I’m Joe Stampone. I work at Atlas Real Estate Partners (‘AREP’), a private real estate investment firm focused on value-add and ground-up multifamily investments. ASotREG is a place where I share my thoughts on real estate, careers, technology, entrepreneurship, passive investing, and anything else that piques my interest.
Want to Thrive in Real Estate? Think Differently
There’s a common sentiment among real estate professionals that as the real estate business becomes more institutionalized and efficient, there will be less quality buying opportunities (mispricings). While the availability of high quality data and a move toward a national MLS will lead to more efficient pricing, there are endless opportunities for creative real estate professionals who think differently and take advantage of disruptions in the business. Here are just a few of the things that I’ve been thinking about lately: Branded Single-Family Rentals The emergence of networks like...
Mascia Development – Applying a Nationwide Real Estate Value Investing Strategy
Real estate professionals don’t get into the business because they want to be lifelong employees, they want to be entrepreneurs. Over the past few months I’ve shared the stories of various real estate entrepreneurs including David Waxman of MM Partners and Brad Johnson of Park Street Partners. David and Brad each carved out a specialized niche where they had competitive advantages. David specialized by location while Brad focused on a specific product type. Today, I want to share the story of Mark Mascia, founder and CEO of Mascia Development. Mark applies his entrepreneurial mindset and...
The Best Way to Learn the Real Estate Business
Over the past few days I’ve met with a number of guys in their mid to late twenties who've been in high-paying finance jobs, but have the desire to transition into the real estate business. The most common question I get from them is how to learn the fundamentals of the real estate business and acquire the skills typically only obtained by on-the-job experience. Answer, crowdfunding. Start by signing up for RealtyShares, RealCrowd, Realty Mogul, Fundrise etc. Crowdfunding sites consist of networks of high-quality sponsors pitching all types of deals to HNW investors. Here's what you can...
MM Partners – Revitalizing Historic Brewerytown
One the great things about the authoring this blog is that it gives me an excuse to reach out to and connect with smart guys who are doing interesting things. One such group is MM Partners. Based in my hometown of Philly, MMP is revitalizing underused spaces in the historic Brewerytown neighborhood. MMP isn't just doing cool deals, they're creating a vibrant neighborhood by emphasizing good design, sustainability, and giving back to the community. I asked principal, David Waxman, to share MMP's story, unique social media strategy, and what he's most excited about today. Enter David: Tells...
Park Street Partners – Finding Opportunity in Unsexy Assets
Last week I published a post about the ideal time to start your own investment firm where I highlighted the importance of having the requisite skill-set, a trusted network, and some sort of a competitive advantage. However, sometimes there are outside influences which can lead you to starting your own firm. Brad Johnson, co-founder of Park Street Partners, shares the story of why he started Park Street and how he chose his unique asset focus: Enter Brad: If you’re currently seeking clarity in your life or career, I have one piece of advice – have a baby. Okay, so that’s probably not the...
When Should You Start Your Own Real Estate Firm
One of the aspects that make real estate such a great career is that it is made up of so many entrepreneurial-minded professionals. Most professionals in the business want to eventually go off and do their own deals. However, the challenge every real estate professional faces is determining when is the right time to go out on their own. While there’s no perfect time, I think there are a few pre-requisites every real estate entrepreneur needs: The technical skills and knowledge needed to run all aspects of a deal from sourcing and acquisition to financing, asset management and disposition....
Working for an Institutional Versus Entrepreneurial Real Estate Shop
In my conversations with undergrads and business school students interested in real estate, the conversation always tends to cover whether to take the institutional route by working for a large organization or the entrepreneurial route by working with a small shop. While my general advice to undergrads is to not worry about where you start, just start, many business school students have their pick of the litter. While there’s no blanket answer, I generally advise that if you can land a role at the institutional firm, take it. At a big institution you learn from the best in the business,...
Efficiently Raising Capital for Private Real Estate Deals
I was at a breakfast round-table discussion with a bunch of bigwig private equity fund managers and the conversation centered largely on the challenges of raising capital. While I don’t know much about the institutional fundraising process, I’m intimately familiar with syndicating real estate deals to a group of HNW investors. It’s an extremely cumbersome and inefficient process that includes countless emails, phone calls, meetings, and administrative tasks eating up time that should be spent focusing on due diligence and cultivating a business plan. Having deep-pocketed investors who...
How Real Estate Firms Can Organically Attract Potential Investors
As a real estate investment firm, the ability to scale and grow your business comes down to a few things; access to good deals, efficiently managing the investor origination and reporting process, and the ability to broaden your investor base. The investor management process can be solved by technology, deal flow is driven by on-the-ground partners, so the real challenge is expanding your investor base. The reality is that people want to invest in people they like and trust and it takes a lot of time and effort to build meaningful relationships with every potential investor. At Atlas,...
The Real Estate Topics We Spend Our Time Thinking About
The past Friday I represented Atlas at the Columbia Business School Real Estate Career Forum. The Columbia Club was packed with blue chip firms. Our table was sandwiched between the behemoths of Blackrock and Clarion Partners, so in an attempt to stand out and engage the students, we created a one-pager with the topics that we spend a lot of time thinking about and a few career-based questions. At Atlas, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the real estate business and using our nimbleness and entrepreneurial approach as a competitive advantage. I think that resonated with many...
