Adventures in CRE Audio Series

In this special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Sam, Michael, and Spencer talk to Brian Murray, the CEO of Shift Capital. Shift Capital is a B-certified impact real estate group. A B-certification is a designation that certifies that a group focuses on social and environmental returns to society. Founded with the mission of influencing the poverty equation, Brian Murray and his team at Shift Capital invest in underserved local communities. They function in such a way so that they're not multi-family developers, not office developers, not affordable housing developers, not retail developers or holders but really a combination of all of those things. Listen to this episode to learn about how Shift Capital uses real estate to do good in the world.

In this special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we feature Brandt Foster, Director at Northwestern Mutual Real Estate, one of the largest real estate investors in the nation. In this conversation, Spencer and Sam ask Brandt about MHCs, manufactured housing communities, where there are multiple different tiers of property types that sit within the community. Here at A.CRE we have our own specialties when it comes to real estate properties that we tend to focus on. As we've expanded, however, we've done our best to cover lots of different investments. This episode is part of that. We brought on expert Brandt Foster to provide you, our readers, with more information on an investment type we may not be as familiar with. Watch below to hear advice from a seasoned CRE professional on the details of manufactured housing community real estate investments.

In this special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we feature Yaakov Zar and Sammy Greenwall, the founders of Lev Capital, a commercial mortgage marketplace for capital market advisors. In this conversation, Spencer, Michael and Sam ask Yaakov and Sammy about what Lev is doing to bring real estate financing into the 21st century. Watch, listen, or read below to learn about Lev Capital, how they're inventing new technologies and innovating real estate capital, and their plans for the future. Connect with Yaakov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yjzar/ Connect with Sammy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammy-greenwall-387b3256/ Learn more about Lev Capital: https://www.levcapital.com/ Read the post: https://www.adventuresincre.com/audioseries-s3spe9/ Register for the Accelerator: https://www.adventuresincre.com/accelerator/

This episode of the A.CRE Audio Series features Jacob Deva Racusin, a real estate professional and co-founder of New Frameworks. New Frameworks is a worker-owned cooperative focused on environment-friendly construction. An active member of the carbon leadership forum, Jacob is engaged in code and policy development, professional training, and other initiatives supporting the transition to a more just industry. Watch, listen, or read this episode to hear Spencer, Michael, and Sam speak with Deva on construction and the environment in real estate. Connect with Deva: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-deva-racusin-7a41603/ Learn more about New Frameworks: https://newframeworks.com/ 

This episode of the A.CRE Audio Series features Aleksandr Gampel, a real estate professional and co-founder of Cuby Technologies. Cuby is a tech company working to change the way we build buildings altogether. If you look into the recent past, you'll see that the construction process overall hasn't changed in decades. With the huge growth of commercial real estate and its emphasis on the asset class, the demand for construction is higher than ever. However, with how we build today, it would be nearly impossible to meet this demand. There's just not enough labor to deliver on those buildings. This results in high costs and developers so squeezed on returns that they're unable to find as many deals. Aleksandr Gampel and his company, Cuby Technologies, work to solve this problem. Listen here to see Spencer, Michael, and Sam speak with Aleks on technology and construction in real estate and how they've evolved over time.

In this special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we talk with a special guest and friend to A.CRE, Oliver Beavers, the founder of Phosphor who is working on a new financial modeling tool. Originally, similar to multiple new professionals in the industry, Oliver entered the finance world needing to learn Excel to map out complex financial deals. As many of our users know very well, the process of creating and modifying financial models can be a hugely time-consuming effort, which may require multiple iterations, which then can create quite a strain on those tasked with that responsibility. Additionally, any changes made to the model create the extra headache of updating all the associated investment memos and project deliverables that are tied to that model. Due to this experience, Oliver has sought to create a more intuitive, easy-to-use tool specifically catered towards financial modeling. With a whole new engine, Phosphor is in a very simplified language that is nearly identical to Excel with name ranges but sans many of the common pain points experienced by financial modelers. Check out our interview with Oliver below.

