Hello Fella investors! I'm Frank developer from LA. Here's Our story
When we started, we didn't just want to build apartments; we wanted to solve the "LA housing puzzle." If you’ve spent any time in Los Angeles, you know the drill—finding a place that is actually high-quality, community-oriented, and AFFORDABLE feels almost impossible.
We decided on the co-living model, starting right in our backyard near USC. Also where i went for grad school. It began with a few units and a simple goal: create a space where students and young professionals actually wanted to live, and make it affordable.
Fast forward to today, and own over 1,200 rooms across the city. We’ve stayed hands-on the entire time, handling everything from the first shovel in the ground to property management. There are many ups and downs, lessons learned along the way to share.
I have deep knowledge regarding entitlement process, construction and management in LA CITY and surrounding. Zero experiences out of state.
Are all of your units built new for your own intended use? yes
How do you manage resident conflicts and ensure you don't put a psycho into a shared space? good background check
Were there issues with odd city rules about the type of housing you are providing, in terms of too many non related in the same unit? some city don't allow it. need read zoning code
Can you expand in the required zoning type required? low density multifamily
Is there any way you could dm me a website for one of your properties - I keep it private.
Investor · Statewide, MO · Member since 2011 · 815 posts · 425 votes
8mo
Thanks for the original response.
Do you have a max age limit? I would imagine this model appeals to a younger group of people - but is there an age at which individuals don't interact / get along well.
What are some of the day to day challenges of running the operation that an outsider might overlook?
Financial Advisor · FL · Member since 2024 · 446 posts · 102 votes
8mo
Frank, appreciate you sharing this - 1,200+ rooms in LA with a fully integrated model is no small feat, especially given the entitlement and zoning complexity there.
What stands out to me is that you stayed hands-on end-to-end - entitlement, build, and ops. Most people underestimate how operationally intensive co-living really is, and assume it’s just “more rent per square foot.” In reality, it’s a management business layered on top of real estate.
Two things I’m genuinely curious about from a risk and durability standpoint:
1. How do you think about exit liquidity?
Do you underwrite these as long-term holds only, or do you see an institutional buyer pool emerging that truly understands co-living operations - not just the cap rate?
2. From a financing perspective, have lenders evolved with you, or did you have to educate them deal by deal? In our world, we often see strong operating models struggle to fit into traditional underwriting boxes.
Respect for building something that actually solves a local housing problem rather than forcing a template that doesn’t fit LA.
Feel free to reach out if you need any help - happy to connect and support you on your REI journey.
from your questions I can tell you are a very experienced investor.
Florida is a phenomenal market. a guy I look up to tremendously operate there he has a YouTube channel name Ben Mallah.
you're absolutely correct regarding the challenges facing co-living operator. This is a unique solution to a market of which Rent has become so unaffordable to many young people. We are serving a niche market very well.
The market is super tough right now because of the high interest rate, but we are in escrow to sell three of our buildings, even though it's not the top dollar we're hoping for, but we come out OK.
We believe as interest rate improve we will have better exit. We have no pressure to sell since all of our property have a strong cash flow after debt services and expenses.
if we have the option we will choose we will not self manage our properties. But then we will experience higher vacancy rate or significantly higher operating expenses, both of which negatively impact our bottom line. we make no profit from property management, simply to minimize expenses to maximize NOI.
Hard money Lender Wise we have a over $40 million credit with Genesis capital they seem to be pretty cool with what we are doing given our extensive track record. there's also a few smaller lenders as well.
refinancing not every lender will take this type of property. The bigger banks preferred the more traditional multifamily type.
I think the biggest challenges were behind and better days are ahead.
Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 5 posts · 2 votes
6mo
Great to see someone scaling co-living in LA at this level — very impressive.
I’ve been working on smaller value-add projects in LA, mainly focusing on restructuring residential properties to improve cash flow rather than relying on appreciation.
Co-living is something I’ve been seriously looking into, especially how it compares to traditional multi-family in terms of income optimization vs operational complexity.
Curious — from your experi
Would love to exchange insights if you’re open to it.