creiZ about Real Estate and Deals

Sterling Equities | History

Statcounter is great since I am able to see (sometimes) what companies are visiting my Opportunistic Investment site. Unfortunately, I'd like one level deeper. I want to know who visited my site so I can call them to see if they have any questions I can answer. How can I do that?

BTW, they look like a pretty interesting company. Among other things, they own the NY and they also have several real estate funds through Sterling American Property including the latest one where they raised $600 million. Maybe they were looking to spend some of their funds through some of the real estate opportunities. Man!

What could I have done to capture their attention and actually attract interest so that they could have contacted me?

Tags: realestate private equity, new york mets, sterling equities, sterling american property, capture, marketing, opportunitic investment, real estate fund

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Equity Fund buys S&L home loans

I wish I had a $1 billion pool that I could tap for investing in distressed real estate over the next decade...

Anyone want to start one? I bring the sweat equity, you can bring the capital. :)

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

JPMorgan is buying Bear Stearns for the price that non-performing 2nd liens (notes) and HELOC portfolios are trading for. Incredible! And the fed is helping make it happen. Sweet deal!

JPMorgan is acquiring Bear Stearns at a huge discount of $2 per share. On Friday the stock closed at $30 per share.

Anybody else have a billion dollar company that they are looking to sell for 7 cents on the dollar? I have buyers for opportunistic investments!

Tags: non-performingnotes, discounted properties, distressed assets, bear sterns, JPMorgan, distressed companies, discounted assets, NPL, REOs, illiquid assets, opportunistic investments, vulture investing, pennies on the dollar, opportunistic investment,

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On my way back from Safeway this morning after buying about a week's worth of milk (in other words 6 gallons, hey I've got 4 kids and it's just past noon and half a gallon is gone already... but anyway), on my way back home I passed by Michaels and saw a bunch of Christmas wreaths selling for 90 cents each. These are normally about $5 to $10 wreaths at the peak of the Christmas season. If someone or even maybe a Christmas store (you know those that only open for a couple of months at the end of the year) bought these and held them till the end of the year, they could probably make a killing. They could probably have an ROI in the few hundreds.

Rather than stopping and buying 100 wreaths (since I know my wife would not be too happy seeing 100 wreaths in the garage), I got to thinking how much the wreaths were like discounted real estate/REO properties (or in general any discounted asset that is out of season). The subprime mess (among other things) in the United States has caused a glut of residential real estate to fall out of season.

As with wreaths, residential real estate will be back in season eventually. The time frame may not be the same since wreaths will most likely be back in season in the latter part of year and residential real estate may or may not recover some, but it will recover. It always does. It is, to use Warren Buffett's words, a "high-probability event" that residential real estate will be back to where it was 1.5 to 2 years ago. It may just take 1, 2, 3 or more (or less) years to get there.

So imagine the returns those that buy now at 40 to 70 cents on the dollar will see once the residential real estate market is back up again. It may not be in the hundreds as with wreaths, but in the 30s to 50s shouldn't be too bad.

Could this be of interest? If not, I can definitely find you some wreaths that available for pennies on the dollar. You can open up your own Christmas store and you'd make a killing!

Blogged with Flock

Tags: high-probabilityevent, distressed investment sourcing, distressed asset investing, bulk reo, loan portfolios, note portfolios, warren buffet, reo properties, reo portfolios, discounted property, mortgage trading, commercial portfolios, investment portfolios

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I just saw this on Inman news (PAID SUBSCRIPTION required) by Bernice Ross and thought this was interested for any agents out there. Here's the list (comments in italics):

• Get rich in a niche - in other words specialize in a particular area, type of product, etc.
• Don't rely exclusively on referral strategies - Bernice says that on average on 25% of business comes from referrals. So the rest must come from somewhere...
  
• Respond immediately to consumer inquiries - This is probably one of the key ones here. Think of time when you call a contractor or repair company. How likely are you to choose the ones the call you the first day versus the ones that call you the third or fourth day. (Speaking of which I need to start making some calls... :)
  
• Customize your personal Web site; don't rely on your broker's site - It's nice to be on your broker's site, but you normally don't have full control over your area. You have to jump through hoops, call the IT department, give up your firstborn, etc. just to get your picture updated. Set up your own and if you don't know lick about website management, contact one of those that can do it for you and customize the text. This takes some work to maintain and keep up to date, but it is normally worth or better yet create a blog (see below).
  
