Have been doing some thinking about how, exactly, to explain how Adaptive helps clients deploy capital in the multifamily space. Regular readers know we do bunch of different things, including: Managing real estate investments (via discretionary funds and one-off projects) Fee-for-service development (where we get paid cash to help investors buy and rehab their own properties) … Continue reading “Describing what we do”
Category: Brokerage
Why I talk myself out of commissions
Recently, have found myself telling a lot of people not to buy real estate. Weird, right? It’s not that I don’t think people should own apartment buildings. They absolutely should, for a whole host of reasons. But the market is pretty hot right now and it’s easy to make a bad deal. I don’t worry about … Continue reading “Why I talk myself out of commissions”
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…”
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”
How we value apartment buildings (part 2)
In my last post, I talked about how our approach to valuing apartment buildings derives from my experience as an investment banker trying to value media and technology companies. Simply put: When you’re trying to get a sense for the value of an asset in an illiquid market, you want to use all of the … Continue reading “How we value apartment buildings (part 2)”
How Adaptive thinks about valuing apartment buildings
The first time someone asked me to come in to talk to them about listing their property for sale, I was pretty unsure about how to handle the meeting. Of course, I had my own ideas about the value of the property. But I was also concerned about the possibility of losing the assignment by … Continue reading “How Adaptive thinks about valuing apartment buildings”
When might you sell?
On the one hand, the answer is absolutely “never”. I’ve sold approx. 15 buildings I’ve renovated since 2012 and I regret selling nearly all of them. Why? Because when you own a renovated apartment building with high quality tenants in an improving area, you can expect continued rent, and therefore value, increases over time. Add to … Continue reading “When might you sell?”
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”
How I assign agents
When someone comes to me for help buying an apartment building, the first thing that happens is we have a phone conversation. During the talk, I give an overview of our process, then spend a bunch of time asking questions of the potential client, including: how much capital she has to deploy, what size deal … Continue reading “How I assign agents”