Memorandum To Real Estate & Transportation Committee From: Fill & Download for Free

Getting into real estate development is like trying to break into Hollywood. It’s a seriously tough endeavor.Having said that, there are really only 2 prerequisites: experience & access to capital.You can gain experience a few ways.I’ll list them below with estimated timelines to complete in brackets.Get a job with a developer & work your way up (5+ years)Educate yourself via the Urban Land Institute. (2 – 3 years)Redevelop some land/renovate a home you already own. (6 mo - 1 yr)The last one will really help with developing a proven track record.Okay, so gaining experience is relatively viable. How about access to capital?This is tough part of the equation. Most investors are going to want to see that you have some “skin in the game”.I.e. you should put at least 2.5% to 10%+ of the total equity.Remember, you may only need to raise 20% - 30% of capital as equity and the bank may agree to finance the rest in the form of debt.A few ways to raise equity capital:Through institutional channels (like REITs)Industry relationships (by far the most important)Private offering memorandums (private deal structure)Real estate syndication (pooling of capital among retail investors)Friends/FamilyBoutique real estate investment fundsOf course, if you become skilled at raising capital & generating positive returns you have the potential to make a killing.Best of luck.

I’ve come across three agencies that specialize in real estate marketing recently.First up is Elite Property Campaigns, a newer agency based out of Perth Australia.They market $1 million + properties to high-end clientele. Using comprehensive research on age, income, education, occupation as well as geo-targeting they narrow down to a specific set of psychographic targeting. They then follow through with content, graphics, branding and Facebook ad buys.Here’s a fascinating article on how a competitor copied Elite Campaign’s model and stole 30% of their market share. EPC fought their way back.inMotion Real Estate MediainMotion is a commercial real estate marketing company and creative agency that helps increase visibility and sales for real estate clients.They cover:Custom website design: Responsive real estate websites that are optimized for all platforms (WordPress) as well as hosting and technical support.Graphic Design: From leasing brochures, institutional-level design for real estate offering memorandums, pitch books, and executive summaries.Digital Marketing: SEO, Google Adwords, content development and lead generation.HD Real Estate Video & Custom Motion Graphics. (HD) video production using top of the line HD equipment to produce visually stunning property marketing and corporate videos. Dynamic 2D and 3D animations and visual effects.and finally…NeoscapeNeoscape is a full-service creative agency specializing in branding and visual storytelling for institutional & real-estate clients.SERVICESStrategy, Branding, Identity, Stationery, Renderings, Website, E-Blasts, Print Ads, Listings Catalog, Listing Sheets, Signage, Wayfinding, Experience Center Consulting

An island nation has just elected a young woman as prime minister. She had blamed the failures of central planning and a bloated government for the chronic shortages and high prices plaguing her country. In power, she enacts free market reforms and oversees a surge in dynamism, innovation, and standards of living in the economy.However, in a few years, new economic problems emerge and people start to complain again. The concerned prime minister asks a group of economist to study what is happening. After researching the issues, the economists send her a short memo.Memorandum to the Island Nation Prime MinisterMarkets can be a tremendous tool for wealth creation and efficiency. However, they can at times result in sub-optimal outcomes known as “market failures.” Below are some possible causes for market failure and how they are affecting your country’s economy:Externalities: The cost or benefit of an economic activity that is incurred by a party not directly involved in the activity is called an externality. Car pollution on the island is an externality that is getting people sick. The polluters do not compensate those exposed to their pollution and the people being exposed to the pollution did not chose to be exposed to this pollution. This dynamic has resulted in over-pollution and major health issues. Further, reaching unanimous agreement on a level of pollution through mutual consent seems unfeasible, given the large number of people that would have to negotiate with each other.Free-riders: The free-rider problem is when the beneficiaries of a good or service (like national security) don’t have to pay to benefit from it. This can cause an under provision of that good or service. There are several dams on the island that are grossly under-maintained and suffering from free-rider problems. The lack of taxes for dam maintenance has made contributions for maintenance voluntary. Many decided not to donate as a result, but still benefited from the dam. This irritated others who were still donating and caused them to stop donating too. Now, no one pays for dam maintenance and the dams are on the brink of collapse, with farmers leaving their fields to avoid the impending floods.Information asymmetry: An Information asymmetry is when one party has more information than another. The islands pharmaceutical industry is plagued by this problem. The drug companies claim their new lifesaving drugs have been proven to be safe, but there are vicious (and unsubstantiated) rumors about suppressed studies showing dangerous side-effects of these new drugs. Consumers are not sure whether these rumors are true, but have decided to stay away from these drugs and refuse to trust any study funded by the drug companies. This information asymmetry in the pharmaceutical industry seems to have deprived many consumers of potentially lifesaving drugs, and caused a loss of revenue and layoffs at the drug companies.Anti-competitive practices: Anti-competitive practices are practices that restrain trade and competition without creating value—A firm generally has to have significant market power to engage in these practices. The island has only one usable port for steel imports and its one domestic steel company acquired it. People initially thought the steel company was going to improve the ports efficiency, but it is clear now that the company is using the port to restrict foreign steel imports. The result has been less steel at higher prices.Bounded rationality: The rationality of humans has boundaries and they regularly make mistakes. Through high pressure sales tactics, unscrupulous real estate brokers on the island have been taking advantage of vulnerable seniors with declining cognitive abilities. As a result, these seniors have blown their retirement savings on investment they did not truly understand—and have fallen into poverty.For a discussion of potential options to address these issues, please contact us to setup another meeting.I made up the story above and hope you found it informative and entertaining. Mainstream economists generally support markets but believe market failures can arise due to factors like externalities, free-riders, information asymmetry, anti-competitive practices, and bounded rationality. Whether and how to address these issues is a source of constant debate.