Spencer G | CRE @aLITEdeveloper

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Had a meeting with a gentleman in the CRE space. We were discussing potential investors for a development project I’m working on. He mentioned a client of his and how much $ this person had and said, “I can’t even dream about how much money they have.” The response (in my head) was “Dream bigger my friend. Dream bigger.”

@BillAckman It’s hard to find but it’s nice when you get it.

First time traveling through the Kansas City International Airport since it has been redone. Amazing. The best part: I’m told it was delivered on time and in budget. @molzer I walked by the infamous BBQ Breakfast Bowl… I kept walking.

@CoyDavidsonCRE Can you share the address?

@CoyDavidsonCRE I’ve been keeping an eye on deals like this for the past few years. Office buildings typically are well located. Nice apartment sites someday…?

Helping my brother look at an industrial deal in Charlotte. I called four local industrial brokers… even called one of them twice. Only one of those brokers called me back, and it wasn’t the one I double called. Our plan is to develop on a 4+ acre site. The broker who called back will get the business 1) because he’s an expert in the market/has a proven track record, and 2) he called back.

Ironically, I had a phone call (later this day) with a gentleman who also grew up in commercial real estate. Has seen a lot of development and how to structure deals. He told me the most important thing about development (especially this first one) is to make it as profitable as possible. Go find the grants, incentives, etc…

Spencer G | CRE @aLITEdeveloper

2 years ago

Just had a meeting with a gentleman who has grown up in commercial real estate. Has seen a lot of development and how to structure deals. I asked him what he thinks the most important thing he has learned. I was anticipating him to say understanding the numbers, negotiation,

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Now living in Omaha for a decade it seemed time to learn more about the Oracle of Omaha himself. So, I started listening to ‘The Snowball’ which chronicles Warren Buffett’s life from birth to about 2008. It’s a long book (35 hours) and 8 hours into it he has just begun his journey as a young professional. People associate the power of compounding with Warren and usually with money - which makes sense. However, my biggest take away, I’m noticing are his habits/process of collecting information, coming up with a theory/idea from this information and taking immediate action from what he learned. Literally, since he was 5 years old, he would do this over and over again. Starting many little business’ and making small investments. My most important takeaway thus far: consistent actions lead to significant results, and the law of compounding applies to more than just investing money.

@JonahJG I know who to call whenever I get to Atlanta…!

Just had a meeting with a gentleman who has grown up in commercial real estate. Has seen a lot of development and how to structure deals. I asked him what he thinks the most important thing he has learned. I was anticipating him to say understanding the numbers, negotiation, contracts, etc… His answer: have good relationships.

A thing I miss most from childhood is competing in team sports. What I have noticed after starting a real estate business and now working on my first development project is the game of real estate is very much a team sport. I think it’s one reason why I like it so much.

@3NDeveloper These type of post right here are why I stay on #retwit

@3NDeveloper I don’t but now I am going to try it! Any other ways you try to stay organized, and make sure to consistently move deals forward/not let things fall through the cracks?

@PatMcAfeeShow listening to the episode from Friday last week… The best zoo in the USA is Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. No debate. Even more of a reason to stop by for the CWS.

A quick thank you to @CaseyMericle for talking to me about creative ways to structure deals. I’m still a little confused but I’ve got some homework to get a better understanding. Always fun talking to people who think about things differently and have found success in doing it.

Started playing around with the new upgrade of ChatGPT 4o... this might be a game changer. Anyone else have good AI tools they have been using to help their business?

It’s nice to be surrounded by good people who simply want to help you grow.

Ran/walk 12 miles this morning (prep for half marathon next weekend). I was tired. Was heading home to make an espresso to reboot for the day. During the drive a developer buddy called. We talked for 20min… discussed current challenges with projects we are working on, debt and structuring deals. That was the energy boost I needed. A good call gets the energy going over caffeine every day.

@seandsweeney we had our kick off meeting with the architects last week. I’m looking back at notes from your class session and The Bright Build.

Figured it was time to share this story. I’ve been hesitant because there is still a long ways to go. I messaged @realEstateTrent to see if I could share the story with him before going to the masses. I was thinking if he liked it then I would go for it. I sent the DM asking if I could tell him this story sometime and how I wasn’t ready to put it on social. He simply replied, “share it!! 👍”(a nice way of saying, “don’t bug me with your story just share it!”) I now have no choice… Over two years ago, I was on the hunt for my first commercial real estate development project. One day a friend asked if I knew anything about these concrete silos off the interstate. He lived about 3 blocks down from them. I said, "not really but now I am curious." I drive by these things on the interstate everyday but I’ve never been in the neighborhood they actually sit in. The next day, I drive into the neighborhood where the site had been neglected for decades. I was standing there staring at these monstrosities… then I look over and see people biking, running and babies in strollers. The silos are adjacent to one of the city’s more active pedestrian trails. I then look at the LandGlide map on my phone… Having done a decent amount of urban multifamily brokerage, I started thinking to myself… ‘wow, this is a lot of land for an urban neighborhood.’ The GIS map shows the parcel is nearly 5 acres (which is deceiving due to the size of the silos). Then it hit me, ‘holy s***! This is a multifamily site.’ I was ignoring the cylinder structures and simply looking at the land for a moment. Again, being trained as an urban multifamily broker, I asked myself, ‘If the structures were gone, the site was fully blighted (to get TIF) and zoned for dense multifamily, what would this site be worth?’ My answer: a lot. So, I cold called the owner and asked if he would entertain an offer. He said yes. We begin to negotiate. Meanwhile, I got a couple of strategic CRE buddies (Partner #1 works for a successful local GC and Partner #2 just started his own Civil Engineering biz). I shared my idea to turn the site into an apartment village. Using the silos in creative but cost effective ways for branding and aesthetics (aka not repurposing the silos for housing, office or anything complicated and likely removing many of them). This was a land play. It’s maximizing the 5 acres at the end of one of the best trails in the city. They were in. The seller wanted a quick close and $700k. I said I would give him the $700k but wanted 6 months of DD. He wouldn’t go for the long DD. I told him there’s a lot of risk we are taking, and it will take time to figure out some potential problems. He said, “no one else is talking to me right now so do whatever homework you need to do and get back to me.” Turns out this seller is an awesome dude. I do the back of the napkin math, and decide if I can acquire the site for $450k it would be worth risking it with a quick close. I could get out of the deal and still make a little money at that price if I just sell it as an industrial site. The current industrial zoning was outdated and the silos became obsolete once the interstate came in and killed the rail line they serviced (nearly 50 years ago). Common sense says the sites highest and best use is housing. It’s surrounded by homes and the city needs more housing supply. Currently, the site is a liability. My partners and I thought we could figure out the most important questions in 60 days (city support, structural, environmental and demo cost). So… a week later I call the seller and asked for $450k, with a 60 day close and one catch: he would agree to a sale leaseback for 12 months (he was currently using the site to store some equipment, concrete and dirt for his plumbing business). The monthly rent would be just enough to cover our carry cost as we go through the entitlement process. We had a deal. We closed. We had a lot of work to do.