“Building Amenities that... Pay?”

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“Building Amenities that... Pay?”

It’s a multifamily developer’s dream -- A retail operator that juices the bottom line and simultaneously offers a service that residents actually want (and might even pay for)...

Look around in most cities and you’ll see beautiful new apartment buildings standing on newly built -- yet vacant -- retail spaces. These spaces are typically raw shells with ugly signage, and occasionally alluring lifestyle imagery to show what could be… someday. Or maybe never.

With ghost kitchens and deliveries of damn near anything at the touch of a button, not to mention Amazon’s earthly takeover, ground floor retail has seen better days.

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"Studio Living Reimagined"

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"Studio Living Reimagined"

This month we're excited to feature a product that we're incorporating into our own development project in Fort Worth! ORI Living is a provider of multi-functional, robotic powered living systems designed to maximize the potential of usable space and we're equipping the majority of our 54 units with their most popular device, 'Studio Suite'. The idea is that our tenants will be able to move in and move out with just a few suitcases and little to no furniture thanks to movable walls that unlock valuable square footage in (very) tight quarters.

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"Finally, A Profitable Way to Fill Up Your Backyard!"

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"Finally, A Profitable Way to Fill Up Your Backyard!"

It’s widely understood that there's a scarcity of modest and affordable housing in pretty much every major city in California. Factors such as expensive land, labor shortages, high construction costs, and difficulty in obtaining permits have resulted in a situation where only sky-high rents and home prices can offset the cost of doing business. With those considerations in mind, California lawmakers recently started to ease restrictions on alternative housing options to help relieve some pressure on the State’s rapidly declining middle class. And one such option, commonly referred to as ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units), have experienced a surge in popularity as homeowners look for creative ways to generate additional income right from their own backyards.

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“Capital Flooding Built-For-Rent (BFR)”

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“Capital Flooding Built-For-Rent (BFR)”

Anyone who has been paying attention to the commercial real estate investment world recently has likely taken notice of the tremendous popularity of the built-for-rent (BFR) sector. As an early investor in the space, we receive many calls and messages from individuals who are trying to better understand what’s going on...

The past 6 months alone has seen a dizzying sequence of announcements from major home builders, investment managers, and publicly traded companies announcing ambitious plans to invest heavily into the single-family rental (SFR) industry.

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"The Rise of the Home Office"

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"The Rise of the Home Office"

Back in May, Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey surprised many when he sent a company-wide e-mailing stating that employees could work from home "forever." Dorsey cited Twitter's focus on decentralization and its need to support a workforce capable of working from anywhere given the circumstances brought forth by COVID-19.

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“Changes at the S.E.C. in ‘Accredited Investor’ Status”

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“Changes at the S.E.C. in ‘Accredited Investor’ Status”

Maybe you missed the announcement from the Securities & Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) last week regarding its plan to modify the formal (and clearly outdated) definition of an "Accredited Investor" (Press Release HERE). We just wanted to briefly highlight the details, why the sudden change, and what it means for private real estate investors.

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“Public REITs VS Private Real Estate Investing”

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“Public REITs VS Private Real Estate Investing”

We sometimes get questions comparing our development projects to publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs):  Why would I invest in private real estate if I already own REITs in my 401k?  Is the REIT market a leading indicator for private real estate values?  What should I consider when balancing my real estate exposure?

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“Behind the Numbers of America's Largest Landlords”

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“Behind the Numbers of America's Largest Landlords”

Wall Street's wager on high earning suburban renters is in full view as major industry players are choosing to double down on their SFR investments despite the pandemic.  One publicly traded REIT, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH), recently announced that a $225 million deal that it made with J.P. Morgan Asset Management in February to build rental houses was increasing to $650 million!  How did this happen while nearly every major real estate company in the country had a moratorium on new deals?

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“Single Family Rental Communities in a Recession”

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“Single Family Rental Communities in a Recession”

If you are anything like us, you are probably confined to your home seeing constant headlines about COVID-19 and its effects on literally everything. Unemployment is rapidly rising. The stock market is volatile. Travel has stalled. Nobody knows when this is going to end. Maybe this summer, maybe next year.

As real estate investors, that means that we have to explore scenarios to see how our favorite real estate sector - single-family rentals (SFR) - will fare in this market environment. There’s a lot of factors at play, so by no means is this an article on what to do or what will likely happen. The purpose of this piece is mainly to touch upon what a SFR is and how the asset class might perform during a prolonged recessionary environment.

To start, let’s talk about what a SFR is.

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