Blog

Every time I start working on putting together a fund, I run into the same problem. Well before I’m actually ready with the docs, I tell a bunch of people that we’re doing a new one. Then, understandably, they follow-up with me to get the docs. And I don’t have them, because they always take … Continue reading “Mea culpa for my big mouth”

As our career progresses, we’re finding ourselves in the interesting position of carrying out multiple negotiations over time with the same investors. Managing this effectively turns out to be very different from your standard one-off negotiation. Why? Because you always need to be thinking about how that specific negotiation impacts the whole relationship. When I negotiate, … Continue reading “Unilateral disarmament”

Am a voracious consumer of business news… find that I learn all kinds of things from following how other businesses operate, make deals, etc. So I was appalled to discover, over the last couple of days, how Yahoo (mis-)handled disclosing being hacking while conducting its sale auction. To catch you up: In 2014, hackers apparently … Continue reading “Shame on Yahoo”

As you know, we’re not keen on selling properties. But, every once in a while, circumstances force our hand. So, we’ve just placed 132 N Alvarado St. on the market for $1,715,000. What is it? Brand new 4plex seconds from Echo Park All units have 10′ ceilings, private outdoor spaces, hard wood floors, all modern conveniences … Continue reading “Brand new 4plex for sale”

Working on the acquisitions side of our business is weird. How weird? Well, we’re in a deal drought of approx. 3 months right now. That’s causing me to tear my hair out. On the other hand, we have offers out on something like $6MM in projects which, if we get them, would almost certainly be … Continue reading “Staying calm through our acquisitions drought”

Adaptive is embarking on an absolute gem of a project and I thought I’d share just a couple of “before” pics with you. Check back here in about a year to get your mind blown.

If you want to work for yourself, you need to own the means of production. What do I mean by this? When my brother and I started our casting technology business, CAZT, we had a pretty great idea. We figured out how to provide something of value to one set of customers for free, in … Continue reading “Why you need to own the means of production”

There’s a simple concept in economics regarding taxation: Tax what you want less of. So, we tax gas, smoking, booze, (increasingly) marijuana, etc. In light of the above, can someone please explain the city council’s decision to tax housing in the middle of what everyone agrees is a massive housing shortage? Too lazy to click? … Continue reading “A ridiculous idea from the city council”

Jon and I have, so far, built a career on building and renovating sub-institutional scale assets. (By this, I mean apartment properties with 4-27 units.) The upside is that the returns are better than anything I think you can achieve in LA with larger multifamily properties. The downside is that we have a ton of … Continue reading “More deals, more complexity”

Spent the long weekend in Jackson, WY at the wedding of one of my best friends from highschool. For the sake of this story, let’s call him “H”. H’s a super-successful dude. He started a hedge fund in his late 20s that did amazingly well, then provided all of the capital for my second through … Continue reading “An appreciation”