Friday, March 28, 2014
Yen Update
I see a cup-and-handle forming in the chart below of the USD/JPY cross, which suggests yen weakness to come through the end of this year.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Lessons
The deals that don’t happen still provide lessons to carry with you. And so with that as prelude, even as I haven’t yet done a first deal for my new venture, there is an education that I’ve received already.
(1) What institutional partners focus on when it comes to development projects is not the stuff of engineers and construction managers. If you can convey what the project will be, and a basic sense of what it cost, you’ll be able to check most of the boxes and sound professional.
(2) Lawyers are a terrific source of deal flow. With title guys and mortgage brokers also a useful contact.
(3) New York is its own world when it comes to deal process and the benefits of being a seller.
(4) Working for yourself means constantly thinking about your goals and how to achieve them.
(5) If you happen to be a bit reserved, you’ll have to find a way to get over it. Real estate is a relationships business. No way around it. If you don’t have (or alternatively go out and find) the relationships, you’ll never see anything worth buying.
(6) Brokers are generally a waste of time.
(7) Be constantly curious about the markets and asset types that you want to focus on.
(8) Know that doing a deal often takes time and a few iterations. You will look at plenty of stuff before the pieces finally come together.
(9) If you partner up with someone, being able to trust him is more important than anything else he might bring to the table.
(10) You never know who or where the next lead will come from, so always take the meeting or call when someone wants to meet you.
(1) What institutional partners focus on when it comes to development projects is not the stuff of engineers and construction managers. If you can convey what the project will be, and a basic sense of what it cost, you’ll be able to check most of the boxes and sound professional.
(2) Lawyers are a terrific source of deal flow. With title guys and mortgage brokers also a useful contact.
(3) New York is its own world when it comes to deal process and the benefits of being a seller.
(4) Working for yourself means constantly thinking about your goals and how to achieve them.
(5) If you happen to be a bit reserved, you’ll have to find a way to get over it. Real estate is a relationships business. No way around it. If you don’t have (or alternatively go out and find) the relationships, you’ll never see anything worth buying.
(6) Brokers are generally a waste of time.
(7) Be constantly curious about the markets and asset types that you want to focus on.
(8) Know that doing a deal often takes time and a few iterations. You will look at plenty of stuff before the pieces finally come together.
(9) If you partner up with someone, being able to trust him is more important than anything else he might bring to the table.
(10) You never know who or where the next lead will come from, so always take the meeting or call when someone wants to meet you.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Around the Web (and other notes)
-This week’s edition of Asia Confidential highlights why South Korea is a stock market to watch. There is a current account surplus and an innovative population – but the part I’m focused on is the likely and eventual unification with the North, and all that brings with it.
-I feel this 2009 piece from George Friedman on Russia and Ukraine offers good insights into the current situation.
-As mentioned before, I am trying to build my own real estate firm, focusing on the markets and opportunities that I deem the most interesting and profitable. In a seller’s market, it is challenging to get stuff done. But, with each deal that we get close on, I’m learning something and continuing to build out my network.
-I feel this 2009 piece from George Friedman on Russia and Ukraine offers good insights into the current situation.
-As mentioned before, I am trying to build my own real estate firm, focusing on the markets and opportunities that I deem the most interesting and profitable. In a seller’s market, it is challenging to get stuff done. But, with each deal that we get close on, I’m learning something and continuing to build out my network.
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