The single biggest problem that I have in business right now is figuring out how best to allocate my time. Everywhere around me, I see opportunity. Adaptive could grow its property management business. Or bring on a ton of agents and ramp up the brokerage. Or raise a new fund. Or try to bring in … Continue reading “Time allocation”
Category: Building Adaptive
What’s the new neighborhood?
I’m not telling. Last time I had a good idea regarding location, I opened my big fat mouth trying to look cool at some industry functions. My guess is that I created 3-4 competitors for myself just by doing that. So, now, when people ask me which areas I like, I play it a little … Continue reading “What’s the new neighborhood?”
Adaptive Realty, Inc. coming along quite nicely
Regular readers know that Adaptive does a bunch of different things. We run investment funds, do fee-for-service development, manage property, and broker deals. When we started Adaptive, the “brokering deals” part was just me. Now, we have a well-trained team of agents who are helping investors and owner-users do sensible apartment deals in the gentrifying … Continue reading “Adaptive Realty, Inc. coming along quite nicely”
Secretly, the most annoying part of my job
Because we handle investor money, we need to be super-careful about how we move funds around. After all, screwing around with investor money is career-ending for Jon and me. Therefore, I personally approve every single transfer of funds out of our accounts, which are all with Chase. At a big company, this is the kind of … Continue reading “Secretly, the most annoying part of my job”
An interesting book
I’m the kind of dorky dude who reads business books (shocking, I know). Generally, I find them to be really awful… they’re almost always pitched at neophytes or dilettantes, not people actually in the trenches growing a business. That said, just finished one that’s pretty good: Business Brilliant, by Lewis Schiff. The book is an … Continue reading “An interesting book”
Looking for (another) assistant
Jon, my partner, is looking for someone to help him with our construction projects. The job entails sitting in the (new) office (in Echo Park) and dealing with suppliers. For example, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get the window guys to deliver the windows you ordered, rather than some other windows they … Continue reading “Looking for (another) assistant”
Getting to know the brokers
I do a large number of relatively small deals. I do this because that’s the part of the market where there a mis-priced / poorly managed assets that present opportunities for me and my investors to make money. The downside is that I end up doing a lot of deals with brokers I’ve never met. … Continue reading “Getting to know the brokers”
Just missed
I was trying to buy a small office building in East Hollywood. Because it was a former gas station, we were concerned it was contaminated. I spent an enormous amount of time trying to structure a deal that would put the risk on the owner, not me. Eventually, it became clear I couldn’t do it … Continue reading “Just missed”
How we benefit from being local
Adaptive is a weird company, in the sense that we do a ton of deals in very small area (basically, from East Hollywood through Silver Lake, Echo Park, and over into Highland Park). Why do we limit ourselves like this? Surely there are other places where it’s easier to find screwed-up apartment buildings to buy… … Continue reading “How we benefit from being local”
Want to see what we make?
This blog is mainly about the rules and numbers underlying the Los Angeles apartment business. Regular readers know all about the whole process, from identifying deals, through renovating, leasing and management. I’m not going to sugar-coat it: This business can be a real slog sometimes. (All businesses are; no one gives you money for free.) … Continue reading “Want to see what we make?”