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    Family Offices: Do Your Due Diligence
    Family Office: Need to Do Due Diligence

    Family Offices: Do Your Due Diligence

    By in Atlanta Real Estate Investment
    7 months ago
    7 months ago 0 0 208

    I recently read the National Real Estate Investor article “Survey Shows Family Offices Falling Short on Due Diligence for CRE Deals.” This article is 100% on point. Investors not familiar with the nuances of private real estate investments do not consider the elevated risks often posed by real estate, which result from its illiquidity, debt, lack of transparency, and reliance on a sponsor. Family-office professional DJ Van Keuren’s questions that family offices should ask during due diligence (modified below from the article) hit the mark. What is the sponsor’s track record? How long has the sponsor been in business? How much of its own money is the sponsor investing in the deal? What are some examples of deals that went south? How did you handle those situations? What is the market demand for this type of property? How many similar projects are in the local development pipeline? Has the sponsor run the numbers

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    Atlanta Office Market: Hot or Not?

    Atlanta Office Market: Hot or Not?

    By in Atlanta Office Market
    7 months ago
    7 months ago 0 0 264

    Think back to the office market in 1985. People were saying, “Nothing can go wrong. People are still coming.” Those same people were soon singing the blues because surprise, surprise, something went wrong. Is Atlanta’s office market as hot as it seems? BizNow’s recent article The Fastest-Growing Office Rents in the U.S. Are in Atlanta touts Atlanta’s office market success, but, in my opinion, fails to give a full picture. I see it more as a tale of two cities—the institutional office market and the local office market. Midtown + Buckhead: Hot Atlanta Office Markets Media likes to focus on the hot markets, like Midtown and Buckhead, and rightfully so, according to these stats: “Rents at premier office spaces in Midtown and Buckhead have risen 14.2% since last year, breaking the $50/SF ceiling for the first time.” Plus, 2.2M SF of new prime office space is underway with “Selig Enterprises

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    In the Development Market Phase of the real estate cycle

    Development Market Phase: How Long Will It Last?

    By in Real Estate Cycle Phases, Real Estate Development, Real Estate Investment Strategies
    9 months ago
    9 months ago 0 0 305

    The business cycle is “long in the tooth,” and the real estate cycle is also very, very mature. Last year, in Timing the Real Estate Cycle, I focused on real estate cycle phases, which included Recession, Distressed Selling, Value Creation (Stage 1 + Stage 2), Mature Investment Market, Development Market and Overdevelopment + Bust. Right now, we are in the Development Market phase. Here’s how I previously described it; see if it rings true. Rents and values are up. Vacancies are down. New construction accelerates. Investors…are flush with cash. Lenders are aggressive. Values of existing properties are peaking. There is simply more capital chasing deals than there are opportunities. The downside risk is increasing. The “nothing can go wrong” mentality is taking over.  New project announcements are appearing almost daily. Development Market Phase: Alive and Well Here’s what I see now: Transaction volume on the sale/investment side of business has

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    Mentoring as an Investment in Our Young People and the Future

    Mentoring: An Investment in the Future

    By in Mentoring
    10 months ago
    10 months ago 0 2 420

    My Dad was tough around the edges, but he was a kind and generous man. Whether it was family, friends, acquaintances or strangers in need, Dad always tried to help them get back on their feet. While I respected him as a businessman, my greatest admiration was due to his willingness to help others. A Legacy of Giving One way I choose to continue my father’s legacy of giving is by mentoring students and early career adults. A few years back, I wrote a series on mentoring. The first blog of the series offered industry professionals mentoring tips. The second blog advised how mentors can help young professionals in the CRE industry. And the final blog examined mentoring benefits. I am a mentoring advocate, whether you participate in a formal program, act informally as an advisor or assist a young colleague. I currently advise ten individuals. Formal Mentoring I participate

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    Crowdfunding Becomes More Popular, But Skeptics Remain

    Crowdfunding: A Viable Option?

    By in Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investment Strategies
    11 months ago
    11 months ago 0 0 384

    National Real Estate Investor recently published an article titled Real Estate Crowdfunding Firms Push Further into the Mainstream, in which the writer argues that although first questioned, crowdfunding continues to gain a base of active sponsors and investors. One sponsor, using the CrowdStreet platform, says “it serves as a consistent, recurring source of equity, as well as a capital source that is accessible for smaller dollar amounts, under $3 million.” Crowdfunding: Who’s in the Crowd? Here’s what I think about crowdfunding: I like to enter a deal with the fewest, financially-qualified partners as possible. Either directly and indirectly having a large number of unknown partners pretty much scares me. I assume this approach works well when the market is good and properties are performing well. But I am always thinking ahead. What happens in a market slowdown, and a property funded by crowdfunding gets into trouble? The results could be very

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    Co-Working In Hotels

    Co-Working in Hotels: Check-In or Check-Out?

