S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

If you are thinking about getting involved in a multifamily affordable housing transaction, there are a number of due diligence items you will need to include in your investigation that are not typically checked out in a conventional transaction.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (also known as the Section 42 housing program), is a [...]

For 30 years I have been asked the question: “Why in the world should I take several days out of my schedule, spend money, and maybe travel a couple thousand miles to attend a marketing session?” The answer is because a marketing session will create transaction closings that could be achieved by no other marketing [...]

Mark Johnson asked me if I would comment on today’s Real Estate market and the history behind it, as well as the future market. I had to look back at the market nearly 44 years ago, when I first became interested in real estate. In analyzing the market, we need to look at the people [...]

Show Me the Money
WHERE WILL YOU GET THE MONEY FOR YOUR IDEA?
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of funds for the equity portion of your deal, partnership interests and loans. Obviously, a partner is someone that will provide cash or a balance sheet for a piece of the deal. Partners come in many “colors,” those [...]

Over the years I have had the privilege of negotiating and executing hundreds of retail leases. In earlier days I primarily represented building owners or tenants searching for lease space. In recent years, my perspective in negotiating leases is largely as a landlord of neighborhood retail centers.
This article will highlight a few leasing issues which [...]

A person who subdivides land, or develops profits through his/her energies and expertise, must always be on the alert for land to maintain a steady flow of possibilities for new projects. It is my belief that if you deal in land you should always have one or two projects in the approval stage and one [...]

Perhaps your accountant has already informed you of the new tax break that applies to those of us in the building business.
Starting in January 2005, there is a 3%-of-income deduction for qualifying businesses. You should ask your accountant to look into the new section 199 of the tax code. A little research will allow you [...]

To know our investments requires thought, time devoted to each, consideration of taxes, the often overlooked depreciation recapture; and most importantly, to have a plan first, or to develop a plan during the process of accumulation.
So what is the plan about? For me, it’s about my life and considering what it is I really want [...]

The following is from memory of part of a class I taught 20 plus years ago. There were two pioneers in the development of creative thinking as a science (or an art). One was a Dr. Parnes, and the other was Dr. Osborne. Many of their students also wrote reports which were available. Both of [...]

As summer gives way to autumn and winter prepares us for spring, the change of seasons reminds us of the impact we, as individuals, can have on the lives of others.
The new “Autumn 2005 Issue” of The S.E.C. Real Estate Observer, our 13th issue since it was first published in the spring of 2002, holds [...]