In 2018, Michael and I designed and built the A.CRE Accelerator program. We sought to build the preeminent tool for learning and mastering real estate financial modeling. It was intended to provide a clear path to real estate financial modeling mastery, and ultimately give Accelerator Graduates a significant advantage in the industry. Now as we approach the 3-year anniversary of the Accelerator's initial launch, it's inspiring to see how the Accelerator program has accomplished all of that and more! Today, the Accelerator program is used by dozens of top universities and institutional real estate firms to teach the next generation of real estate professionals. Thousands of individuals have likewise leveraged this case-based program to master real estate financial modeling, model their own deals, land a job in CRE, and further their careers in real estate. The program's Certificate of Completion is viewed by employers and investors as a strong assurance of the Accelerator Graduate's commitment to the industry and as evidence of their superior real estate financial analysis skills. But with all things tech, consistent innovation and improvement is essential. So, to ensure the Accelerator's long-term prominence and to offer an improved experience for members, we've spent the past year building the Accelerator's next-gen learning platform. Today, we're excited to announce the launch of the new Accelerator 2.0: Same Proven Curriculum, New Specialty Endorsements, Easier-to-Use Platform. Learn more about the Accelerator 2.0: https://www.adventuresincre.com/introducing-new-learning-platform-accelerator/ Register for the Accelerator: https://www.adventuresincre.com/accelerator/ 

In this fourth special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Sam, Spencer, and Michael discuss how to create a real estate portfolio with special guest, Brandon Taubman. Brandon is a data scientist and financial engineer with 15 years of experience within investment banking, sports analytics, and real estate.  With Brandon's experience in a variety of fields, we ask for his advice in creating a portfolio through an analogy of baseball. Watch, listen, or read below to learn how to evaluate real estate, risk, volatility, and other metrics to curate a perfect commercial real estate portfolio.

In this third special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Sam and Spencer discuss self-storage data-driven strategies with special guess Drew Dolan. Drew is a Principal & Fund Manager at DXD Capital, a data-driven self-storage development company. Here at A.CRE, we've tried to create a wide array of cre content and one of the more recent areas we've dived into was self-storage, specifically with our self-storage development model. In this episode, we talk to Drew on exactly that niche. Concerning self-storage, data is going to be one of the biggest driving factors in creating a successful, well-rounded strategy for selecting, planning, and developing a self-storage facility. Some example data points would be residential areas nearby, prices, population, incomes, and more. DXD Capital specifically has worked to develop a really robust system for developing self-storage properties through data.

In this special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we feature Scott Choppin, the CEO and founder of The Urban Pacific group of companies, a real estate development company based in Southern California. In this conversation, Spencer, Michael, and Sam consult Scott for his insights into the development side, as well as other things happening from an actual deal-doer and maker in the business. As we've tried to emphasize in this season, both strategy and action are required for a successful deal. You could have a great strategy and terrible execution. You could be a great executor and be destroyed from terrible deal-making. Without a plan, the execution falls apart. Newer people to the development business, however, often have poor execution rather than poor deal-making or deal selection. An okay deal well executed will make you money, but a brilliant deal poorly executed will get you nothing. Watch below to hear advice from seasoned CRE professionals on commercial real estate strategy and execution. Scott's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottchoppin/ Urban Pacific: https://www.urbanpacific.com/

In this first special episode of the 3rd season of the A.CRE Audio Series, we feature Mark Rios, a real estate entrepreneur with a background in media. In addition to being an A.CRE Accelerator Graduate, he is the principal and co-founder of Prosperity CRE. Growing up in Hollywood, Mark planned for a career in the entertainment industry and spent 30 years in various acting roles. Through the years he eventually fell into commercial real estate and co-founded Prosperity CRE, a private real estate investment firm. In this episode, we discuss the various aspects of running a CRE business and the steps Mark is taking to further his CRE and business abilities. We highly recommend you check him out in the links provided. To watch, listen, or read Spencer, Michael, and Mark's conversation on running a real estate business and being a CRE entrepreneur, see below. Mark Rios: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrios-cre/ Prosperity CRE: https://prosperitycre.com/

