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.
It’s Better in the Crest
Growing up, I spent every summer on the Jersey Shore. My parents have a house on Sunset Lake in Wildwood Crest, the last exit off the Parkway before hitting Cape May. I’d spend my weekends between baseball and soccer games, ‘down the shore’, fishing, boating, doing water sports, biking the boardwalk, hanging on the beach, and going out for ice cream. Each evening we’d gather for a family dinner and witness the most beautiful sunset, watching as the colors of the sky changed from a bright yellow/orange to deep reds and purples. As a kid there was nowhere else on earth I’d rather be...
What I Look for When Hiring a Real Estate Acquisitions Analyst
As the real estate business has become more institutionalized, the competition for roles at top-tier firms has intensified. Individuals graduating from prestigious business schools, ex-investment bankers, and real estate professionals are vying for a small number of coveted roles. A good friend of mine, who works for a real estate investment management firm, was tasked with hiring an acquisitions analyst. He offered to share his perspective from the hiring side of the table, walking through how he narrowed down the applicant pool, what he looked for in a candidate, and how you can...
Note to Real Estate Crowdfunding Investors: The Impact of Fees & Structure on Investor Returns
The biggest determinants of success in a real estate deal is the quality of the operator and market timing. The quality of the operator dictates deal-sourcing and structuring ability (relationships), analysis (experience and market knowledge), and execution (more experience) whereas market timing is predicated largely on luck. Investor’s, especially those with no real estate expertise, should pick opportunities based on the quality of the sponsor, taking into account track record, financial strength, performance across cycles, and expertise within a specific submarket and asset class....
Want to Invest in Real Estate? Don’t Buy a Property, Invest Passively
I was talking with a potential investor from the Bay Area the other day. He has $1M to invest and is looking to create a tax-efficient diversified passive-income portfolio. He’s deciding between investing with experienced operators as an LP and purchasing a small multifamily asset in San Francisco that he would own and manage directly. In my opinion, the best approach to owning investment real estate is simple; invest capital across a diversified set of cash-flowing deals (or funds) with best-in-class operators, collecting checks each quarter, while seasoned professionals oversee the...
Note to Real Estate Crowdfunding Investors: The Importance of Risk-Adjusted Returns
I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day who owns/operates retail assets in secondary markets on the west coast. He was telling me about the mis-pricing he’s seeing in core-plus real estate deals in secondary markets driven by the lack of capital targeting the space. While there are a few core-plus funds out there, they’re typically operated by institutional players who focus on primary markets, aim to write large equity checks, and have a low cost of capital. There are very few firms who can write $5M-$10M equity checks for core-plus deals in secondary markets. The challenge is...
How to Make the Most of Your Summer MBA Real Estate Internship
I was at the Columbia Business School real estate career fair a few months back and the program director mentioned the CBS real estate club was larger than ever. Real estate has become a popular career choice amongst top MBA students as the market has performed well and the business has become more institutionalized. MBA programs can be a great way to transition into the real estate business, allowing smart young professionals to engage in the real estate business in an academic setting and in the real-world through a summer internship. The summer internship is a critical time for an MBA....
You’re Not Ready to do Your Own Deals
I recently turned 30 and have been working for Atlas for over 5 years now, which feels like a long time, but is nothing in the grand scheme of an entire career that could last 60+ years. We’re under contract on our 40th deal and at this point I have the core ingredients to do my own deals; the skill-set needed to execute all aspects of a deal, a network of investors, lenders, and brokers, and the grit to succeed as an entrepreneur, but I’m not ready to do my own deals. Most young real estate professionals want to do their own deals, but greatly underestimate the difficulty and risks of...
How Fairway America is Disrupting the Small Balance Real Estate Space
The most profound change to real estate over the past several decades is the institutionalization of the business, especially as it relates to finance. Real estate has become a Wall Street business. However, the sub-institutional space (sub-$10mm deals generally speaking) remains largely a localized business driven by personal relationships. This fragmented market provides outsized opportunities for operators who have an advantage in information/analysis and investors who have access to these direct investments through personal relationships. Real estate crowdfunding has opened up a few...
Real Estate Crowdfunding Opportunities for Investors Explained
Real estate crowdfunding provides investors with access to private real estate deals previously only available through personal relationships. This is game-changing for investors. However, it remains challenging for investors to understand which platforms and deals are the right fit for them based on their investment objectives. We’ve seen continued evolution with platforms like PeerStreet offering auto-investing and Acquire Real Estate taking a strict focus on institutional-quality deals and investing alongside the crowd. These platforms simplify the investing...
PeerStreet – Wealthfront meets E*Trade for Real Estate Investing
While real estate crowdfunding is still in its infancy, we're beginning to see new entrants introducing innovative models to the space. The biggest challenge early on has been the fact that investors typically don't have the expertise to analyze deals and assess risk, while understanding the legal and tax implications of direct equity real estate investment. Many platforms have shifted to investing in debt, which provides a higher level of safety, fixed return, and scalability. One of the platforms I'm most excited about is PeerStreet, best described as Wealthfront meets E*Trade for real...
How Professor Roger Staiger Teaches Real Estate Financial Modeling
For students and young professionals just getting started in the business, learning to model real estate transactions in Excel is the single best way to differentiate yourself from the competition to land that job or stand out within your company and get promoted.
