All Forum Posts by: Erin Wicomb

@Conor Freeman I 100% agree with you - we need to pull big biotech firm downtown or even a fortune 1000 firm downtown. I live and work downtown and am on the board of San Diego downtown partnership, gentrification is a slow moving ship but it is happening. I do think Protea can pull it off. What Manchester and Protea are doing are different but they will be very complementary. 

The UT just released the latest plans for the new Seaport Village in Downtown San Diego. 

I'm really excited to see what's going to happen in terms of development and real estate. What do you guys think on this matter?

What city would you invest in and why? 

Maybe I'm a little biased, but I love the San Diego area and I feel that this urbanization of the Downtown area is really going to pick up steam - both in terms of economics and investing. Not only is it just a naturally beautiful location, there's tons of space and things to do and businesses popping up here and there so I'm super excited to see what happens in terms of real estate. 

What about you? Where would you invest in property?

This Saturday we are having an Investor Open house in Spring Valley!

Learn how you too can get into real estate investing either by actively being a real estate wholesaler or rehabber or by being a passive investor either as lender or equity partner.

Bonus: We will be donating a percentage of our profits on this home flip to the person's charity who comes the closest to picking the actual sales price.

Check out the meetup details here: https://secure.meetup.com/register/?ctx=ref

For reference, the Internet of Things (or IoT) is a network of ‘things’ that are Internet-connected and exchange data back and forth.

‘Things’ can include physical devices, computers, automobiles, appliances, etc. These ‘things’ are embedded with sensors and software to connect to the Internet in order to send and receive data. Each device in the IoT network is unique and able to interoperate with the Internet’s infrastructure.

With personal home assistants such as the Google Home and the Amazon Alexa, the average consumer is becoming more receptive to smart homes and interactive appliances. 

In terms of commercial real estate, do you think the IoT can be beneficial to this industry? 

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I had a client ask me today what the difference was between a REIT and a private real estate syndication. We talked about it for a bit so I thought I would share some key thoughts with you guys!

REIT: REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST

A REIT (real estate investment trust) is a type of security with the purpose of investing in real estate through purchasing property or mortgages. Private REITs are funds or private real estate syndications but REITs are publicly traded.

Investors familiar with the stock market can think of REITs as related to mutual funds. They are usually traded on major stock exchanges, similar to other public companies. Subsequently, REITs provide a highly liquid way to invest in real estate; investors can simply buy and sell shares of the company on the stock exchange.

By purchasing shares of a REIT, investors are able to invest in real estate ventures through the company. The REIT will own, and often times operate commercial properties. REITs will often focus on one area of real estate — such as apartment complexes, properties in a certain region, hotels, shopping malls, timberland, office buildings, etc.

REAL ESTATE SYNDICATION

Real estate syndication is the process of pooling funds together from multiple investors to invest in real estate ventures.

Investors get access to specific real estate projects they otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to invest in. On a simplified level, investors are purchasing shares or equity in a real estate project. This can also be referred to as equity syndication.

Real estate syndication involves sponsors who manage the operations of the project and investors who provide the funding for the project. Sponsors are usually real estate investment companies who put together teams that are skilled in identifying real estate opportunities and managing the operations to return good profits to investors.

Investors are a crucial part of the process because they provide a bulk of the financing for the projects. The Internet and crowdfunding have both made networking between sponsors and investors much easier, making more real estate projects realistic opportunities.

Real estate syndications often take the form of a Limited Partnership (LP) or a Limited Liability Company (LLC). These business entities provide a liability shield for investors, so the capital at risk is limited to what they put into the project.

Once investors purchase their stake and the project is completely funded, the sponsor’s team gets to work acquiring the property and starting operations.

As an investor, which do you think is the smarter choice? 

This is an opportunity to be a part of our latest investment opportunity. 

Another fix and flip in San Diego 

Investment Units start at 50k minimum.

If you would like the full investment summary just direct message or ping me for more details.

PS Crush your 2018 goals !

@Jack Medford Hi Jack just seeing your reply - I lived in Wisconsin in the dells for a summer - loved it ! Would love to chat and hear more about what you are up to Cheers

When considering investing in a commercial property, air rights are definitely something investors should consider for future expansion of their properties. 

WHAT ARE AIR RIGHTS?

What does it mean when someone refers to ‘air rights’? Air rights are defined as the ‘right to control, occupy, or use the vertical space (air space) above a property, subject to necessary and reasonable use by neighbors and others (such as aircraft).’

Generally, owning property includes the right to use and develop that space above ground without interference. Similar to mineral and surface rights, air rights can be purchased, leased, sold, or transferred.

As you can probably guess, the origin of air rights comes from New York where the real estate market is hot and land is scarce. Lower Manhattan was largely developed in the 1960’s due to air rights allowing developers to build upward.

As demonstrated in New York, air rights have the potential to help foster urban development and shape a city. On the other hand, they can be used as a defensive tactic to keep adjacent properties from developing their real estate higher. This can help protect views and/or access to natural light.

HOW DO AIR RIGHTS ADD VALUE?

Now that we understand the fundamentals of air rights, how can they add value for real estate investors?

Air rights can have enormous value as they potentially lead to future development on the property. Future developments can generate rent and income and lead to future cash flows.

Think about a one-story building that is sold, but also has air rights to develop five stories. There are four stories of future development and revenue to take into account when valuing the air rights.

Knowing the potential value of air rights, they can be a price kicker when a property is sold. As a property owner, this is something to take into account when acquiring or selling property.

When acquiring, you want to analyze the development potential of the existing air rights. When selling, you want to make sure the value of the air rights is priced in.

Investors of air rights have a hard time securing a mortgage due to the lack of collateral. In the event of foreclosure, banks don’t have a tangible asset to receive in return.

That makes it tough to determine a value for air rights. It’s difficult to value something that doesn’t yet exist.

What do you guys think about this? Are air rights something worth considering in terms of larger, urbanized properties?

Bitcoin has officially become one of the largest bubbles in history. In October, Bitcoin was $6k per one coin. Just this last week, it reached above $17,000 per coin at its peak.

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are calling Bitcoin the best “high-growth investment for 2018.”

But is it really?

Many people are taking advantage of the quick growth of Bitcoin and are even using it to  purchase real estate.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that this can shake up real estate?