CRE Clarity Jeremy Goodrich

Welcome to the CRE Clarity Podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. Our guest today is Gib Kerr, a commercial broker and the Managing Director of Cushman and Wakefield. In this episode, we dive deep into a special project: the revitalization of the West Bottoms in Kansas City. We discuss how Gib got involved in this massive project, what he learned along the way, and why he believes that urban cores around the country are here to stay. Join us!
Learn more about Gib and his story at creclarity.com!



“I was the one of the only brokers who really stuck around in downtown when everyone else was bailing out.”
 
01:00
Gib grew up in a CRE broker family in Kansas City. Following in his family's footsteps, he embarked on his own brokerage career over 30 years ago. Gib specializes in historic buildings and the urban landscape of Kansas City. He saw significant growth in the city's downtown area in recent years.



“Construction costs have gone up 40, 50% in the recent years and interest rates have doubled so it's a really challenging time for developers.” 
 
08:19
Gib dives into a project he began in the 1980s: the West Bottoms district in Kansas City. As a broker, he played a key role in the area's development. Recently, through Cushman & Wakefield, Gib facilitated the sale of many of these buildings to a buyer focused on revitalizing the entire West Bottoms.
 
Gib shares some of the lessons he learned from this massive project.
Development-friendly local government is key: For large-scale projects, collaboration with a local government that offers incentives is crucial.
The rise of walkable urban areas: The trend of revitalizing urban areas with concentrated density and walkable environments is here to stay.



“Urban cores around the country are coming back and they're here to stay.”
 
32:00
Toward the end of the conversation, Gib shares what he’s most excited about currently.  He draws a parallel between the present and the financial crisis of 2008-2010. With maturing loans exceeding $500 billion yearly, he anticipates a rise in distressed assets, potentially creating historically good buying opportunities for investors. However, he is concerned about the future of office buildings.
 
Finally, Gib shares one point of clarity with the listeners - the return to the urban core is a trend that will continue in the years to come, so be on the lookout for that!



About our Guest, Gib Kerr
Gib Kerr serves as the Managing Director for Cushman & Wakefield’s Kansas City office.
 
Gib leads the capital markets team in Kansas City specializing in investment property sales and urban development. Over the last ten years, Gib has brokered over $2.2 billion worth of new development projects in downtown Kansas City.
 
Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Gib served as managing principal of Sperry Van Ness in Kansas City and as vice president of Tower Properties. Previously, Gib was a principal of Colliers Turley Martin/Kerr & Company and worked as an asset manager with Wachovia Bank in North Carolina overseeing a national portfolio of office and investment properties.




Mentioned in the show:
His LinkedIn
https://www.gibkerr.com/
https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/
www.shineinsurance.com/
The REI Clarity Framework



Need an instant insurance ballpark for your next Multifamily deal?! Answer 9 simple questions and we’ll give you a sense of what insurance should be. Visit us here for everything you need to know: https://www.shineinsurance.com/ballpark/ 
 
Special thanks to Gib Kerr for taking the time to share so many great insights with us   If you enjoyed this podcast, there’s a couple of things we need you to do right now:  ·   SUBSCRIBE to CRE Clarity on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts 
·   While you there, please RATE & REVIEW the show 
·   SHARE with friends
·   Finally, please, JOIN the CRE Clarity Facebook Gr

Welcome to the CRE Clarity Podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. Our guest today is Jenny Massey, the director of site selection and incentives at Sikich. Today, explore finding the best location for your business. We'll discuss the key factors to consider when choosing a location, along with strategies for leveraging government subsidies and the types of incentives available in different parts of the country.
Learn more about Jenny and her story at creclarity.com!



“Location is everything so you have to choose the best location for your company.”
 
01:00
At the beginning of the conversation, Jenny shares her top considerations for businesses searching for the perfect location.
Location is everything: It's a cliché for a reason! Finding the right spot is crucial.
Workforce and quality of life.
Logistics: Access to highways and railways keeps the business moving.
Low barriers to market entry.



“Every state has different programs, rules, and regulations. The only constant in this industry is change.”
 
08:30
Jenny shares that non-retail companies expanding with more than 15 new jobs, capital investment, or additional square footage may qualify for incentives!
 
Some states and cities are more generous than others. Cities often offer real and personal property tax abatements, tax increment financing, or low-cost/low-interest loans. States might have refundable job creation tax credits, investment tax credits, or even infrastructure grants to help with site preparation costs. 



“We're going to see a bunch of suppliers coming in and setting up space in the upcoming years, so if you’re a landowner, get ready!”
 
28:48
Toward the end of the conversation, Jenny shares what she’s most excited about currently. She sees a positive shift in site selection. Communities are increasingly prioritizing attracting sustainable and environmentally friendly businesses.  However, she also raises a concern about potential job losses due to technological innovations.
 
