Women investors, or “wanna be” investors!

On March 8 in Orlando, I will be interviewing 7 women investors and 3 lender/mortg broker and underwriters-

We will have a matchmaking networking session - matching GPs with LPs -

We have a keynote speaker - sharing tips on… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… I hope you can join us! There will be over 200 likeminded women in the room discussing investments in all asset classes: self storage. Industrial, retail, MF, hotels and more!

Don’t Miss It! Even if you think your aren’t ready, come learn and get exposed !!

City Council Meeting:

An unlikely source for my best deal yet!

I was sitting in the chamber waiting my turn to pitch the council to give my charity more grant money in my town of Davie.

When, on the agenda, comes up an item - outlawing strip clubs in my town. Hearing that my town was going to outlaw strip clubs, most mother’s brains of 2 young boys would have been “that’s awesome- we are cleaning up the town for the/my children” ….

My brain, of course zoomed to “there’s a Fabulous site with a strip club! I need to buy it!” 😎

I was rushing out of the office to get to my 4yr old son’s Halloween party.

Son: Mommy, you are coming to my party today at school,
right?

Me: Of course, Alex! I wouldn’t miss it “for the world” ( but maybe for work) 🤦‍♀️

Employees following me down the elevator,
to the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… As I am click clacking in my pumps up to the door of the classroom,

I see my son,

nose pressed to the glass door,

watching for me.

I’m late- very late- the party is over!

He is the last kid to be picked up!

He has a very sad look on his face!

I
Am
Devastated.

Landlords create rent their own delinquency issues.

1. Don’t give grace periods in leases. (In Fla they legally get 3 days - in a 3 day notice)

If a tenant wants a 10 day grace, I suggest we put in the lease that the rent is due on the 20th of the month.

Then I will get my… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Don’t remove late fees and don’t NOT charge them.

Accrue them and one day you will collect.

“El Bebe no llora, no chupa”

Look it up- 😎☝️☝️☝️

If you don’t have ACH, call and visit (locals) to ask for rent!

Late in month payments are unacceptable.

(Just because prior… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

“I’m not the one to lease this property going forward.”

After 2 years with zero leasing on an asset I owned with partners, I was listening to a podcast where I was reminded the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again. I had offered broker incentives, I had prospected thru FB, IG, Craigslist,canvassed, had broker parties, chamber mtgs, you name it!

NO leases.

Listening to the podcast, the message was- DO SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY!!

I decided I needed to bring someone else in to lease it! 🤦‍♀️

Difficult clients.

(Someone asked to post about this topic)

I have had difficult clients in the past.

What I always tried to do with them is over deliver, and over communicate.

Sharing my evidence of volumes of Prospecting - And accurate,
Transparent market info from my neighborhood leasing agents vs on line platforms delivering “up to date” knowledge that could help guide decisions.

My asset mgrs relied on their acquisitions teams for underwriting and most times these pro formas missed the mark!

Catch up time.

I think I am probably one of the few people left who reads actual newspapers.

However the ideas I get from these have contributed to some of the success I’ve had.

For ex: the main reason I own 4 shopping ctrs, I read in a newspaper one am that our local College had a goal to expand from 5000 students to 20,000!

They had just bought the golf course across the street from their campus for future housing- Turning it from a commuter school to more traditional.

A vacant Kmart box.

My client wanted Costco.

My best friend tenant repped Costco.

I called her. She said they weren’t interested. I told him.

A few months later, he asks again. I call her - she says no.

A few months later, same thing. 1 year later, my client says let’s pay for a voluminous marketing package showing Costco how the area will support a store, and let’s go to their HQ to present it. He won’t take no for an answer.

EGO should never get in the way of your Fiduciary!

Years ago, I am the leasing agent on my very 1st shopping ctr as an LP.

We acquire the ctr and day 1 I’m getting calls from the dry cleaner tenant.

He wants to downsize - remove his “plant” (this is a GREAT thing)! He is asking me what his new rent will be when he moves from 1800sf to 900sf.

I tell him I will be working on a market study and will get back to him.

I was a busy EVP for the firm, leading a leasing team of 14 agents and various other duties.

He calls again and again.

No distributions for 6 years.

I bought a strip ctr in May ‘08.

The rents were $18-20nnn.

There were 2 vacancies in the 42,000sf.

During due diligence, I obtained 3 LOI’s from a hot Mexican concept, a nat’l coffee shop and a nat’l bakery. I started “making room” for these nationals - read vacating existing rent paying tenants! 🤦‍♀️

The GFC hits.

Most National retailers stop their expansion programs.

I now have 14 vacancies. 🤷‍♀️

During the equity raise, I raised capital to complete a façade renovation.