Now that we've talked about the strategy behind deal-making in commercial real estate, it's time to get into the actual deals! This episode of season 3 of the A.CRE Audio Series talks about how to actually source deals and identify investment opportunities and the relationships needed to properly find these real estate investment opportunities. You've watched episode 1 and have a strategy. Once you've got a strategy and you've got money (something we'll talk about later in the season), you're ready to start sourcing deals. But where do you go? Where do you start? Watch this episode to hear Spencer and Michael's takes on answering these questions as well as the various ways to approach sourcing deals in various real estate markets.

In this second episode of this special season of the A.CRE Audio Series, we're talking about how to create a strategy for deal-making and deal doing, the theme of season 3. Strategy is an important part of deal-making: before you can go out and identify deals, you need to have a strategy, a reason to pursue those deals. The strategy really is the foundation of all real estate. As part of this episode, Spencer Burton, co-creator of A.CRE and our resident strategy expert is going to share two experiences from his career and the strategies and firms he worked with. This episode is the first this season where we really get into the meat of the content for season three. It's been a ton of fun. We're glad we can share our experience with you, our viewers. We hope that week can provide value to you, where you may be in your commercial real estate career. Feel free to watch, listen, or read the episode below.

Welcome to the last regular episode of season 3, Deal Making and Deal Doing, from the A.CRE Audio Series. With both Michael and Spencer, today we talk about disposition. We're talking about bringing the whole thing full circle: realizing your profits and realizing your strategy. It seems like a very simple thing. If we've done everything up to this point correctly, as we've discussed and really executed on the plan, you would think that you're done, but there's a little bit more to it than that.  When we say disposition, we're really talking about a sale or an exit, two synonymous terms in the industry. You could say that you exit when you buy, and therefore if you're not thinking about the exit and have a clear plan in place for that exit at the onset, you're going to struggle to find success. Listen on how to maximize your deal outcomes by working until the very end. Thank you for tuning in with us this special season, and we hope you'll stick with us in the future.

Now that we've discussed the strategy and capital behind deal-making, and the due diligence required in conducting deals, let's talk about how to manage your assets. Ultimately, this is the step where quite frankly, the value comes to reality. Both Michael and Spencer have been on the development side of the real estate business and this episode features their advice when it comes to assets in real estate. What's interesting is that real estate is a relationship business, it's a people business, and this gets to the deepest parts of achieving anything. The right team, the right skill sets, you bring it together and magic can happen. When it comes to asset management, there was a decision at the higher level to select the personnel. So it was a personnel selection.

Now that we've really dug into the details about deal-making in commercial real estate, it's time to get into the weeds concerning deal-doing. This episode talks about how to go about due diligence in CRE at a pro-level. Hear Michael's perspective on the three main things for keys to success in real estate due diligence. We'll talk about the big buckets of due diligence.  As a side note, we'd love to hear from you guys! If anybody had questions or comments, feel free to follow up if you want to get more into geeky details. We couldn't do any of this without you, so we'd love to get in contact.

As far as deal-making, and deal doing are concerned. the last three episodes or so have been really focused on the making side. But making deals is great, but if you can't get them closed, they're not worth anything. In this episode, we're beginning to bridge over to the doing side. Episode 5 is the second part of putting together your capital stack for deal-making and deal-doing in commercial real estate. Where the last episode talked about equity, this episode specifically talks about debt. Hear about the three things we think about concerning debt in your capital stack.

As briefly mentioned in the last episode, before you can start sourcing deals and finding investment opportunities, you need a strategy and you need money. Episode 1 talked about how to develop a strategy. Episodes 4 and 5 talk about how to put together the capital required for closing a deal in real estate. Specifically, this episode addresses equity when putting together your capital stack. Just as in the last episode, the key to capital is networking. You can raise capital. You can find a broker. You can go find somebody to help you do that. But having relationships already made legitimately is critical.  Below, watch, listen, or read the various approaches to raising capital and the relationships needed to do so.

