Creating a Real Estate Business Plan

I just listened to a podcast where the CEO of AvalonBay (Benjamin Schall) was discussing their strategies for 2025. Here's what he shared: 1) Sunbelt expansion - Avalon's portfolio is currently 90% coastal and 10% "expansion markets", but they're working to change this to 75/25. - They're going to increase their exposure in the Sunbelt via 3 methods: acquisitions, new development, and their "Developer Funding Program". - They started building in Austin two months ago, and purchased an existing asset there one month ago. - "Developer Funding Program" is where they provide the full capital stack to third-party developers. Avalon buys the land and funds the entire project while still letting the developer participate in the value creation and earn a promote. 2) Coastal Suburbs - They believe their coastal suburban portfolio will capture more rental demand over the next 10 years than it did over the prior 10 years due to aging Millennials. - Due to the large home price appreciation in the coastal markets, it’s now $2,000 to $2,500 more expensive per month to buy a home than to rent. - In the past, 15-17% of tenants leave to buy a home, but that has now dropped to 8-10%. Their customer base is staying longer, which is why retention is higher. 3) Property design - Instead of having distinct leasing office and common area space, they’re now focused on flexible space where their associates are out interacting with existing residents or prospects. - People want quiet amenity space where they can work and take calls, so Avalon is moving away from large communal tables and building 50 SF glass enclosed areas for people to have a space to work. - Building units that are 100 SF larger than they were 4 to 5 years ago. Building space with lofts, dens, etc. for people to have work-from-home space. 4) New technology - Using EliseAI to handle 95% of tenant prospect interactions. - Focused on having a centralized service center. This used to be back office oriented, but now it’s the front of the house as well. 5) Clustering assets - For onsite teams, they’re moving to “neighborhooding” where there’s a team handling four or five assets in a neighborhood. - For future properties that they’ll either build or buy, they’re focused on locations where they already have other assets because they can generate 30 to 40 bps of incremental yield due to the combination of technology, centralization, and neighborhooding. 6) BTR - They announced that they're formally moving in to the BTR space. - Over the next 12-18 months, they're going to buy existing BTR product and fund other developers with their Developer Funding Program so they can learn more about this space before developing on their own. --- If you found this intel helpful, please Like or Repost to share with others in the real estate community. Thank you!

With Interest Rate Cuts Imminent, Where Are Family Offices Looking to Deploy Their Dry Powder in Real Estate? With interest rate cuts on the horizon, Family Offices are strategically positioning themselves to capitalize on new opportunities in the real estate market. Because of patient capital, Family Offices can play the long game. Here’s where they are looking to deploy their dry powder: The ongoing boom in e-commerce has kept demand for logistics and warehousing high. Family Offices are targeting properties in strategic locations near major urban centers and transportation hubs. Lower borrowing costs will make these acquisitions even more attractive, offering solid returns in the long term. The multifamily housing market, particularly in growing urban areas and tech hubs, remains resilient. Family Offices are eyeing value-add opportunities where they can purchase properties that need renovations or improved management. These properties can be acquired at a discount and repositioned for higher rental income, with the added benefit of more affordable financing. As universities continue to attract students back to campus, student housing is seeing strong occupancy rates. Family Offices are looking at properties near expanding campuses and in cities with robust student populations. These investments offer stable returns and can be financed more cheaply with imminent interest rate cuts. The hotel sector, still recovering from the pandemic, offers numerous opportunities for well-capitalized Family Offices. Distressed hotel properties are available at significant discounts. With travel and tourism rebounding, these assets can be renovated and repositioned for future growth. Lower interest rates will facilitate these acquisitions and renovations, enhancing potential returns. Strategies for Success • Focus on Value-Add Investments: Look for properties that require improvements or better management to increase returns. • Strategic Locations: Prioritize investments in urban areas, tech hubs, and near major transportation nodes. • Distressed Assets: Seek out distressed sellers who may be under financial pressure, providing opportunities to buy at below-market prices. • Partnerships and Joint Ventures: Collaborate with experienced operators who have deep sector knowledge to mitigate risks and enhance returns. • Long-Term Perspective: Utilize the inherent advantage of patient capital to weather short-term market fluctuations and capitalize on long-term growth trends. With imminent interest rate cuts, Family Offices can find attractive real estate bargains across various sectors. By focusing on strategic investments and leveraging their long-term perspective, they can uncover opportunities for strong returns and portfolio diversification. Industrial, multifamily, student housing, and hotel properties each offer unique growth potential, making them valuable in today's evolving market.

