All Forum Posts by: Michael Flight

Hi  @Taylor L. you as a sponsor can do a completely compliant 506 B or 506 C and Reg A offering with a Security Token.  After a 1 year lockup period the token is tradable by the investor and it can trade to a non-accredited investor.  Working within US tax laws you can also open up your offerings to international investors.  Blockchain, tokenization, security tokens and smart contracts will completely change real estate investing within the next 5 years.

You are way ahead of the curve @Andres Vanegas If you are concerned about inflation and FED money printing real estate will only take you so far.  You need to consider Dollar Cost Averaging out of the Dollar.  Otherwise you could get stuck as asset rich and cash poor.  Here is an article that explains the why and how:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

@James Elden Bitcoin is a store of value.  Buy it and hold it like holding digital gold. Ethereum and several of the Layer 1 blockchain protocols will be valuable because of the network effects and amount of projects on the chain.  The other coins are software projects so unless you know something about them you are gambling like buying a hot stock without any knowledge of the underlying fundamentals.  

I have been in real estate more than 35 years and have had some home runs but none with returns of 11,000% .  My strategy with Bitcoin is HODL (Hold On for Dear Life) and the others I invest in are protocols or projects I understand and have a good use case for success.

Cash is trash.  And the USD will also soon be digital.  

Hi @Tim Ryan Harbor really isn't doing tokenization anymore but there are a number of reputable tokenization and Security Token issuance platforms.  

I like to describe the division of crypto currencies between those for store of wealth/exchange of value (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, USDC, Terra SDR) and those that are more like software companies (Ethereum, Algorand, Tezos, EOS, Polka Dot) which are similar to phone company networks.  Then there are applications that run on top of the blockchain networks like Numeraire a hedge fund or Enjin Coin an NFT issuance platform.

It is very early in the game but Security Tokens and tokenization of real estate will open up fantastic amounts of opportunities for raising equity and investor benefits.  We are issuing a 506 D security token offering this year using Securize as our issuance platform.  You can look at this video of Securitize founder Jamie Finn here from the Chicago Real Estate Blockchain Collective meetup which has industry leaders talking about their roles in the tokenization industry.  We even had a Blockchain Bourbon fund present. 

Here is an article on the current players and state of the https://libertyfund.medium.com...

@Benjamin A Ersing was correct @Dave Nye Last year was a little early.  This year there should be more projects launching and things will really pick up in 2022 or 2023 when Real Estate on the Blockchain matches cryptocurrency market cap.  $30 trillion in commercial real estate versus $2 trillion crypto now.   Tokenizing a portion of that will raise price levels on all real estate.  More people to invest and more liquidity.

Here is an article which outlines some of the opportunities:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Hi @Account Closed here is an article that should get you started:  https://www.nerdwallet.com/art...

The most difficult part of buying crypto is the wallet issue.  With Coinbase you don't need a wallet but you also don't ultimately control your crypto.  They are expensive compared to other exchanges but are a good on-ramp for beginners.  Coinomi and Exodus are good wallets for beginners.  Crypto Wallets are like an electronic safe deposit box to hold your coins, tokens and NFTs.

The next thing is there is a difference between cryptos.  Bitcoin is more of a store of value as are Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Monero.  With these you are betting on scarcity (store of value) or want to use them to transfer value (money and trading).

Ethereum, Algorand, Tezos, Cardano, EOS, Pokadot and others are more like software companies.  Enjin is a new listing that allows for the issuance of NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens).  With these you are betting on them similar to investing in a company.  Plus in certain cases people need the tokens of the project to use the project.

Dogecoin is a joke so be careful with the hype around that one.

You can also earn crypto form using the Brave browser where they pay you to watch adds in the Basic Attention Token (BAT).

A whole new opportunity is opening up for real estate investors with Security Tokens and the ability to tokenize real to be Digital Assets on a blockchain.  It will open up new investors for real estate and opportunities for real estate sponsors to raise equity and debt.  We are raising capital for a Net Lease Real Estate fund using a Security Token Offering through Securitize.  There are other platforms that can also help with tokenization including Solidblock and Akru .

Bottom line is that blockchain is the future financial system so you will be ahead of the curve for starting now.

Also  @Benjamin Goodman send me a note if you need recommendations for quality leasing brokers in New England or the tenant rep for Starbucks.

Nice!  

Does there lease require them to restore the premises or broom clean?  Try to get them to at least remove fixtures and tenant improvements.

If Starbucks is not in the area maybe you can get them to compete against Dunkin for the space.

Hi Benjamin, if it is a true NNN lease they are obligated not only to pay the rent, taxes and insurance but also maintain the building just as they would if they were in occupancy. If your lease requires them to do quarterly maintenance on the HVAC you should let them know you will expect the service tickets etc. Then sit back and relax and collect the checks.

They will more than likely offer you some money to walk away from the lease. 

Don't negotiate only on the rent. Make sure you add the taxes, insurance and a maintenance cost factor to the total number they would pay.

Next, does the lease require them to restore the premises to white box or only broom clean?

As a start to any discussions make sure they remove the safes, safe deposit boxes and any reinforced walls around the safe areas.  Those are insanely expensive to remove.

After you have added this all up that should be your opening bid.  Ideally you would settle on the Net Present Value of that total.  As a worse case get get the property gutted to bare studs, 6 months to 1 year rent and charges and some extra for TI for the next tenant.

We have bought portfolios of occupied and vacant bank buildings so have a little experience.  

Good luck!  I wish you much success in all your endeavors. 

Hi Brittany, You may be early but you are absolutely a leader for thinking about this!

You could have the tenant pay in a USDC stable coin and then you would not need to worry about volatility. The cool thing is your money is outside the traditional banking system.  

Depending on how you are set up (LLC or sole proprietor) many units you have you may need to have a custodian like Coinbase or Prime Trust to custody the crypto and not accept directly to your personal wallet.

You should consider tokenizing your next deal and issuing to a blockchain.