Florida Retail Market Opportunities

On today’s podcast, we talk with Derek Waltchack about the retail asset class with a focus on strip centers. As Derek shares, there is a lot of misinformation about the retail asset class. Many investors steer clear of retail, especially when retail assets like malls are not doing so well — but malls are not the real “bread and butter”. Despite what you may hear, retail is a very stable asset class, especially when it comes to strip centers in good neighborhoods.

Derek also takes us into the new modern world of blockchain, the record-keeping technology behind bitcoin that is used to store digital information in a public database, and which is starting to be used in real estate transactions.

Key Discussion Points

[06:02] How did you transition from broker to owner?

[10:47] What investments are you looking for in Florida?

[18:44] Why did you choose Florida / I-4 corridor for retail investments?

[25:30] What kind of cap rates are you looking for?

[38:42] Where does your debt financing come from?

[31:01] From an underwriting standpoint, what are a few important things you look for when someone wants to bring you a deal?

[33:43] Tell us about blockchain technology that is starting to be used in real estate

[43:00] How can folks contact you?

[44:43] Closing remarks by Eric and Steven

About Our Guest

Derek is a partner at Shannon Waltchack based in Birmingham, Alabama. Derek has extensive experience in commercial real estate. In Birmingham, he spearheaded a $4.5 million renovation that transformed a 100 year old warehouse into a cutting edge business center known as railroad square. He also did the first crowd source development in Birmingham, and that development is known as the Stockyard Birmingham. Currently he is working on projects in central Florida.

Derek is also a subject matter expert on bitcoin, blockchain, and how those technologies are impacting the economy, specifically in general and commercial real estate.

Website: https://shanwalt.com/
Email: dw@shanwalt.com
Twitter: @dwaltchack

South Florida Market

In this episode, our guest Daniel Jaramillo gives us his take on the South Florida market. The low caps are making finding deals more difficult, but they are out there. And although prices remain about the same, it is taking longer to make deals. Also, the South Florida market is changing, and suddenly it is making sense to do construction again.

Daniel has an interesting perspective since he deals not only with domestic investors, but also with both foreign investors, particularly from South America. Some of his advice for foreign investors (and domestic investors) is to do your due diligence before spending money on investments, especially if you aren’t familiar with the area. And, don’t make the mistake of thinking you don’t need property management just because you are buying condos and think that is less of a risk. Also, when you’re first starting out, sometimes the best way to get a deal done is to partner with someone.

Key Discussion Points

[05:05] How did you get started in real estate?
[08:16] Overview of the Miami Market
[11:26] For multifamily, what types of cap rates are investors looking for in South Florida
[14:54] What mistakes are investors making with regard to property management?
[18:17] What are some of the data points you look for that convince you this might be a deal to consider further
[23:09] Discussion about syndication and the best way for people to get started with it
[35:55] Are the low cap rates creating opportunities for construction?
[38:21] Opportunity Zones
[42:19] Eric & Steven’s concluding remarks

About Our Guest

Daniel Jaramillo is the CEO of Strategic Properties based in Miami, Florida. This is a real estate investment and property management company, specializing in multifamily and property management.