• Earn a NAR designation - I have different opinions on this. I think that a designation such as GRI, CRS or even CCIM could be a good differentiator all else being equal, but designations can't tell you (as a consumer) how the person really is/their personality. But if you have some cash and time, it can only help. I don't think it would hurt.
  
• Blogging - Need I even comment on this? The benefits of blogging are that you can have your website, "speak" with your own voice and it is easy to set up and it's free. What more can you ask for?
  
• Podcasting - I'm adding videocasting/YooTubing to this too. Like blogging, you can speak (literally) with your own voice and it's free. But this takes a little more time (unless you're just posting to YouTube/Google Video) and effort, but the key thing is that they get to see and hear the real you presented as you like anywhere in the world. What more can you ask for?

Blogged with Flock

Tags: realtor, marketing, real estate agent, lead generation, business development, Inman News, Bernice Ross, real estate blog, emarv, podcasting, Marvin Corea, real estate videos

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just saw this on Thomson Merger News and thought this was interesting. If the big guys are doing opportunistic real estate plays doing it, why don't we do our own?

BTW, British Land was (don't know if they still are) in the top global 25 REIT according to NAREIT, so I would imagine that 3% is a pretty good chunk of change (maybe not for a multi-billion dollar sovereign fund, but for me it is).

On a side note, anyone interested in helping me contact the top 25 REITs to see if they are looking to do opportunistic plays. (We can split the finder's fee! :)

Blogged with Flock

Tags: opportunisticreal estate investment, opportunistic real estate, opportunistic investing, british land, government of singapore investment corporation, reit, sovereign wealth funds

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

from the Houston Business Journal: Google "late Monday added street-level views of Houston, Orlando, Fla., Los Angeles and San Diego to its worldwide mapping project."

Google says the pictures are useful. People shopping for real estate can look at homes and neighborhoods, for example, the company says."

Houston is one of nine U.S. metropolitan areas and the only Texas city with Street Views so far."

comment: It would be interesting to see how much more real estate will be sold purely online in these areas. Real estate investors (companies and individuals) have been doing it for a while now, but consumers are just starting to get into it. My guess is that there will definitely be an increase in purely online real estate sales especially since most contracts have an inspection contingency. Now if we could only have closings online, that would be great!

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I just saw this in the Baltimore Business Journal online and thought it would be of interest. The Superblock is an area "consisting of 51 properties comprising 3.6 acres, the superblock is bounded by the 100 block of Clay Street and 200 block of West Lexington Street on the north, West Fayette Street on the south, North Liberty Street on the east, and the 100 block of North Howard Street on the west in the Market Center Urban Renewal Area." (source) Here's a link to the map of the Superblock.

It will be interesting to see what actually happens with this... BTW, anyone interested in submitting a proposal for part of the Superblock? Let me know. We have until 1 August 2007.

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

from an email:

Date for Priority Number Notification Announced

Attention Mueller Pioneers! The day you’ve been waiting for is set. On Wednesday, May 30, Catellus will send to each of the homebuilders the priority order list of people who have registered to be a Mueller Pioneer. The builders will begin notifying each Pioneer about his or her priority number by email — as well as by phone and letter — to ensure communication.

Soon after, builders will begin contacting their Pioneers in the priority order they receive to inform them of the process and timing for scheduling individual appointments. Once your appointment is set, you will then meet with your homebuilder to discuss floor plan and site availability, design options, pricing and other aspects to complete your home purchase.

As a reminder, if the builder you selected sells out of homes before your priority number comes up, you will carry over to subsequent phases, assuming your builder continues at Mueller. Your builder will be able to address this further, if necessary.

Please know that nearly 1,100 people registered as Pioneers and, therefore, it is possible the builder you chose will not be able to respond to every inquiry immediately.

On behalf of the homebuilders and the entire Mueller team, we greatly appreciate your interest throughout the Pioneer process.