Today, I literally have the guy who wrote the book on modeling real estate deals in Excel. Roger Staiger, author of Foundations of Real Estate Modeling shares insights into his book, characteristics of good financial modelers, and his best advice for learning real estate financial modeling.
10 Things To Do Before Doing Your First Deal
This is a re-post of a guest blog I did for Joanthan Twombly's, The Mortar blog. I wanted to share it with you directly as I think there's a lot of good food for thought in here for aspiring real estate entrepreneurs. If you haven't read the Mortar, I highly recommend it. I spend a lot of time talking with real estate entrepreneurs who have successfully closed a few deals and built their company infrastructure. While they knew it would be difficult, they’re always surprised by what it takes to build a company. The ability to source, underwrite, and execute real estate transactions is a...
A Day in the Life at a Boutique Real Estate Development Firm
Over 2 years ago I published a post outlining a typical day for me at Atlas. Re-reading the post, it's amazing how little has changed. Yeah we're doing larger deals and my daily responsibilities have broadened, but every day is still filled with calls, meetings, and a million little projects. I enjoy the fact that each day is different and I have the flexibility to run with my own projects. It provides the opportunity to make a significant impact on the success of the firm and be involved in all aspects of a transaction. I love it! The small firm environment is definitely not for...
Trion Properties: How an ex-Investment Sales Broker Built a $100M Portfolio
I recently published an eBook detailing what 20 real estate operators wish they knew when starting their firms, which is chalk-full of great tips for aspiring real estate entrepreneurs. One of the contributors was Max Sharkansky of Trion Properties, an owner/operator based out of LA. I met up with Max a few weeks back in NYC and was incredibly impressed with his approach to investing, the company culture he's created at Trion, and the portfolio he's built since starting the firm in 2005. I was inspired by Max and wanted to share the Trion story, some of the toughest challenges he’s faced,...
Pura Vida: Reflections from my Costa Rican Honeymoon
Pura vida! It's a phrase you hear everywhere in Costa Rica. How are you doing? "Pura vida." Thank you very much. "Pura vida." See you tomorrow. "Pure vida." In English, the translation is "pure life", however these two words have much more meaning throughout Costa Rican culture which I've come to appreciate over the past 8 days. It means that no matter how bad off things seem, someone else has it worse and life is short so start living it "Pura vida style". While I've only been here a short while, I've come to appreciate and embrace their way of life. As I write this, I'm sitting in a...
5 Things I learned in 2015 and 5 Goals for 2016
Happy New Year, everybody! I recently re-read my post from the end of 2015, 5 things I learned from the blog in 2014 and 5 goals for 2015. It feels like just yesterday that I wrote that post, but when I look back, I’m amazed by how much I got done this past year. 2015 was an exciting year. Here are a few of the highlights: I completed a site redesign which has completely changed the course of the blog, and enables me to provide a more tailored experience for readers. I wrote 36 posts, with the following topic break-down: Start a Career in CRE – 10 Start a CRE...
What 20 Real Estate Operators Wish They Knew When Starting Their Firm – eBook DOWNLOAD
Those of you who follow the blog closely may have noticed a subtle, yet substantial change I recently made. I've segregated the content into 3 core buckets; Starting you CRE Career, Starting your own CRE Firm, and Investing Passively in CRE. I'm creating custom lead magnets and separate email lists for each segment which will allow me to provide a more tailored experience for each visitor. Now on to the post. Real estate is an entrepreneurial business where almost everyone aspires to do their own deals. However, starting your own firm is incredibly challenging. When starting a real estate...
Stage 3 Properties – Redefining Cosmopolitan Living for Urban Renters
I spend a lot of time showcasing real estate investment firms who have found success investing across the major food groups; multifamily, office, retail, and industrial. The entrepreneur’s career paths are in no way linear, but they often work with a best-in-class institutional real estate firm prior to venturing off on their own. Their investment strategy and execution is sound, but often not innovative. However, that’s not the only path to entrepreneurial success. Real estate is a business that rewards creativity, and professionals who come from more forward-thinking fields, and enter...
Wall Street Lawyer Turned Real Estate Investor Finds Success in Multifamily Investing
I first met Jonathan Twombly at the Harvard Club in Midtown NYC. Over lunch Jonathan shared his career story, describing how he transitioned from Wall Street attorney to real estate entrepreneur. With no traditional real estate training, Jonathan has been able to acquire his first few deals and build a nice platform in just a few years. As a full-time real estate professional, I have an appreciation for how complex real estate can be and how challenging it is to do your first deal. I was inspired by his story and invited Jonathan to share it with you first-hand. Enter Jonathan: Who is...
8 Challenges of Starting a Real Estate Investment Firm in Today’s Hot Market
Real estate is an entrepreneurial business where almost everyone aspires to do their own deals. That’s part of what makes it so interesting. There are a lot of really smart professionals out there eager to do their own deals, however starting your own firm is incredibly challenging. I recently spoke with a group that spent the last 24 months chasing deals with no success. They’re back in the market looking for a job. At Atlas, we did our first deal in 2010 and we made plenty of mistakes. However, in hindsight, we were bailed out by an improving real estate market and we were able to...