This method closed me million-dollar real estate deals — without working harder. And I didn’t figure it out on YouTube. I figured it out in the middle of a deal drought. Let me explain. years ago, I started testing a different approach. Instead of cold-calling every owner in sight or chasing brokers for scraps, I shifted my focus to marketing like an owner — not a salesperson. It started small: → Weekly emails that actually told real stories behind the deals → Direct texts — not spam blasts, but thought-provoking, investor-first messages → And more recently, consistent content on platforms like LinkedIn But here’s the catch: I never sold anything in those messages. I educated. I shared the deal math. I shared what I passed on — and why. I shared mistakes I made early on, and what I’d do differently now. I stopped pushing. And started pulling. And then it happened… 📞 A seller texted me back from an old email campaign: “I’ve been getting your stuff. Want to look at a center I’m thinking of selling?” That turned into a $2.7M off-market deal. No broker. No noise. Clean terms. 📩 An investor who’d never responded to me in 6 months replied to a simple insight I texted about cap rates and inflation: “I like how you think. Loop me in on the next one.” He wrote a $1M check 10 days later. 💬 Then LinkedIn started compounding. I’d get DMs from owners, brokers, equity — all saying the same thing: “I don’t see anyone else breaking it down like this.” — Here’s the real play: ➡️ The right kind of marketing is just education with a backbone. ➡️ And the right audience isn’t looking for perfection — they’re looking for clarity. ➡️ When people trust your lens, they trust your deals. I still do outreach. But now… Deals come to me. Equity comes to me. Partnerships come to me. That’s leverage. And it didn’t cost more hustle — just better communication. — Adam Shapiro #RealEstateInvesting #OffMarketDeals #CapitalRaising #EmailMarketing #TextCampaigns #SocialSelling #CommercialRealEstate #LinkedInStrategy

It's 2025. If you're an unproven real estate operator, you're toast. Capital markets are frozen, LPs won't return calls, and your apartment deal won't get funded. Here are the 5 strategies I see that ARE working - when everything else fails: 1. Team up with pros Don't go alone. Find someone who has done this before. New operators who can't raise $5M alone can get $50M+ with the right partner. What each side brings: • Pro partner: Past wins, investor friends, trust • You: Hard work, new deals, fresh ideas 2. Pick weird niches Don't do apartments like everyone else. Go narrow and deep. Focus on things like: • Storage parks • RV parks   • Surf parks When you're the "RV guy," investors call you first. 3. JV with big money Big investors still have cash. They want to work with new people. But you give up control. They put up 80-90% of money. You give them: • Big chunk of the fees • Big decisions Not great, but better than nothing. 4. Stay local Two ways this works: Build: Small, local projects in neighborhoods work best. Even small offices do well when they serve the community. Money: Raise from locals. Tell them you're making their city better. This works when big money says no. 5. Tell good stories Look at Radical Play Concepts. They turn old offices into family clubs in Dallas. It's not just real estate. It's about community and families. Investors don't just look at numbers now. They buy stories. Connect your project to something bigger than money. TAKEAWAY: Real estate fundraising has always been relationship-driven. But in 2025, traditional relationships aren't enough. Most operators are going to fail this year because they're running playbooks that worked in 2021. But if you focus on these five strategies, you might have a shot. I just have one question for YOU LinkedIn... What fundraising strategies are you seeing work in today's market?