Deed
In
Lieu

So here I am giddy with excitement of our accomplishment in buying back control of our anchor at the Winn Dixie bankruptcy court.

The next day, back at the office, I start reaching out to all the retailers who were bidding against me. Since I had recently signed a lease at $20nnn for 18,000sf, I thought $12-15nnn was the appropriate ask for rent. I had already established the market, or so I thought.

Everyone turned me down.

That’s ok I thought, they will come around.

One of my most intellectually stimulating and exciting events of my CRE career.

The Winn Dixie bankruptcy auction.

I owned a W/D anchored ctr. I bought it with my institutional partner in 2005. We bought the center knowing that we’d have a anchor bankruptcy soon.

I found out during due diligence of acquisition, that my Walgreens store was relocating across the street.

We’d be losing a 12,000sf store paying $8psf semi net.

I asked the leasing agent, “if the anchors agreed would your co agree? And could he go ask his boss?”

He responded with “yes, they’d agree if the anchors waived, but the anchors would never waive/ so just move on.”

I asked him if I could approach the anchors. “You can’t approach the anchors! We are the LL!”

I said, “I know, but you are telling me you won’t, because you think it’s a waste of time, I’m happy to waste my time and try it!”

He said “our company will never allow you to go speak to our Achor tenants.”

Don’t be afraid to ask.

Tenant Rep Story.

I was repping LA Fitness.

They had 36 locations open in Calif and had never closed one.

It was a challenge, because back then, in the late 90’s, Landlords rarely and almost never leased to gyms.

Why? 1. They had a bad reputation for doing midnight moves (moving out in the middle of the night)

and…

2. Because of parking, most anchor co/tenants had restrictions in their leases to exclude the use. (Many still do!)

We had our eye on a location in a REIT owned property.

Negotiation story.

I had a party store that moved out leaving me a 7900sf vacancy.

Obviously I was anxious to lease that size space. It represented 18% of my ctr.

I thought either a bike or patio would be a great use to fill that size space. I canvassed all bike/patio stores in south Fla.

I get a patio store interested.

I’m thrilled. But he has 7 locations and is a good negotiator.

He can’t afford to pay the $16nnn that the party store was paying.

I suggest we do $12 but only for 2 years, no options.

Canvassing story #5

One day on the way to my office in my shopping ctr, I see 30 small lawn signs in the median that advertise college team apparel from the university that is 40 miles away from my ctr. I recognize the address on the signs to be in a nearby warehouse area. I go into my office and ask my Jr leasing assoc - “Did you see those signs?” She said “what signs?” 😎

(I am always looking for prospects - everywhere!)

I take her outside, show her. I tell her to we need to go find this address and talk to the owner about coming to our ctr.

Canvassing Story #3

September 2020 -South Fla

I start to think that the upcoming Holiday season is going to be BIG.

Why?

There were no birthday parties.

No sleep away camps.

No Easter celeb,

no graduation parties, etc.

AND….

There were HUGE Shipping delays, “On Line” purchases were going to be impacted.

I believed that parents that waited till the last minute to buy presents were going to be scrambling.

Toys R Us had also closed.

Target and Walmart had low inventories.

And I believed parents were wanting to overbuy,

“Meeting in the Middle”

Is

Not

A Rockstar Negotiating

Strategy.

You “quote” $26psf

They come back with $20psf

You agree on $23psf

Impact on Property Owner

1200sf x $3psf= $3600

36,000/7 cap= $51,428 That $3.00 the leasing agent just gave up / Willy nilly- just impacted the value - year 1 by OVER $50,000!

Have you as the leasing agent, surveyed the market? Is $26 the correct “market” rent? Be confident in your rents. If your client/ property owner gives you the rent,

Story continues…original site plan with 2 ground leases
👇👇👇 Waivers needed
👇👇👇

My 1st deal as a GP.

I had taken the deal to my former boss/partner/GP.

He told me it was “too small for us”.

1.77 acres for $1.2m

As a broker, I had just sold for a client, 1 acre for $975,000 on the adjacent lot.

I took 4 girlfriends who were all in CRE to the site. They asked “why are we here?” I told them we are going to buy this piece of land. They laughed. Their work included repping huge box tenants and a national pharmacy.

I told them “I’ll do it without you.”

I didn’t know how to put underwriting/package together.

25 Ideas/places to find tenants for your shopping centers:

1. Flea Markets: many are being bought out for MF developments - these tenants need new homes.

2. Value Paks: leads MAILED to your house.

3. Parenting Magazine: entrepreneurs who advertise have $ to spend to expand 4. Highway retail

5. Quasi retail located in industrial areas

6. Craigslist - best to list spaces that have valuable infrastructure for another user - ex: FB, Hair salon, medical

7. Existing tenants: offer them 1 month free for every lead that turns into a deal