    By in Co-working office space, Sharing Economy
    11 months ago
    11 months ago 0 0 368

    Reading the recent “Coworking Checks Into Hotels” article in Commercial Property Executive left me with a few questions. The article discussed hospitality brands contemplating how co-working in hotels “might strengthen community ties and bring in additional revenue,” arguing it’s a logical next step as many lobbies currently serve as de facto office space. Some brands, like Moxy Hotels, Hoxton, Ace and Virgin, already offer co-working at their properties. My question is how can you control access or charge for the co-working space. I assume creating a unique situation for hotel guests or loyalty program members is one option, but I remain skeptical about how the concept would perform as a revenue generator. And based on my recent blogs about WeWork and other co-working and incubator models, like Roam and Atlanta Tech Village, the universe of co-working (with or without the hospitality component) is becoming awfully crowded. How many of these

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    Many Co-Working and Incubator Models Exist

    The Sharing Economy: Co-Working and Incubator Models

    By in Atlanta Real Estate Development, Co-working office space, WeWork
    1 year ago
    1 year ago 0 1 486

    I recently asked the question, Does WeWork Work? And answered the question with a “We’ll see…” But there’s other co-working/incubator models out there worthy of discussion. Co-Working and Incubator Models On a recent panel at GSU’s Views From the Top was a Roam Innovative Workspace representative. Like WeWork, Roam is an alternative office model, but currently boasts only five locations. There are also Incubator tech business models out there. One such model is the Atlanta Tech Village. One model is not necessarily better than the other, but what is certain is they all disrupt the office market. Quick Thoughts on WeWork I dove deep into WeWork previously and questioned how the concept can compete with traditional landlords, REGUS and CBRE’s Hana concept, which can easily adapt to the changing market. Essentially, WeWork acts as a landlord, but offers more flexible leasing options. It is very much a real estate-based model, with

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    CBRE Launches Flex Office Space Initiative to Compete with WeWork

    CBRE’s Hana: A Threat to WeWork?

    By in Co-working office space, WeWork
    1 year ago
    1 year ago 0 1 451

    The Empire Strikes Back The Wall Street Journal’s recent article “CBRE Launches New Co-Working Business, Taking on WeWork” offers proof to points made in my recent blog, “The Sharing Economy: Does WeWork Work?” Here’s what I said: “[WeWork] does not have a monopoly on the concept. Ordinary landlords can easily replicate the model.” And that’s just what CBRE plans to do with its new offering, Hana. Hana’s main offering, Hana Team, offers professional teams (8 – 300+ people) customizable space with desirable amenities. Each Hana facility will also contain Hana Meet, on-demand meeting rooms, and Hana Share, shared desks and coworking space. In Stan’s Opinion There’s no doubt WeWork has changed the office leasing paradigm. But I do doubt the company will survive in the long run. Their concept can be easily replicated, and existing landlords control what happens in their buildings. In addition, companies like Regus have adapted their flex

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    Atlanta Hosts Super Bowl LIII Like A Champ

    Atlanta’s Super Bowl Gets a Gold Star

    By in Atlanta Super Bowl 2019
    1 year ago
    1 year ago 0 0 433

    I had never before been to a Super Bowl. And it wasn’t until I walked through the gates on Feb 3rd that I truly believed I was going to the game. I had planned an evening of whiskey, cheese and football on my couch when offered an out-of-the-blue invite from a friend. But when I learned how he secured his tickets, I was skeptical, but darn if we didn’t go. So Much Happening Anyone who watched the game on TV and thought it was boring was (obviously) just not there—so much happened in the stadium. There were no idle breaks on the field; huge TV screens showed commercials and previews and featured NFL stars and awards. Concerts and pyrotechnics constantly entertained. The Peach Bowl I recently attended was a game. This Super Bowl was an experience. Super Bowl: The Experience The actual game is only part of the entertainment package.

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    Getting Started in Real Estate Investing

    Getting Started in Real Estate Investing: It Ain’t Easy

    By in Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investment Strategies
    1 year ago
    1 year ago 0 0 546

    Knowledge, Network + Money A recent article in The Washington Post offered advice on launching into the world of real estate investing; the author says, “In general…there are three things that every real estate investor needs no matter what: education and knowledge, a good network, and money. But not necessarily your own money.” Stan’s Viewpoint Everything the author says is true except it isn’t that easy. Learning markets, finding good deals, and hooking up with the right professionals and investors takes a lot of time, persistence and patience. Like any startup, the first few deals will likely be less successful due to lack of experience and inability to foresee problems. In addition, these deals will likely require one’s own money or that of close friends and family. New investors are also likely to underestimate the cost of ownership and the amount of time and effort to manage. Very small deals don’t

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      Stan Sonenshine
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