Welcome to Season Three of the A.CRE Audio Series! In this season, I am joined by the creators of Adventures in CRE, Spencer Burton, and Michael Belasco. This season is the first chance Spencer, Michael and Sam had been able to get together in person since 2019, and so they decided to do something special. As opposed to past seasons, season 3 is focused entirely around a central theme: Deal Making and Deal Doing. This series is comprised of 8 episodes that deep-dive the various nuances of what it takes to both create deals at the highest levels, and to get them closed like a pro. Here are some of the highlights: How to develop and create an investment strategy others can get behind How to source deals and fill your pipeline like a pro How to assemble your Capital Stack, both equity and debt How to perform Due Diligence like a pro Expert-level Asset Management and executing your plan Bringing the whole strategy to completion with proper Disposition These episodes are full of nuance, context, and stories for listeners who want an authentic look at how deals come together in the real world. Watch this episode to learn about everything you can expect in this season. So, on behalf of Spencer, Michael, and the entire A.CRE Team … enjoy season 3, and the best of luck to you and your Adventure in CRE.

One of our biggest goals here at A.CRE is building a community and engaging with our readers. Recently, you've likely seen our posts on the A.CRE Networking Reboot Cruise. This cruise we're putting together is another effort to bring that community together, give value back to our readers, and allow us to interact in person in a more substantive way. This cruise will take place in April 2022 and is to help all CRE students and professionals get back into networking in the post-covid world. Concerning the content of the cruise, we'll be putting together self-improvement exercises, educational conferences, and general cruise activities. We're also going to talk a lot about how to elevate your personal brand. So if you're in a management role at this point, how do you pitch new strategies, or how do you pitch investments? If you're early in your career, how do you develop your own personal brand? Or if you're mid-career and you're looking to make a career change, how do you brand yourself in a way that positions you for success going forward? We'll bring on some professionals that will help us workshop these ideas.

This episode of the A.CRE Audio Series features Justin Smith, Senior Vice President at Lee & Associates and the author of Industrial Intelligence: The Executive's Guide for Making Informed Commercial Real Estate Decisions. In this episode, he sits down with Michael, Spencer, and Sam to talk about how to maximize value for tenants. A big thanks to Justin for making himself and his story available to our viewers!

This episode of the A.CRE Audio Series features Caleb Staub, a Real Estate Investor and Construction Project Manager. In this episode, we ask Caleb's advice on how to transition into the commercial real estate field. A big thanks to Caleb for offering his knowledge to our viewers!

In this episode, watch as Spencer, San, and Michael discuss how to maximize your ROI on In-Person CRE Events.

In this episode of Accelerators in Action, we're so happy to feature Samuel Obasi, the current A.CRE Fellow. In this episode we talk about the opportunities that come with a Fellowship as well as internships and so-on.  This is our 9th episode in a growing sub-series of interviews with commercial real estate professionals. This Accelerators in Action sub-series tells the stories of CRE professionals at all stages of their career, from students to senior-level professionals. Their experiences will provide you with insights into how to take your real estate career to the next level.

In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we're pleased to be joined by Johannes Peter, the Founder & CEO of TomoDomo Co-Living in Switzerland. TomoDomo provides Co-Living residences in Switzerland. Through Co-Living, TomoDomo's goal is for their residents to consciously share their living space in order to build relationships, think further, aim higher and live better. This episode discusses how to accomplish this amidst a global pandemic. We're very grateful for Johannes's willingness to share his knowledge with the A.CRE audience! TomoDomo Website: https://en.tomodomo.ch/ TomoDomo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tomodomoliving/

In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we're pleased to be joined by Garland Fuller, a Diversity Recruiting Leader and Inclusion & Equity Strategist at CBRE. For this episode, we consult Garland on the best way to build a diverse team in the CRE profession. We're very grateful for Garland's willingness to share their knowledge with the A.CRE audience!

