This year, I embarked on the journey of launching my own real estate investment management firm. The path has been challenging in unexpected ways, shaped by tight cap-to-interest rate spreads, volatile treasury rates and lofty seller expectations. While I have yet to close my first transaction, I’ve made significant strides in building a foundation for long-term success. I remain diligent in sourcing deals and expanding my criteria through research and partnerships, all while remaining disciplined and focused on multifamily investing (i.e. avoiding investment drift). The processes and groundwork I’ve laid are invaluable and will act as a springboard as I continue to grow.

I’ve assembled a diverse network of professionals, created a comprehensive deal sourcing, logging, and analysis process, and completed a variety of business development initiatives. I hope you can gain value from hearing about my journey.

The Building Blocks for a Foundation of Success

Assembling the Right Team and Partner Network

In real estate, having the right team is essential to successful execution. To bring my vision to life, I’ve built relationships with a wide range of professionals who support my goals and growth, while filling my knowledge gaps:

• Legal Counsel: Partnered with legal teams to provide flexibility and expertise:

  • Swindell Law: Local counsel specializing in straightforward transactions at a reasonable cost.

  • Greenberg Traurig: A national firm for complex transactions and disputes.

• Property Management: Developed relationships with top property managers across the state to ensure the best fit for each asset. I maintain connections with over 10 experienced property management executives operating in various regions to ensure capable oversight for any acquired assets.

• Insurance: Collaborated with both local experts and national firms to secure tailored property-level and corporate-level insurance coverage. This approach ensures competitive rates and valuable insights on both local and national scales.

• Construction Management: Arranged five trusted contractors at both regional and local levels to maintain on-time, on-budget projects. This combination allows for cost-effective, smaller-scale projects and more comprehensive value-add strategies.

• Advisors: Benefited from the guidance of seasoned advisors with over 60 years of institutional real estate investing experience, including:

  • Peter Lewis: Founder, President & Chairman of Wharton Equity Partners.

  • Barry Lefkowitz: CEO of Huntington Road Advisors, Co-Founder at HMC Real Estate Services, Board Member of US Postal Realty Trust (NYSE: PSTL), and former CFO of Mack Cali Corp.

• Accounting: Instituted corporate-level budget tracking for working capital. This robust system supports profitability and provides a buffer for unanticipated property-level expenses.

• Engineering: Built partnerships with regional and national engineering firms to thoroughly assess potential acquisitions. By hiring my own engineer rather than relying solely on lender reports, I mitigate risks related to capital expenditure surprises, structural and mechanical issues.

• Brokerage: Expanded my network to include 223 brokerage contacts, 99 of whom I’ve successfully obtained deal flow from. My consistent communication and follow-ups through emails, calls and meetings have established credibility and trust.

• Debt Financing: Strengthened relationships with capital markets professionals who facilitate optimal financing solutions. Key partners include executives at JLL and CBRE, two of the Southeast’s top capital markets teams.

• Peer Investment Professionals: Formed a network of emerging real estate professionals to exchange insights, share successes, and discuss market trends. This collaboration fosters problem-solving, growth, and partnership opportunities.

Creating a Deal Sourcing, Tracking, and Analysis Process

I’ve developed an efficient and effective deal sourcing and information management process. Here is how it works:

1. Initial Broker Outreach: I email brokers on my contact list every 3-4 weeks, reminding them of my criteria and requesting any relevant opportunities.

2. Follow-up: Three days after the initial email, I follow-up with brokers who haven’t responded.

3. Evaluation: I analyze the incoming deals, underwrite promising ones, and provide feedback to brokers.

4. Logging: All deal data is recorded in my CRM, categorized by stage, for performance tracking and market insights.

5. Phone Calls: For brokers who remain unresponsive, I follow-up with calls to maintain engagement. I call owners direct also.

6. Market Visits: I schedule trips to the Carolinas to tour prospective assets, explore new markets, and strengthen broker and manager relationships.

This disciplined approach ensures I see every relevant deal in my target market and stay top of mind with brokers. My frequent visits to the Carolinas set me apart from out-of-state buyers - a fact I’ve confirmed through direct broker feedback.

In 2024, I evaluated 211 opportunities, underwrote 74 deals, submitted 11 offers, and advanced to the final round on 1.

My analysis process leverages a proprietary underwriting model and due diligence checklist informed by my decade of institutional real estate investment experience. This method balances speed and thoroughness, enabling me to:

• Evaluate deals in 2-3 minutes

• Conduct initial underwriting in 1-2 hours

• Dive deeper when warranted

This combination of efficiency and precision is critical for success.

Business Development Initiatives

1. Branding: Created a company logo, brand identity, landing page, corporate pitch deck, and deal-level marketing materials under the Maple Court brand.

2. Content Creation: Engaged on LinkedIn to source deals, attract investors, and share insights. Launched this newsletter to document my journey and provide value.

3. Networking: Established a networking group for real estate entrepreneurs, attended industry conferences, and met regularly with investment professionals.

Lessons Learned

1. Providing value through information builds trust and strengthens relationships.

2. Be memorable by delivering insights that resonate with stakeholders.

3. In tough markets, avoid forcing deals - instead pivot by gaining knowledge, forming partnerships, or refining investment criteria.

4. Creativity in structuring deals and partnerships can lead to unexpected opportunities.

5. Actively listen to feedback from customers, investors and partners - it’s invaluable.

6. Surround yourself with people you trust; if something feels off, it’s not worth pursuing.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Despite economic headwinds, I remain optimistic about 2025. With multifamily loan maturities coming due, a supply cliff on the horizon, rising inflation expectations, more limited short-term rate cuts than previously expected and a 10-year treasury yield that ended 2024 70bps higher than 2023 (2024 4.58% vs 2023 3.88%) it’s uncertain what 2025 will look like for multifamily.

The historically tight spreads between cap rates and treasury yields presents an interesting opportunity for disciplined buyers as every major recovery in values starts with extremely tight spreads.

The current cap rate spreads are most similar to the historic period of the 1980’s. During the Volcker years, the Fed increased rates aggressively, pushing 10-year treasury yields higher. During this time period, the cap rate spread averaged negative 2.8%. While it is counter intuitive to those used to the low interest rate environment of today, multifamily properties appreciated 5.7% year-over-year during this time period, much more than the 4.2% average over the last 100 years. Investors that wanted certainty in the market lost out on high appreciation.

For those prepared to accept tighter cash-on-cash projections, now is the time to target distressed or newer vintage assets below replacement cost.

The lessons I’ve learned, the team I've built, and the processes I’ve refined will guide me as I pursue these opportunities. While I haven’t yet closed my first deal, I’m more committed than ever to delivering strong risk-adjusted returns and creating value for my investors.

Wishing you a prosperous, healthy and rewarding 2025. Let’s connect in the new year to share ideas and explore new opportunities.