A Student of the Real Estate Game (ASotREG)

I've written over 250 articles. Use the search below for any topic having to do with Real Estate and investing.

Try these: passive investing, asset management, real estate

I've written over 250 articles. Use the search below for any topic having to do with Real Estate and investing.

Try these: passive investing, asset management, real estate

Content Discovery: Value Hound – A Community of Real Estate Value Investors

Sep 14, 2013 | Career, Entrepreneurship, Market News, Passive Investing

I’m back from my two week European vacation and I have lots of great content lined up for the next few months. I’ve found that it’s extremely important for me to shut down the engines every once in a while, as challenging as that may be. I always return full of inspiration and enthusiasm.

I like to think that I’m pretty in-tuned to the various sources of real estate news/information that’s available online, however once in a while I discover a source that I didn’t know existed.

A well-respected colleague of mine recently introduced me to ValueHound, a site dedicated exclusively to opportunistic and value minded real estate syndicators.  Don’t let the design fool you, the site is full of great content.

If you’re looking for a little weekend reading, I picked out a few interviews that are worth checking out:

I caught up with the founder, Craig Haskell, and asked him to tell us a little bit more about Value Hound:

What’s the ValueHound Story?

Value Hound Academy is the only resource available dedicated exclusively to opportunistic and value minded real estate syndicators.

With limited educational resources available and lack of community for real estate syndicators executing a value investing investment strategy, the Value Hound Academy was created to empower real estate professionals to change the status quo, learn new ideas and strategies, connect with more like minded people, and find more profitable opportunities within our specialized niche.

Value Hound Academy is a community of real estate professionals – agents, lenders, investors, managers and service providers who want to capitalize on today’s great buying opportunity, syndicating their own deals using a value investing approach.

If you could only share one interview from the site that defines Value Hound, which would it be?

Well, with such a diverse library of syndicators of value real estate, it’s tough to pick one interview that defines the Value Hound Academy.  But, with that said, I would say one of the two interviews with Carlos Vaz best characterizes the Value Hound Academy mission.

Carlos Vaz came to the United States from Brazil when he was 19 years old with only $2,000 in his pocket.  He got a job as a loan broker, went to school and started to invest in single family homes in the Northeastern US for a few short years.

In 2008, he moved to Dallas, Texas to start a real estate apartment syndication business.  When he got to Dallas, he had little money, no contacts, and little multifamily experience.  Within 3 years, he built his real estate company to 4,500 units buying underperforming apartments in the state of Texas.

What excites you most about the real estate business today?

We are sitting on exciting times for syndicators of value real estate. A few short years ago, value investors struggled to find investments that made any economic sense.  Real estate prices were inflated well above replacement cost, and above many standard of reasonableness. Investor herd mentality prevailed as real estate prices climbed to unprecedented heights.

A great credit crisis hit our country in late 2008, causing a severe collapse in both the residential and commercial real estate markets. The real estate market collapse led the economy into a deep recession. The U.S. unemployment rate soared to almost 10%, personal and business bankruptcy’s skyrocketed, real estate construction came to a halt, real estate foreclosures jumped to multi-decade highs, and real estate prices dropped by 50% in some areas of the country.  The big real estate balloon popped, and did it pop!

Just like when real estate prices got too high at the peak in 2008, they now have gone down too low, well below replacement cost in many areas.  The economy is picking back up again, demand for real estate is increasing and the job market is improving.

My friends, this is a perfect set up for syndicators of value real estate.  Prices have fallen to the point that real estate deals pencil and make sense again.  It’s time for syndicators of value real estate to get in the game and be aggressive.

Now is the time to lay our foundation for value creation. Now is the time to pick our spots. Now is the time to build our team of experts.  Now is the time to rummage through the distress in the marketplace and find opportunities.  Now is the time to put on our Value Hound suits and get in the game.

Where do you see Value Hound in 5 years?

In the next 5 years, Value Hound Academy will be a leader in the value investing space for real estate syndicators, providing cutting edge niche specific education, training, and coaching for real estate professionals.

Value Hound will be the leading industry platform for niche specific real estate professionals; pushing the limits to becoming stronger as an industry, enhancing the ways we do things, expanding networking opportunities and building a stronger resource base.

I recommend that you take some time to dig through the interview archives and stay-tuned for my interview coming in the next few months.

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