Driving the Clown Car: Mistakes I made as a beginning Real Estate GP ('09-'12): 1. Creating a no-fee structure. Our sole LP thought he was aligning incentives. Having no $$ coming in put me under insane financial pressure, leading to a bunch of sub-optimal decisions. 2. Not always using construction permits. Got talked into this by a GC. Resulted in a ton of unnecessary fights with the city, liability, and loss of sleep. Never again. 3. Paying cash for services. Talked into this by that same GC. Created all kinds of headaches when it came to banking, taxes & accounting. Again, never again. 4. Not having air-tight accounting. We grew really fast, without strong accounting controls. Created a huge mess that cost an insane amount of money & time to untangle. Undermined our credibility with our single LP. 5. Sticking with one LP. Love the guy to this day, but it's dumb to base your whole business on one LP... if he decides he wants out and you haven't developed the necessary fund-raising skills / network to replace him, you're screwed. We certainly were. 6. Getting in business with family. Love my brother, but we're too close in age and too competitive with each other to be in business together. Still remember a neighbor in our original office complex yelling at us to stop yelling at each other. 7. Not having a clear decision-making hierarchy. See above. The docs we created made us both Managers of the umbrella LLC, with equal power. This meant that disagreements festered, because no one had final authority. 8. Picking a name without doing enough research. We were "Better Dwellings"... there was a well-established flipping co called "Better Shelter". Spent like 3 yrs telling people "no, we're the other 'better' guys." 9. Being slow to fire. We had pretty mediocre employees in two of three positions. I was afraid to fire them (for different reasons), and they chewed up enormous $$ without adding commensurate value. (Fortunately, the 3rd employee was spectacular - he's my partner at Adaptive.) 10. Giving our LP liquidation right. Even with all of the above, if we had just refinanced our portfolio in 2012 & held on, we would have made a fortune over the next 5-6 yrs. Instead, we sold, made a decent pre-tax profit, and watched helplessly as the value of those assets exploded.

I just spent 3 days uncovering trends by analyzing CRE transactions. Here’s what I found 👇🏾 Reflecting on the past few years in commercial real estate, it’s clear that transaction volumes have mirrored the shifting economic landscape. After a steep decline in 2023, we saw a slight rebound in 2024, with volumes reaching $392 billion—an 8% increase. Why does this matter? Because it signals a market that’s finding its footing again. As brokers, it’s our responsibility to not just track the numbers, but understand the story behind them. Several factors are setting the stage for a stronger 2025: - Debt Maturities: Around $600 billion in CRE loans will mature in 2025, pushing many owners to refinance, sell, or restructure. - Easing Interest Rates: Expected cuts will lower borrowing costs, making deals more financially feasible. - Pent-Up Demand: After two years of caution, investors are ready to re-engage, driven by stabilizing fundamentals and better financing options. 2025 could see a continued recovery, with projected volumes reaching $425 billion. Now is the time to position ourselves and our clients to capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead. What are your thoughts on how 2025 will unfold? Drop your insights below! #CommercialRealEstate #CRE #MarketOutlook #Investment #2025Trends

From my experience, a common mistake real estate investors make is not doing enough research before jumping straight into a deal; sometimes, they simply forget to ask ALL of the right questions. Here’s my framework to make sure you have all the bases covered. I’m happy to share my editable deal analysis checklist – shoot me an email at lilian@accentir.com. - 1. Market - Supply: Current inventory and new developments entering the market. - Demand: Drivers of demand, such as population growth and business activity. - Context: External factors like adjacent markets, news, or events influencing the market. 2. Financials - Initial Investment: Development costs, acquisition costs, and capital expenditures. - Operations: Projected revenue (rental income and other streams) and operating expenses. - Financing: Debt structure, equity contributions, and cost of capital. 3. Strategy & Risk Management - Execution Plan: Timeline, milestones, and key actions to achieve the business plan. - Risk Analysis: Identification and mitigation of potential risks (e.g., leasing risks, market shifts). - Exit Strategy: Long-term goals and options for exiting the investment, such as refinancing or selling.