For more information visit www.MuellerAustin.com, stop by Mueller Central located at 4550 Mueller Blvd. or email us at contactus@muelleraustin.com.

my comment: looks like its time to buy some property around the Mueller airport area. actually, I should have bought a couple of years ago in that area, when stuff was cheaper. Anyone have a spare apartment complex that needs work and that you are selling dirt cheap?

BTW, I think that they are doing a pretty good job marketing Mueller. (They even got bloggers blogging about it for free! ;-) 

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was just reading the "Welcome to Metropolis" article in Retail Traffic magazine. The article states that "MacFarlane already has 2.2 billion to invest. Meanwhile, DLC Management Corp. Has joined with G.L. Blackstone & Associates to form DLC UrbanCore LLC and is sitting on $100 million in capital." Imagine that! (I wish I had $100M to sit on!) I actually know of a couple of potential infill sites in Baltimore that could be ideal for redevelopment. In particular I know of one on the west side of Baltimore that currently has a number of vacant buildings. There are also vacant warehouses in several Baltimore areas that could be redeveloped.

So if anyone that reads this blog works for (or knows) any of the inner city developers, let them know I have candidate sites for them.

BTW, for those that are not convinced about inner city retail, here's an impressive stat from the retail traffic article:
"In 2002, ...inner city shoppers went outside their neighborhoods to buy $42 billion in goods, or 25 percent of the total $122 billion retail demand of those consumers, according to a study for the Boston-based Initiative for Competitive Inner City by Boston Consulting Group Analytics with Claritas Inc."

Another benefit (according to executives in the know) is the good returns. G. Lamont Blackstone of UrbanCore states that they are exceeding 13 percent returns and Victor MacFarlane says "the return rate for an initial $50 million (of a total $3 billion) invested by the California Public Employees' Retirement System was 30 percent in 1996."

Still not convinced, here's another extract from the article:

Baldwin Hills-and other inner city successes like Harlem USA, and Gulfgate Center in Houston-are convincing a widening pool of players that investment in minority communities is a good bet. "It will increasingly become mainstream as retailers recognize that there are few other commercial real estate opportunities in this country of the magnitude these present," says Capri CEO and Chairman Quinton Primo, III.

So where are the big inner city players looking next? (I thought you'd never ask... :)

According to Retail Traffic, they are looking in Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, Dallas, Denver, Fort Worth, Austin, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville. While Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit are flat.

So do YOU know of good potential inner city retail sites in a city near you?

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

from the book website: The 2007 survey analyzes the fund allocations, risk and return assumptions, expected capital flows and real estate investment strategies of 109 of the largest tax-exempt investors in real estate. This elite group manages $150 billion in real estate holdings or 61.5% of all tax-exempt real estate assets.

Here are a few of the larger findings this report reveals:

Capital flows: Tax-exempt capital flows to real estate expected to decrease by 21% in 2007.

Competitive environment: Tax exempt investors will limit new manager relationships and there will be a decrease in new capital commitments.

Riskier strategies: Value-added strategies favored and higher target allocations to foreign real estate.

COMMENTS: I think that the key take-away for me here is the last item: Riskier Strategies. It seems like now everyone (even the big boys and girls as this summary suggests) is looking for value-add real estate plays. My question is how can we tap into the institutions. I know of plenty of deals right now that would be excellent value-add plays. So how do I get in touch with the institutional managers? I want to make them (and myself, naturally) some excellent returns! :) Any suggestions? Email me!

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thought this might be an interesting housing valuation report.

Let me know what you think.

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From the Houston Business Journal: More jobs were created in Houston between January 2006 and January 2007 than in any other metropolitan area in the nation, new figures show. "The [US Bureau of Labor and Statistics] numbers show Houston on a dramatic growth trend, outpacing the rest of the nation in jobs gained," said Jeff Moseley, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. "This is great news for our region and further validates our board's vision of contributing to the creation of 600,000 new jobs and $60 billion in capital investment by 2015."

what this means for Houston real estate:

It means that there will be some growth in practically all Houston real estate sectors. After all, where are 600,000 people going to live, work, play and shop? One of the things that concerns me the most about Houston (which is probably the case with a lot of metro areas) is traffic. Downtown real estate is going to continue to increase in value so where will the majority of people (in the low to mid income range) end up looking for houses? More often than not they will probably be looking for real estate in the suburbs as property gets more and more expensive closer to downtown. (Remember, expensive is relative to Houston because you can still find decent single family homes under $200,000 within the main city limits whereas in DC, well...you'd be lucky to find a good 1 bedroom condo for that price!) So back to the topic...what this means is that there will continue to be more and more traffic! Naturally, developers and city of Houston and Harris County officials need to continue addressing the traffic issues immediately. Expand on the positive that Houston is already working on which Tory Gattis talks about in his houston strategies blog.

