@TylerAlley_MCR is right, and I’ve been hearing this across the board. The real big money strategy is locking up 3+ acres for economies of scale, ground leasing at least one of the pads, selling another, and using that reduced land basis to make the BTS numbers work.

The amount of buyers terminating escrow without a discussion first is rising.

Sometimes rapport takes 1,000 words to build. Other times, just 30. A new client of mine was in town for a couple of days with a packed schedule. Coffee was out of the question. He’d already committed to a morning workout at The Yard. But, he said I’m welcome to join instead. Hmm…I’d never done a HIIT class before, so I knew I was completely out of my league. Nonetheless, challenge accepted. We ended up as partners, and while I was mostly focused on surviving the next 50 minutes, we crushed the workout together. I think we exchanged all of 30 words between the huffing and puffing. But there’s something about struggling through a workout together that builds rapport faster than an hour of shop talk over coffee. Successful first meeting. Although I’m not sure my body would agree.

With interest rates rising again, you’ll win some and you will definitely lose some. All we can do is make sure we’re learning from the losses, building on the wins, and keeping that long-term trend line moving upward. Keep pressing on.

When I started in 2015, I distinctly remember that 7.00% list cap rates were rare for corporate net lease deals. Now, buyers complain that 6.50% - 7.50% are not nearly high enough for many deals. And this is why the phrase “I don’t have a crystal ball” exists.

This is for sure of the best pieces of news I’ve received in a hell of a long time 🙌. Bring back more of the glory days of society! apnews.com/article/tsa-prech…

I read once that one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make for your kids is where you choose to live. I believed it immediately. Mostly because of my own childhood. A lot of who I am today came from the grind and ambition I developed wanting to live somewhere different from where I grew up. It’s also why I stretched financially in my late 20s to move my young family back to California from Dallas. A friend randomly sent me a starter home in West LA, and from thousands of miles away, I jumped on it almost immediately. I knew it needed work, but my wife and I enjoy renovating anyway. But more importantly, I believed the environment and neighborhood was worth it. I wanted my kids immersed in a community where achievement, education and ambition were normal things for them to see every day. And frankly, I wanted to be immersed in that environment too. I’m reading a book on history, and one theme keeps showing up over and over again across thousands of years: Environment shapes people. Where you live influences who your neighbors are, who your kids become friends with, what behaviors they see rewarded, what they consider “normal,” and ultimately what they imagine is possible for themselves. Obviously parents matter enormously. Genetics matter. Individual choices matter. But that notion that my gut believed to be true is more validated now than before. Where and around whom your family lives is one of the most consequential decisions a parent makes. You’re not just choosing a house. You’re choosing part of the environment that’s going to help shape your kids. The rest is up to the parent.

Is this what it felt like during the Great Financial Crisis in '08? I'll admit, between 2015 and 2022, I had no clue how many different issues could arise during a transaction because most of them were silky smooth. But let me just say, supply and demand is a hell of a concept. Now that the supply of inventory drastically outweighs the demand, every single deal seems to introduce a major problem or hurdle. And it's basically a 50/50 ball between: "Yep, seen this one before." and "How the hell did this even happen?" Title issues. Financing issues. Tenant issues. Environmental issues. Buyer issues. Seller issues. Legal issues. Bankruptcy issues. And the occasional miscellaneous issue. Every escrow seems to find its own creative way to test you. I guess the good news is that those of us crazy enough to still be brokering in 2050 when rates finally come down will have hundreds of battle wounds to leverage while ironing out crispy, airtight transactions when demand exceeds supply once again.

I was last to catch COVID in the house so tried to nap for an hour after school drop off (masked up course) Except I couldn’t actually fall asleep. - A deal needed to close today - 2 counters needed to go out - Marketing needed info for an important new listing It was in that hour that I remembered that this is the life of a business owner and business doesn’t care if you’re exhausted and sick. Sometimes the paid sick leave life that W2 employees have doesn’t sound so bad 😂

Daughter is sick, so dad had a rough 5 hour sleep last night. It’s now 10pm, kids and wife are asleep, and I’m finishing up an RFP for a $30M retail portfolio that I told the client that I’d have back to them by end of the day. I could have given myself more time, but I heard the urgency in their voice because of upcoming travel plans. So instead, I said “give me 24 hours, and I’ll get it over to you.” I’m struggling. But blasting some music in my headphones to keep me awake and holding true to my word. Sometimes being impressively quick and reliable is all you need. So late night it is!

