Buffett Letters Teach Trust, Not Just Value Investing
The reason I strongly recommend young people interested in business read the Buffett letters: It’s *not* to turn them into little value investors. It’s to socialize them into the “seamless web of deserved trust” way of thinking about business (& life).
AI Era Sparks Surge in PE Property Deals
Sign of the (AI?) times: Currently receiving ~3 emails per week from PE trying to buy our property management business
Removing Harsh Advice Protects New Wealth Recipients
[Deleted a somewhat mean-spirited reply regarding, let's call it, asset allocation for a newly rich inheritor that was getting way too much traction for comfort.]
Prefer Partnerships with One Legal Decision‑Maker to Avoid Conflict
Having been part of both types: My strong preference is only to participate in partnerships where there is one, clear, legally-designated decision-maker. Otherwise, too much chance strategic disagreements linger & fester.
My Missed Multifamily Investment Dwarfs Employee Errors
Any time one of our employees makes a mistake, I remind myself: No mistake any of them could make would come *close* to costing us as much money as my decision not to buy multifamily in secondary Western markets 2015-2018.
Personal Lease Sign‑Off Saves Owners Thousands Every Years
Why I still sign every lease in our ~1200 unit portfolio personally: Bc, about once every 2-3 yrs, I catch an incorrect rental amount, which would have cost the owner: 1. Hundreds or thousands of $$$ in forgone rent and, 2. In...
Zero Rates Spark Price Spikes, Then Rent Collapse
File under: Wish someone had told me When interest rates go to zero, the main reason to sell real estate is bc pricing goes crazy. But a secondary reason to sell is that interest rates at zero will catalyze a development boom,...
Trustworthy Property Management: A Timeless Business
Why I love our property management business: People have been building & renting out apartments at least since the Roman Empire, managing them is painful, and many owners are happy to pay someone trustworthy to do it. That’s Lindy.
Offshore Call Centers Hurt LA Brokers' Reputation
The LA apartment brokers hiring untrained, poorly spoken, off-shore call center workers to cold call owners hunting for sale listings are doing serious damage to their reputations.
Key Questions to Vet Your First Industrial Leasing Broker
What are some good questions to ask industrial leasing brokers, for someone just getting into hiring industrial leasing brokers?
Reclassify Starter Home Profits to Spur Millions of Homes
Instead, we should change the tax treatment of development of for-sale starter homes from "income" to "capital gains"
National Chains Threaten Neighborhood Charm Through Collective Rent Choices
“Tragedy of the commons” in interesting neighborhoods: Each individual owner incentivized to rent to national chains, due to their higher credit-quality. But, once too many do, the neighborhood loses what made it interesting in the first place.
Housing Access Could Fix America's Biggest Problems
Most of what's wrong w America could be solved by making it possible for normal, reasonably hard-working people to purchase a home.
Cut Rents, Not Vacancies, in a Slow Market
Unless you’re angling to sell or refinance your building in the short term: If the rental market is slow, better to lower your asking rents than to accept vacancy or fill your building with people who will dishonor their lease obligations.
In‑house Construction Risks Marginal Deals During Pipeline Lulls
As a value-add real estate operator or developer with a rapidly growing deal pipeline, can be *very* tempting to in-house the construction function. The upsides are: more transparency around pricing, more control and (if you do it well) some additional profit. However,...
Scale Value‑Add Projects to Your Current Capacity
Excellent post From the GP's perspective, it is *so* tempting to view each value-add deal in isolation and make a go-no go decision based on that deal's projected returns. But you don't have infinitely many "Number 1" contractors, "Number 1" project managers,...
New Book Empowers Early‑Career Professionals Into Lucrative Real Estate
When a (smart, accomplished) friend puts in the effort to write a book, I buy the book
Austin’s Housing Surge Fueled by Rent‑control Ban
What many YIMBYs miss about the Austin housing supply miracle: Investors were willing to capitalize that construction, in part, bc, except in cases of *actual* emergency, Texas bans rent control at the state level. https://t.co/rl9bpQ94Cx
Cities Must Signal Long-Term Investor Confidence, Not Just Regulations
Fact 1: On today's numbers, apartment buildings take 15-20 yrs to pay back the investment in building them. Fact 2: To justify that investment, investors need to expect the buildings to generate returns for decades thereafter. So, if your city wants private...
Add Bedrooms, Boost Rent per Sq Ft in Tight Markets
A game-plan that works in supply constrained markets: Identify older buildings with apartments that are too large relative to the number of beds and baths they have (for example a 1,000 sq ft one bed). During renovation, using permits, reconfigure the units...
Revealing Our Decade-Long Real Estate Due Diligence Blueprint
The Crown Jewel Regular readers know that we created our original due diligence checklist in ~'14, on the advice of an experienced real estate investor who became our largest 3rd party property management client. (What's a "due diligence checklist"? It's a long...
Location Beats Building Condition: Vision Can't Fix Bad Sites
Doesn’t matter how ugly, run-down or obsolete a building is: If the post-rehab rent or sale price is sufficiently high to justify the expense, you can figure out how to fix it, w enough vision & capital. On the other...
ReSeedPartners Hits ‘Default Alive’ Milestone, Validating Model
Very good post @ReSeedPartners, the platform some partners and I started ~3 yrs ago to seed emerging real estate operators, recently reached "default alive", reminding me yet again how powerful a position that is
Essential Guide to Private Real Estate Incentives
If you are just learning about the private real estate business, either as a prospective GP or LP, please read this short book. It’s a pretty balanced explanation of the game, including the incentives driving the different players. https://t.co/3pvXJikrV5
Structured Sales Protect Sellers; Buyers Should Disrupt Them
So nuts. The most important thing a listing agent does is run a structured sale process, so that: 1. All prospective bidders feel like they have a shot, if they put their best foot forward, & 2. The seller can systematically, calmly...