Do you ever wonder how, exactly, Adaptive makes money? Figured I’d break it down for you. Today, let’s talk about our investment funds. These are discretionary investment vehicles. That means a group of people with capital to deploy commit a certain amount of money (say, $100-250k) to the entity. Then, we, as managers of the … Continue reading “How a fund manager gets paid”
Category: Building Adaptive
Turning Californian
When I first moved out here, I had literally zero patience for all the trippy New-Agey bullshit floating around out here. Everyone seemed to be on some new cleanse, to visit astrologers, to ascribe powers to crystals, to meditate, etc. As someone who prides himself on being hyper-rational, I was not impressed. But something has … Continue reading “Turning Californian”
An email filter I’d like
Can someone please figure out how I can block solicitations from brokers who want to sell me “turn-key” assets? “Turn-key” is broker-speak for “No value left to add”. Don’t misunderstand: There is a large group of investors for whom turn-key deals make a ton of sense, including everyone who has bought deals from me over the … Continue reading “An email filter I’d like”
Adaptive Realty, Inc. update
During July 2014, we closed four deals totaling a hair over $3.3MM in gross transaction value. Over the 12 months to July 2014, we did 19 deals totaling $15.7MM (not counting off-market deals and stuff we didn’t broker). For the entire life of Adaptive Realty, Inc., going back to 2011, we’re at $35.2MM. Note that the … Continue reading “Adaptive Realty, Inc. update”
The deal size problem
Here’s something true about real estate: It is much easier to find highly profitable small deals than highly profitable large deals. Why is this true? Well, the smaller the deal, the more likely it is that the owner and /or listing broker are inexperienced / inept. Those kinds of decision-makers frequent screw up the management … Continue reading “The deal size problem”
The brokerage is beginning to hit its stride
One of the things I wrestle with is how much time to devote to our brokerage operation. As many of you know, I supervise six agents who help investors buy and sell investment property in gentrifying parts of LA. Compared to our fund management business and our fee-for-service development business, the brokerage is tiny. To … Continue reading “The brokerage is beginning to hit its stride”
Growing Adaptive
When you run a small business, you always have to keep two different things in mind: What you are doing to produce revenue right now; and How to steer the company towards more revenue / higher margins over the long term As many of you know, we’re involved in several different businesses, each with its … Continue reading “Growing Adaptive”
Apologies
We’re absolutely slammed right now with deals, renovation projects, and capital raising. It’s kind of a curse of this blog that some of the most interesting things we do can’t be shared here because they would give away information to our competitors, create competition for deals we want to buy, screw up deals we’re trying … Continue reading “Apologies”
Post-mortem on the Boyle Heights explosion
Have now had time to get a bit more perspective on the controversy we kicked off with our flyer last week. Thought you might appreciate hearing a bit more about how we’ve been affected by all the social media noise. So, in no particular order, here’s a summary: 1. Increased sensitivity. I’m personally much more … Continue reading “Post-mortem on the Boyle Heights explosion”
Elected!
Am delighted to announce my election to the Mid-City Neighborhood Council. Regular readers know how much promise I think exists in our neighborhood, which includes (roughly) the area between Venice and the 10, from Culver City all the way east to Koreatown. Mid-City is incredibly well-located: I’ve personally driven to the heart of Culver City … Continue reading “Elected!”