Saw that someone arrived on the blog yesterday using the following search term “convert duplex into single family home”. Here’s my advice: Don’t do it. Or, at least, don’t do it with permits. Regular readers know I’m strongly in favor of using permits for every single construction project. It’s a bit more expensive, but you … Continue reading “Never lose units”
Category: Building Adaptive
If I were a broker…
…who didn’t also renovate tons of apartment buildings, I would: Run rent surveys across all relevant neighborhoods, all the time Constantly poll my clients about construction costs for different finish levels and unit sizes Constantly poll my clients about eviction / tenant relocation costs Why would I do all these things? Because, without the above … Continue reading “If I were a broker…”
3210 Bellevue is sold
We finally sold the last Fund 1 property yesterday and I thought I’d take the opportunity to share the (unaudited, unofficial) numbers: Purchased 5/23/2013 for $690,000 Spent ~$410k renovating (including all fees to Adaptive) So, all in for $1.1MM Took in ~$40k from rents while we owned it Sold 10/9/2014 for $1.42MM Net sale proceeds of ~$1.32MM … Continue reading “3210 Bellevue is sold”
Building a reputation
One of our agents and I just signed a listing agreement on a 4plex we will be bringing to market shortly. (If you want to hear about it before it goes on the MLS, I recommend joining the mailing list right now.) When we were preparing our pitch to the owner, my colleague pulled all … Continue reading “Building a reputation”
Help wanted
We’re looking for help in the following roles: 1. Assistant project manager. This one is pretty straight-forward. We have a ton of renovation projects going on right now and need one more set of hands to assist with purchasing and arranging material deliveries, liaising with contractors / subs, etc. We’re offering $15 / hr for … Continue reading “Help wanted”
Adaptive’s proof of funds problem
When you make an offer on a building, what you’re really saying to the owner is: “Please give me the exclusive right to consider buying your building at this price for the next 21 (or 30 or 60) days.” For an owner to accept, she needs to be ok with your price and, crucially, as … Continue reading “Adaptive’s proof of funds problem”
What we’re for
Cashflow over appreciation Quantitative over qualitative Verification over trust Diligence over cross your fingers and hope Independence over conformity (Controlled) aggression over timidity Equity over debt Reputation over (short-term) profits
A great day for one of our agents
One of our agents just earned a $48k commission for repping both buyer and seller on a deal over the past month or so. Ordinarily, this blog is mostly about the deals, so I’m sure you’re interested in the details of this one. However, I don’t want to steal the agent’s thunder… so it must suffice to say … Continue reading “A great day for one of our agents”
Do we compete with our brokerage clients?
In a word, “No”. Why? Because we’re not interested in buying the properties our brokerage clients want to buy. Our typical brokerage assignment is to help someone buy: 2-4 units $500k-1MM 20-25% down (so, looking to put out $100-250k in capital) 70-75% LTV mortgage Minimal renovation required Cashflowing (eg priced at 12x GRM or less) The … Continue reading “Do we compete with our brokerage clients?”
How the Adaptive brokerage works
Regular readers know that Adaptive has a small but very active brokerage business. Figured I’d take the time today to explain where it came from and how it works. Back when I was buying and renovating buildings through Better Dwellings, my first real estate vehicle, I started to get frustrated with the way the deals were … Continue reading “How the Adaptive brokerage works”