Personally, I think that more mixed used the development would be helpful. In many areas it is practically impossible to find places that you could actually walk to from home or work (except in the downtown areas). It'd be nice to actually walk to places without having to take a car everywhere and always have to find parking. I know that a common argument against this might be that it is way too hot to being walking outdoors in Houston, especially in the summer, but a good integration of trees would help too. (And according to Tory and the Houston chronicle, it looks like that is starting to happen too.) Only time will tell...

shameless plug: And I hope that my company can be a part of the Houston's future in the near future!

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

According to the Austin Business Journal: Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association have named Austin the second best city in the country for fitness and walking.

"While it's nice to receive accolades, in my opinion, we're nowhere near as pedestrian-friendly as we need to be," says Austin Mayor Will Wynn. "Fortunately, the continued revitalization and repopulation of downtown, as well as other developments like the Triangle and the old Mueller Airport, are big steps in the right direction."

comments: so what does it boil down to real estate, if Austin developers and the City do not develop properties in a citizen friendly way, Austin would have no chance at this recognition. And what does that mean for the future of Austin, only good news really. Many people are looking for this type of environment and where there are more people, more employers and retailers will start appearing or expanding. Really, these are all positive signs for the Austin residential and commercial markets. Let's just hope that they don't grow too quickly...

Interested in finding out more about the Austin market or investing in real estate there, contact me. 

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

from the Austin American-Statesman – Next up in downtown's condo-building boom is Sabine on Fifth, a ten-story building of mostly empty offices that CWS Capital Partners LLC is converting into 80 condominiums.

Crews are gutting the building, which adjoins the Hilton Garden Inn on the corner of Sabine and Fifth. Prices start in the mid-$190,000s for one-bedroom units with about 700 square feet and range up to the mid-$500,000s for 1,461-square-foot units.

Urbanspace Realtors LLP of Austin is marketing the units.

comments: OK, expanding on my comments in the last post, if anyone has an empty building of a decent size anywhere close to downtown Austin, I'd be interested in it. Thanks!

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

SUMMERFIELD SUITES CONVERTING TO CONDOS

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – Developer Bill Hale has purchased the Summerfield Suites near Northcross Mall at 7685 Northcross Dr. with plans to convert the hotel to condominiums.

Each of the 11 buildings has 18 units that will continue functioning as hotel rooms while the conversion is conducted in phases. The project will include a mix of one-bedroom units at around 575 square feet and two-bedroom units at around 850 square feet. On the ground floor, 20 units will serve special-needs residents.

The city is purchasing 34 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units to resell through its affordable housing program. Paul Hilgers, director of neighborhood housing and community development for the city, says the project is significant because it will be the first for-sale affordable housing in the city's program west of I-35.

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 12:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

FOCUS

Our primary area of focus is in finding opportunistic (i.e. value-add or as-is) multi-family real estate properties in the United States where we can increase the value of a property by 25%-50% (or more) through physical and managerial improvements.

PARTNERING 

We are interested in partnering with institutional, international and other accredited investors that are looking for higher yields than typical turn-key real estate investment properties can provide. Whereas a NNN leased single tenant office building can provide cash-on-cash return in a major market of 10% or less, we are able to obtain cash-on-cash returns of 20% or better (i.e. twice as much as an average cash-on-cash return).

OPPORTUNISTIC INVESTMENTS

Interested in Opportunistic Investments? 

CONTACT US IF YOU READY TO INVEST FOR GREATER RETURNS

240-441-5086

mcorea [at] esenai [dot] com 

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If you want to find out more about this blog post or what Esenai (my real estate and technology consulting company) can do for you, call me at 240-441-5086 or email me. (just remove the "-spamnot" from the email address.) Marvin a.k.a. eMarv

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Posted by eMarv at 03:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)