Emerging Real Estate Opportunities in the COVID Pandemic

[Nick Gray]

I am real estate investor/agent from New Hampshire who, like everyone else, is looking for answers on how best to adapt to the current coronavirus outbreak. With 22 apartments of my own and no dependents, I have enough scheduled passive income to survive a downturn in the brokerage industry if, and this is a big if right now, tenants pay their rent on time. 

I know that there will be an upcoming slump in the residential home sales market, but I recognize that there should also be new opportunities emerging for enterprising entrepreneurs like myself. People have new problems and I should be able to earn money if I solve those problems. I have confidence in my abilities and, in that sense, I am cautiously optimistic for the near-term future. However, I don't know exactly how I should be investing my time and money during this uncertain time. 

A few ideas come to mind. I have commercial real estate experience and there will be office, industrial, and retail landlords and tenants facing disruption who I could assist with sales and leases. Likewise, there will be single-family and multi-family owners that can't make their mortgage payments. In these cases, perhaps there are wholesaling or lease-option opportunities that can help the current owner and allow me to make a profit in the process. 

What are the best ways for RE investors, RE brokers/agents, and other RE professionals to make a living during a downturn like this, ideally while helping others too? What would you do if you were in my situation? For others' benefit, what would you do if you had a family with more dependents to take care of?