Finally, Jenny shares one point of clarity with the listeners - Keep an open mind to possibilities.




About our Guest, Jenny Massey
Jenny Massey is the director of site selection and incentives at Sikich, a leading professional services firm that helps clients achieve their goals across various industries and sectors. She holds the prestigious Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) credential, which recognizes her as one of the top experts in real estate consulting and advisory.
 
With over 20 years of experience in site selection and incentives, Jenny helps companies of all sizes and stages find the best locations and secure the most beneficial incentives for their relocation and expansion projects. She has a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes for clients across technology, aerospace, logistics, life sciences, professional services, advanced manufacturing and agriculture industries. She also contributes to Forbes Business Council as a member and author of articles on site selection and incentives topics.
 
Jenny is passionate about innovation, sustainability, and intercultural communication. She has completed studies in entrepreneurship, psychology, and crowdfunding at the Wharton School and HEC Paris, and has lived and worked in Japan for seven years and is classically trained as an archaeologist. She enjoys beekeeping, sailing and traveling in her spare time.




Mentioned in the show:
Her LinkedIn
https://www.sikich.com/
www.shineinsurance.com/
The REI Clarity Framework



Need an instant insurance ballpark for your next Multifamily deal?! Answer 9 simple questions and we’ll give you a sense of what insurance should be. Visit us here for everything you need to know: https://www.shineinsurance.com/ballpark/ 
 
Special thanks to Jenny Massey for taking the time to share so many great insights with us   If you enjoyed this podcast, there’s a couple of things we need you

Welcome to the CRE Clarity Podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. Our guest today is Nicholas Abraham, a multifamily real estate investor. In our conversation, you’ll discover the top 5 metrics every passive investor needs to know, proven acquisition strategies for finding winning deals, and insights into the current real estate market and upcoming opportunities. Tune in now!
Learn more about Nicholas and his story at creclarity.com!



“Real estate has always been a tried and true investment vehicle.”
 
01:01
Nicholas began his career in finance in 2009. However, he quickly discovered that real estate was the true recession-resistant asset class. This led him to transition into the real estate field.
 
Nicholas dives into his approach to evaluating real estate deals in the current market. He recommends looking for deals with good cash flow and fixed-rate debt in markets with steady job growth.



“I tell all my investing partners, I'm not here to transact with you I'm here to build a relationship. This is a long-term business.“
 
13:00
Nicholas shares the top 5 metrics crucial for passive real estate investors.
Cash-on cash: This metric focuses on the annual cash flow you receive relative to your initial investment.
Price per door relative to the market: This compares the price per unit (door) of the property to similar properties in the market.
Cap-rate: This metric is the NOI divided by the purchase price. Aim for a positive cap rate to avoid negative leverage.
Risk-adjusted returns: This considers both the potential return and the level of risk involved in the investment.
Yield on cost: Often overlooked, YOC factors in the renovation costs, providing a more comprehensive picture of your return on investment.
 
Nicholas points out that IRR shouldn't be the sole focus, as it can be manipulated by factors outside the investment's core performance.
 
Nicholas’ firm is operating with the “2 and 20” method for acquisition fees. This translates to a 2% initial fee for investors, along with a 20% share of the profits once the property is sold. Acquisition fees typically range from 0.1% to 5%, depending on the deal size.



“There's trillions of dollars sitting in money market accounts right now.”
 
35:25
Toward the end of the conversation, Nicholas shares what he’s most excited about currently. He’s looking forward to decreasing interest rates. Ge believes this could create new opportunities for investors due to a lot of capital currently available in the market.
 
Finally, Nicholas shares one point of clarity with the listeners - Diversify your income streams to achieve financial freedom.




About our Guest, Nicholas Abraham
Nicholas Abraham is a real estate investor passionate about financial education and creating passive income through multifamily properties. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, he has a background in Economics & Finance and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
Nicholas' interest in personal finance began at a young age and his diverse career path has included working for Fortune 500 companies, growing a solar startup to significant revenue, and flipping houses. After a hurricane-impacted his business, he transitioned full-time into real estate, focusing on multifamily investments.
 
Nicholas leverages his experience to educate others on the benefits of real estate and partners with them to acquire cash-flowing apartment buildings. By renovating these properties, he aims to increase tenant satisfaction and generate stronger rental income.




Mentioned in the show:
His LinkedIn
https://sterlingwealthcap.com/
www.shineinsurance.com/
The REI Clarity Framework



Need an instant insurance ballpark for your next Multifamily deal?! Answer 9 simple questions and we’ll give you a sense of what insurance should be. Visit us here for everything you need to know: https://www.shineinsurance.com/ballpark/ 
 

Welcome to the CRE Clarity Podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. Our guest today is Jorge Abreu, multifamily investor with a portfolio across Texas and the Midwest. In this episode, we dive into navigating today's CRE market, transitioning from C-class to A-class properties, and how to syndicate the right way in 2024. 

