twenty years ago where there was no rent control and less competition. Paul buys C Class properties inexpensively and creates immense value by improving them into B properties. All his buildings are w/in 25 min of where he lives and works

Smaller industrial buildings are seeing high occupancy levels and strong buyer demand. Even in slow growth, or slightly declining markets, the demand for industrial space is increasing because of limited inventory. Kip Northrup, a small business entrepreneur, started out by acquiring his first property to locate his pond and aquarium business, but has gradually expanded to 14 industrial properties from 5,000-25,000 s/ft.  Kip loves the process of improving properties with great design and aesthetics and finding new tenants. Kip wants to expand to 50 properties and is also searching for retail strip centers. 

Many long-term real estate owners have experienced tremendous appreciation and consequential equity in their properties. This is a great boon, but as a result, they are generating very small returns on their equity, sometimes as little as 2%. For these people, exchanging their properties via 1031 exchanges is a great way to improve cash flow and to no longer have to manage day-to-day operations. Benjamin Carmona, Managing Partner at Perch Wealth, helps clients find upstream properties to exchange into in order to generate more income, defer taxes, and exit day-to-day real estate operations. 

One area of the economy and commercial real estate that’s flourishing is luxury travel. Well located, well managed hotels are unique assets that retain their value irrespective of the macroeconomic environment. In the past few years, this trend has been amplified because of the cost to build and resulting limited new supply. People who have the economic wherewithal will always prioritize upscale experiences and be willing to pay for them. Since founding Dovehill Capital Management in 2011, Jake Wurzak has led the investment of over $1.5 billion in hospitality projects, mostly in Florida where he resides. Currently, Jake is mostly investing in pref equity deals with other experienced operators.