How to Leverage City-Data.com for Smarter Real Estate Investing In today’s data-driven world, making informed decisions is key to real estate investing success. One often overlooked but incredibly powerful tool in your arsenal is City-Data.com. Here’s how City-Data.com can elevate your investment strategy and an example to show its impact: What is City-Data.com? City-Data.com aggregates public data to provide detailed information about neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the United States. The platform offers insights into: • Demographics (age, income levels, education, population density) • Crime rates • School rankings • Home values and trends • Commuting patterns • Amenities and attractions nearby Why Use City-Data.com for Real Estate Investing? 1. Neighborhood Insights: Understand the character and livability of an area. This is crucial for deciding whether a location matches your target market (e.g., families, professionals, students). 2. Risk Assessment: Analyze crime rates and other data to ensure the property is in a safe, desirable area. 3. Market Trends: Spot opportunities by examining home value trends and economic data. 4. Tenant Attraction: Use demographics to identify what type of tenants you might attract in a specific neighborhood. Real-Life Example: Using City-Data.com to Evaluate a Potential Investment Let’s say you’re considering a duplex in Nashville, Tennessee. 1. Crime Rates: City-Data.com reveals crime rates are significantly lower in a specific ZIP code compared to the city average. This signals safety for potential renters. 2. Demographics: The area shows a high percentage of young professionals (ages 25-34), with an average household income above $75K. 3. Commuting Patterns: Many residents commute downtown in under 20 minutes, indicating demand for rental properties catering to professionals. 4. School Rankings: If your target renters are families, you’ll find data on local schools to assess whether the area appeals to this demographic. 5. Home Value Trends: City-Data.com shows consistent year-over-year growth in home values, signaling potential appreciation. With these insights, you confidently purchase the duplex, market it to young professionals, and enjoy steady occupancy rates while watching the property appreciate. The Bottom Line City-Data.com is a treasure trove for real estate investors. It empowers you to back decisions with data, reducing risk and maximizing ROI. Whether you're investing in a single-family home or a multifamily property, this tool can help you uncover hidden opportunities and avoid costly mistakes. Have you used City-Data.com in your real estate journey? Share your experiences or strategies below! 👇 #RealEstateInvesting #DataDrivenDecisions #CityData #InvestmentStrategy #PropertyAnalysis

The biggest mistake in real estate investing? Ignoring the risks. Every investment comes with risks—real estate is no exception. But when approached thoughtfully, real estate can balance your portfolio, provide passive income, and build wealth over time. Let’s break down some of the more common risks in real estate investing and how you can mitigate them: 1. Market Risk Risk: A downturn in the real estate market could impact property values and returns. Mitigation for Passive Investors: Diversify your portfolio: Invest across various markets to reduce reliance on one location. 2. Sponsor or Operator Risk Risk: The sponsor or operator may lack experience or mismanage the property. Mitigation for Passive Investors: Vet the sponsor thoroughly: Check their track record, reputation, and experience managing similar properties. 3. Property-Specific Risks Risk: Vacancies, unexpected maintenance, or a poorly performing asset can impact returns. Mitigation for Passive Investors: Review the business plan: Ensure the sponsor has a clear strategy to manage and improve the property, including contingency plans. 4. Illiquidity Risk Risk: Syndications often have long holding periods, making it difficult to exit early. Mitigation for Passive Investors: Align with your goals: Only invest capital you won’t need for the duration of the holding period (typically 3-10 years). 5. Economic and Interest Rate Risks Risk: Rising interest rates or economic shifts can impact property performance and debt costs. Mitigation for Passive Investors: Look for fixed-rate financing: Sponsors should use fixed-rate debt to avoid sudden cost increases. Why Passive Real Estate Investing Still Works? Passive investing in syndications offers something that stocks and other investments often cannot: ✅ Tangible, income-producing assets ✅ Potential for long-term appreciation ✅ Tax advantages that improve overall returns When done thoughtfully, syndications can reduce many risks of active real estate investing while providing reliable returns. Remember, all investments come with risks, but with the right approach, real estate can play a pivotal role in helping you achieve financial freedom. Want to learn more about how syndications can balance your portfolio? Let’s connect! Together, we can explore opportunities to invest with confidence and build wealth while managing risks strategically. #PowerOfPassiveRealEstateInvesting #YourLegacyOnMainStreet #BuildingWealth