Learn more about Jorge and his story at creclarity.com!

“There is the age of the property and then the location. So you could have a C class property in a B or A location.“

01:00

Jorge began his real estate career by investing in value-add, C-class multifamily properties, eventually transitioning to higher-quality A-class assets. Now he manages thousands of properties. 

According to him, it’s more risky to operate C-class properties because of the tenant base and a lot of deferred maintenance. In contrast, A-class properties offer a lower risk profile due to their higher quality and reduced maintenance requirements.

“When your investors are caught off guard when they think the property is running fine, that's the worst thing.“

08:54

Jorge is doing many syndications with passive investors. He recommends focusing on safer deals with good cash flow from the start and a solid return in 5 to 7 years instead of chasing high returns in risky 3-year deals. 

Jorge shares how he’s navigating the current real estate market. 

He spends a lot of time in operations and pushing the NOI to make up for the current high expenses and interest rates.    He brought property management in-house.    He’s making sure to keep open communication with his investors. 
“I'm kind of looking forward to this down part of the market, because there are many opportunities for those that are good at acquisitions, hunting for deals, and negotiating.”

21:05

Toward the end of the conversation, Jorge shares what he’s most excited about in the industry currently. While acknowledging concerns about uncontrollable expenses like insurance and property taxes, he also expresses excitement about a potential market downturn. He sees many opportunities in it.

Finally, Jorge shares one point of clarity with the listeners - if there's an issue in one of your deals, tackle it head-on, go after it, and get it done. 

About our Guest, Jorge Abreu

Jorge Abreu has been Investing in Real Estate for over 16 years now. He started in Single Family, small Multifamily properties and eventually worked his way up to large 100+ Unit Multifamily properties. Jorge has wholesaled over 250+ Single Family Properties. Fixed & Flipped over 200+ SF. Developed and completed several new development projects, over $40 Million in ground up construction.

He also started and built a Construction Company bringing in over $30+ Million in yearly revenue & growing. He is now an Active & Passive Full Time Multifamily Real Estate Investor. Jorge and his company Elevate combined have acquired 7,737 Multifamily Units as the main Deal Sponsors. He has gone full cycle and exited out of 1,608 of those units and currently has $550M+ in Assets Under Management.

Jorge is the CEO of Elevate Commercial Investment Group and JNT Construction. JNT Construction focuses on helping Multifamily Investors with their Due Diligence & Full renovations. He has also now launched an in house management company, Elevate Real Estate Management, which makes him completely vertically integrated. He also runs a Multifamily Coaching program where he helps others grow their Multifamily Real Estate portfolio.

He is based out of Dallas & currently owns properties in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Arkansas and South Dakota but is open to other areas as well. Strong points are Locating Deals, Due Diligence, Executing CapEx, New Development & Raising Equity

Mentioned in the show:

His LinkedIn   https://elevatecig.com/   www.shineinsurance.com/   The REI Clarity Framework
Need an inst

Welcome to the CRE Clarity Podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. In today’s episode, we dive deep into passive investing with Christopher Price, founder of Red Fox Multifamily. We learn about how to get started as a passive investor, what questions to ask from an operator, and how to evaluate a deal. Join us and start your passive investing journey today!
Learn more about Christopher and his story at creclarity.com!



“I'm a pharmaceutical executive by day, but a real estate investor by night.”
 
01:00
Christopher worked as a pharmaceutical executive for 20 years. He then transitioned into real estate investing and currently manages to juggle both successfully.
 
His investment journey began by renting out his own condo. This made him realize that passive investing could be the key to diversifying his portfolio and building long-term wealth.



“One of the things that was fundamentally important to us was to focus on recession-resistant asset classes.”
 
07:00
With financial freedom as his ultimate goal, Christopher turned to multifamily syndications, known to be recession-resistant assets. To educate himself, he read books, listened to podcasts, and connected with industry professionals.
 
Christopher shares key questions to ask operators before investing:
Does the operator have experience in your target market? 
How's their track record? Get to know their team as well.
 
Christopher shares his insights on becoming a successful passive investor, even with limited real estate knowledge:
Invest in yourself and educate yourself about the industry.
Diversification is key. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.



“We're somewhere between 2 and 5 million housing units short in this country.”
 
36:51
Toward the end of the conversation, Christopher shares what he’s most excited about currently. He’s eager to educate more people about passive investing. He believes this can play a role in easing the current housing shortage. However, rising interest rates do concern him.
 
Finally, Christopher shares one point of clarity with the listeners - Get educated!




