Attended a Princeton alumni event last night and got into an interesting conversation with a guy who is considering investing in a syndicated multifamily deal in Arizona. He asked me my thoughts. Here’s what I told him: Focus on the operator, not the deal. Why? First, there’s no way an amateur is going to come to … Continue reading “Should I invest in this deal?”
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Re-thinking for sale development
Had drinks with a friend who is an architect / developer last night. We got to talking about a big piece of land he owns in Echo Park. He is currently planning to develop it as a small lot subdivision and sell off the resulting homes. I told him this may be a mistake, and … Continue reading “Re-thinking for sale development”
132 N Alvarado is done
Just completed this 4plex on Alvarado just south of Echo Park. This one is near to our hearts, because it’s the first building Jon and I ever built from the ground up. The units are 3 bed / 1 bath and have two parking spaces each. The downstairs ones are particularly cool; they have huge … Continue reading “132 N Alvarado is done”
My problem with WeWork
Have been doing some thinking about WeWork’s business model and I’m not impressed. In case you haven’t run into WeWork, it’s kind of the prototypical co-working company. They develop and manage nice, shared office spaces that individuals and small companies can rent on a week-to-week basis. The reason WeWork exists is that there is a mismatch between … Continue reading “My problem with WeWork”
Mixed feelings about a house for my folks
Am inspecting a house for my parents today in Silver Lake. It’s a very odd feeling to see them paying $1MM for a house which they could easily have bought for $700-800k just a few years ago. Obviously, my deal-doer alarms are ringing, particularly because this is a single family house where, if they rented it … Continue reading “Mixed feelings about a house for my folks”
Regulatory insanity
Sometimes people wonder why rent is so high in Los Angeles. Here’s a perfect example. We’re adding four units to a duplex we bought in Highland Park. Because LA has decided to go down the path of “low impact development”, this is what we’re confronted with (again, on a six unit project!): “First they have … Continue reading “Regulatory insanity”
When liquidity dries up for supposedly liquid funds
When people invest with us, I always warn them not to expect their money back at any particular time. Why? Because real estate is a fundamentally illiquid asset (eg it takes a long time to sell). As long as you’re not a forced seller, you’l probably do very well… but you can get killed if … Continue reading “When liquidity dries up for supposedly liquid funds”
A short appreciation of America
The day after July 4th, want to take the opportunity to express my appreciation for this country. I was born here. But many in my family were not. In fact, a whole bunch of my family members had the misfortune of being born Jews in Eastern Europe in the early 20th Century. Most of them … Continue reading “A short appreciation of America”
A nice win for Adaptive Realty Fund 3
Just completed the refinancing of the first of two properties in Adaptive Realty Fund 3, a pool of $2.41MM we raised approximately 18 months ago. We were all in on this building for ~$2.3MM, of which $800k was a bridge loan and the rest was cash. Because we’re good at what we do, the property … Continue reading “A nice win for Adaptive Realty Fund 3”
Why I won’t use Lawyer’s Title again
When you’re in a commodity business like supplying title insurance in Los Angeles, you have a strong incentive to provide really great customer service, because, otherwise, how can you distinguish your company from all the other companies providing exactly the same coverage at pretty much the same price? So it’s been pretty frustrating this morning … Continue reading “Why I won’t use Lawyer’s Title again”