Curious what Gen X thought of Millennials 10-15 years ago. I just turned 34 and have three kids now, and for the first time I’m starting to really notice the generational gap between Millennials and Gen Z. The more I hear about Gen Z through friends, work, or social media, the more I catch myself thinking… “What the hell did Gen X think of us when we were the youngins?!”

To all my young dudes out there: Wife is out for the count with a cold, so over the past couple hours I’ve had to: - Wipe down and put PJs on baby - feed baby - put baby down in bassinet to sleep - Bathe the other 2 kids - get them dressed for bed - brush their teeth - feed the dogs - walk the dogs - put kids to bed I’d always love to just change out of suit, eat dinner, and watch a movie right after a long week of work. But those days are over… Morale of the story. Don’t rush it 😂

Every CPAs dream client

Chasing good dirt in SoCal has to be one of the hardest endeavors in real estate… Twice recently, I’ve spoken with owners of retail properties who said they were interested in entertaining offers. Property #1: Former national tenant on a good corner. Offer: $6M Owner: “Way too low. Please don’t reach out again.” A bit dramatic but ok. Property #2: Older property leased to a stabilized national tenant. Offer: $3M, roughly a 5.00% cap. Owner: “You’re out of your mind. I’ve received offers around $6M.” $6M would be roughly a 2.50% cap. Okay…if you’re not accepting 2.50% cap offers, I probably know everything I need to know about this “opportunity.” Mind you, the tenant still has nearly 10 years of control over the property. I’m not 100% sure what’s going on, but I have a theory. Multifamily, affordable housing, and mixed-use developers can sometimes justify an enormous land value because their underwriting assumes a future high-density vertical project. The problem is that a private owner may not distinguish between a speculative redevelopment offer with a long list of variables and contingencies, and an actually underwritten, executable offer for the property as it sits today. They just see the number. And when one number is $6M and the other is $3M, I get it. Dollar bills, baby. Of course you’re going to chase the bigger number. But sometimes that bigger number is fugazi money until someone proves they can actually close at it. Then again, I’ve also dealt with owners who knew high-density redevelopment was completely off the table and still wanted an exorbitant amount… The never-ending cycle of Southern California real estate.

Brokers must wear many hats. Apparently family mediator is one of them too. When tasked with getting a deal across the finish line, if a problem is solvable, I'll attack it from every angle imaginable. Often with multiple solutions running simultaneously. One of my recent closings required something new: communicating separately with two parties on the seller's side who couldn't care less about letting bygones be bygones. That obviously makes it difficult to sell a property. Once I realized they and their representatives weren't going to get there on their own, I volunteered as tribute. I listened to both sides, understood where the issues were, and started moving the pieces around the board. The one thing that became clear was that despite all the disagreement, both sides actually agreed on the most important thing -- it was a good deal and they wanted it to close. They just wanted it to close on their own terms, which weren't fully aligned. So I did what I normally do. Coordinated between two seller parties, the buyer, title, attorneys, and everyone else involved to keep the train on the tracks. We closed. I'm sure the sellers would have preferred an easier escrow, but the relief of getting it behind them and being able to move on with their lives outweighed the headaches along the way. Winning a deal and finding the buyer is only part of the job. Where we really earn our fee is blowing through every hurdle that stands between a signed contract and a closed deal.

You can’t compare your position today with someone who is in a different chapter of life than you. All you can do is progress incrementally for a long period of time. And eventually that progress will aggregate. …Facts from @AlexHormozi jumped out at me today on the Modern Wisdom pod. What a perspective.

I consume a lot of content with entrepreneurial and/or successful people. What I never really hear is the advice for those who have kids and family and how to balance the high achievements/habits with being a good husband and father. Anyone know folks I should include in the rotation?

Massive huevos on Argentina. Give the other team the lead, make them believe they’ve done it, lull them to sleep, Then just turn on the afterburners at the end to blow past them. As a viewer, I’m here for it!!

My newest listing expires in January 2027…time really does fly by in this business.

I think the key to a long successful career in brokerage is getting better everyday, growing your book of business gradually everyday, and simply outlasting the competition. Fast forward 20 years and you control a big chunk of your target market. Mainly through your growth but it’s boosted by your competitors folding before you.