About our Guest, Christopher Price
Chris Price is an award-winning corporate professional, pharmaceutical executive, and leader with over 20 years of business operations experience in the life sciences industry. In addition to helping patients receive life-saving medications at a top 15 pharmaceutical company, Chris is the CEO and Co-Founder of Red Fox Multifamily, a real estate investment company aimed at providing life science industry professionals with hands-off commercial real estate investment opportunities to recession-proof their retirements. Chris is an accredited real estate investor and entrepreneur since 2012, with investments today in real estate syndications, funds, single-family, and land. Chris is also the Host of the 1,030 member plus Wealth Mindset & Real Estate Investing virtual Meetup.  
 
Today, Chris has invested in over 1266 commercial multifamily units and counting, with investments over $32.5M Assets Under Management (AUM) in real estate syndications, single-family, and land as both a Limited Partner, General Partner, and Fund Manager across Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Pennsylvania. Chris is using his years of leadership experience in corporate America, educational, and team-sports background to help others build wealth with passive real estate investment opportunities in strategic markets throughout the country.  



Mentioned in the show:
His LinkedIn
https://www.redfoxmultifamily.com/
www.shineinsurance.com/
The REI Clarity Framework



Need an instant insurance ballpark for your next Multifamily deal?! Answer 9 simple questions and we’ll give you a sense of what insurance should be. Visit us here for everything you need to know: https://www.shineinsurance.com/ballpark/ 
 
Special thanks to Christopher Price for taking the time to s

Welcome to the CRE Clarity Podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. Our guest today is Vessi Kapoulian, real estate investor and the founder of Dream Believe Achieve Capital Group. In our conversation, we dive into how to build solid relationships with lenders, Vessi’s top underwriting tips, and strategies for finding decent deals in today’s tough CRE market. Join us!
Learn more about Vessi and her story at creclarity.com!



“Anytime I approach a new project or occupation, I always want to find purpose.”
 
01:00
Vessi started her career in commercial lending and transitioned to commercial real estate investing in 2017.  She made the transition by educating herself and building connections in the industry. 



“Transparency and open communication are key.”
 
11:02
Vessi shares her insights on building strong relationships with lenders as an investor.
Be transparent. The lender is trying to evaluate the risk profile, so share your and your partners’ track records. 
Be aware that some of the smaller lenders have lending limits that you might hit over time.
Make sure that the lender is also open and honest with you.
 
Vessi is very passionate about underwriting. She outlines her tried-and-tested underwriting tips to find decent deals in today’s tough CRE market.
Partner with experienced operators with a good track record.
Study your target market.
Analyze 5 key deal aspects:
Projected rent growth
Volatile expenses
Adequate reserves
Downside protection
Optimal debt structure



“Stay true to yourself and your criteria. Maybe that means you're growing a little bit slower but I like to think slow and steady wins the race.”
 
33:14
Toward the end of the conversation, Vessi shares what she’s most excited about currently. She took on entrepreneurship because she’s looking forward to more time freedom and flexibility.
 
Finally, Vessi shares one point of clarity with the listeners - be clear on your ultimate “why”!




About our Guest, Vessi Kapoulian
Vessi Kapoulian is the Founder of Dream Believe Achieve Capital Group, a real estate investment company based in Los Angeles, CA.
 
Vessi helps busy professionals who are tired of working 60+ hours a week create passive income streams to reach their goal of leaving a legacy for their families, diversifying their investments from the stock market, and achieving tax efficiencies.
 
Vessi’s professional background includes 15 years of commercial lending and 4 years of business management experience. Vessi started her real estate journey as an investor in 2017. Today Vessi manages a portfolio of investor real estate properties in Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia (415 doors, 12 properties, $44MM AUM). She is also passively invested in 5 other deals (405 doors in multifamily plus other CRE asset classes).
 
Vessi’s mission is to help others attain their own financial freedom while at the same time providing a clean, safe, and pleasant home environment for residents and improving the local communities she invests in.



Mentioned in the show:
Her LinkedIn
https://dbacapitalgroup.com/
www.shineinsurance.com/
The REI Clarity Framework



Need an instant insurance ballpark for your next Multifamily deal?! Answer 9 simple questions and we’ll give you a sense of what insurance should be. Visit us here for everything you need to know: https://www.shineinsurance.com/ballpark/ 
 
Special thanks to Vessi Kapoulian for taking the time to share so many great insights with us   If you enjoyed this podcast, there’s a couple of things we need you to do right now:  ·   SUBSCRIBE to CRE Clarity on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts 
·   While you there, please RATE & REVIEW the show 
·   SHARE with friends
·   Finally, please, JOIN the CRE Clarity Facebook Group
Then, please share the show with whoever you think it will inspire.
Until th