What We Learned Over 4 Years of Running Our Own Real Estate Investment Firm
Last week, Atlas Real Estate Partners co-founders, Arvind Chary and Alex Foster spoke to a packed room of Columbia University MSRED and Business School students. I have a slight bias, but I thought it was one of the more engaging real estate talks that I've heard, and based on the sheer number of questions asked and students who hung around afterwards to chat, I think the audience agreed. When I was in grad school I listened to a number of high-profile real estate entrepreneurs speak. They’d discuss their latest mega-project and provide some high-level advice to young real estate...
Opportunity Space: Unlocking the Value of Public Land and Buildings
This is a bit longer than my typical posts, but it's a worthwhile read, trust me. You know that prime piece of property in your neighborhood that for some unknown reason has remained vacant or under-used? Chances are you own it. Well, not you, exactly, but your government. And what if I told you that your government—the largest property owner in the country—might not have any idea that they own it? Unfortunately, this scenario happens far too often. According to a January 11th article in The Economist, “data collection on public property is shockingly poor.” Even if they were aware,...
Real Estate can be a Complicated Business
“Real estate is not an overly complicated business” is a common sentiment I hear. Historically, that was true. Real estate was a business made up of small local players who financed properties through local bank relationships and raised equity from the neighborhood doctor or attorney, but as the business became institutionalized, it’s become increasingly complex. By way of example, my company was just awarded a new deal and I was thinking about all the complexities of the transaction. Winning the Deal: The property was being sold by a public REIT which valued surety of close over getting...
How to Change Careers and Transition into Real Estate
By far one of the most common questions I get is about changing careers and transitioning into real estate. This is no easy task and presents a series of challenges, but I think it can be done if you take the right approach. The Challenge You have an unconventional background and you’re interested in getting into real estate, but you have no experience. In order to get experience, you’re competing for internships and entry-level jobs with recent graduates. Although you’re willing to take a pay cut or even work for free, employers prefer to hire a raw recent grad who they can mold and rise...
The Transfer Station – Co-Working, Co-Retail, Collaboration, and Education All-in-One
When people talk about real estate investment they often discuss things like the basis, deal capitalization, and asset management. However, a major aspect of value creation is about conceptualizing a space that fits the evolving needs of the target end user and culture of an area. In office properties, that means creating a space that will allow a company to run and grow its business, in residential properties it means creating a space that tenants want to live in that enhances their lifestyle. Over the past few years I’ve seen the emergence of a new asset type designed for communities of...
Real Estate is a Local Business
I was at a Tufts real estate event a few weeks back and during an open discussion the prominent speaker was asked: what can young people do to position themselves for success in real estate? His response was fairly generic, but one aspect of his answer stood out to me. He said that young people should think about working in the market where they want to work long-term. I completely agree. As much as real estate has become institutionalized and data more available, a big part of success in real estate is knowing the ins and outs of your local market better than anyone else. Executing...
Real Estate is About Relationships, Period
In the past week I’ve gotten multiple emails from aspiring real estate professionals asking me what advice I'd give them as they get started in their careers. The answer is easy - the best thing you can do is network. I think people often misunderstand the concept of networking; it’s not attending every industry event and collecting as many business cards as possible. It’s about generosity and finding ways to help others. One of my all-time favorite quotes on networking comes from Peter Linneman. He says that in order to build a great network you must “always do the very best you can to...
A Day in my Life at a Boutique Real Estate Investment Firm
I talk to a lot of young real estate professionals who believe they want to work for a small firm. They cite the fact that they want to see all decisions made (good and bad), be involved in every aspect of a deal, and have a material impact on the firm. Getting in early at small companies that are just starting up and are looking to be the next Related Company or Tishman Speyer can be a great way to begin a career in real estate. I work for a group that fits this description, so for everyone who thinks this is what they want, I thought I’d share a day in the life working for a boutique...
10 Telltale Signs that Real Estate Might be the Career for You
I spend a lot of time chatting with college students and young professionals interested in a career in real estate. I always ask what draws them to the real estate business and they often cite their interest in finance, but desire to work within a tangible asset class. While that’s a prerequisite, there are some other telltale signs that real estate might be the career for you. These are traits I've noticed in my friends who are passionate about real estate. Although passion isn’t even the right word, for them real estate is more of an obsession. If you possess any of these, real estate...
An Open Letter to Real Estate Graduate Programs: Here’s the Real Estate Entrepreneurship Class I’d Want to Take
This post was inspired by a class that’s being taught at my Alma mater called Tufts.io. It’s a mentor-driven seminar taught be two Tufts seniors with the goal of equipping students to become entrepreneurs. I love the concept of the course and it got me thinking: What should a real estate entrepreneurship class look like? I spoke with a few friends in the business and here’s what I came up with; Each class should teach a different entrepreneurial skill such as creative-thinking, product development, lean start-ups, fundraising, marketing/market-fit, and building a team. Each class should...