With the events of 2020, networking in CRE has changed. In-place interactions have taken a necessary backseat to virtual connections. We all must adapt in order to advance our careers. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we’re pleased to be joined by Allison Weiss, Principal and Founder of CRE Recruiting. Allison offers excellent insights into how to network in 2021 and beyond. We’re very grateful for Allison’s willingness to share her knowledge with the A.CRE audience!

Many of our content here at Adventures in CRE recently has been about career help and advice. This isn't accidental. With the current pandemic, we're doing our best to help our readers get through the recession. This episode features Jenn Cook, a Corporate Recruiter and Learning & Development Manager at Crow Holdings, and talks about various career advice, such as how to polish your elevator pitch, how to guide conversations with CRE employers, what questions to ask them, and more. We're very grateful for Jenn's willingness to speak with us this week about different pieces of advice for CRE professionals.

One important aspect present in real estate more than any other industry is the need to shoot above your station. Alex Williams, a Financial Analyst at CBRE Capital Markets and our guest today exemplifies this. As just an intern in college, he cold-called and asked to speak with the CEO to close a deal. In this episode, watch as Sam asks Alex about his experience shooting for the stars as an inexperienced young professional. A huge thank you to Alex for talking to us about his career thus far. His experience is extremely valuable for other young professionals to learn how to further their skills and career.

Commercial real estate isn't the fastest to adopt the newest tech compared to other fields. Doing so, however, could increase returns, lower operating expenses, and reduce workload. In this Accelerators in Action episode, listen as Sam Carlson speaks on this topic with RE professional working to integrate tech with real estate, Justin Lia. Justin Lia currently helps people buy, sell, and run real estate. He works as both a consultant and a broker. He has a degree and license in engineering and previously worked in constructing modeling and constructing large structures such as retaining walls and other geotechnical models. He works with giant REITS, the biggest PE  companies in the world, and more to bring a detailed perspective on how to add value to deals. 

We get a lot of questions here at Adventures in CRE about how to "get the first job." Many young professionals breaking into the market struggle to do just that. Jobs available often require experience and or connections - things that new professionals often lack. This episode features Julio Villalobos-Torres, an underwriting analyst at Freddy Mac's and Accelerator graduate. As a recent university graduate, Julio's after-school job plans fell through after the events of 2020. In this episode, we speak on how to get that first job - without having any experience or real estate connections.

Being young and just out of college is a shared experience of many of our listeners. Breaking into the industry and continually evolving your career as a young professional is an important thing to know. This episode talks about exactly that. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Sam welcomes real estate associate and Accelerator graduate Greg Astor. Greg originally majored in Philosophy at Pitzer college but shortly transitioned to real estate as an associate with a tenant rep firm in Santa Monica.

Adventures in CRE has always had to goal to provide value to CRE professionals. Mike Strug, our guest speaker today, has a similar goal. This week we met together to talk about different pieces of advice for young CRE professionals. This episode talks about how to make connections as a just out-of-school CRE professional, how to network in a virtual environment, and the number one piece of advice for these young professionals.

Over the past few weeks, the Adventures in CRE staff have been updating and populating A.CRE with real estate education content, including profiles of some of the top undergraduate and graduate real estate programs in the United States. Though pursuing graduate education in real estate is a great option to further one's career, it's not completely plausible for every individual. Because of that, we put together an A.CRE Audio Series episode about alternatives to graduate education in real estate. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we're joined by Richard Byrd, a developer in commercial real estate and co-founder of the CRE analyst real estate training program. A huge thank you to Richard Byrd for sharing his knowledge in this episode with the A.CRE audience!

For commercial real estate professionals in 2020, one social media platform is more important than all of the rest. That platform is LinkedIn, and it now serves as a long-form real estate resume, a virtual business card, and for many their online professional persona. So given its importance, we thought we'd spend a few minutes discussing LinkedIn and three keys to LinkedIn success in CRE. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we're joined by Tucker Wells, our Head of Training and Careers here at A.CRE. Tucker's background is in real estate executive recruiting, and over the years Tucker has helped hundreds of real estate professionals enhance their personal brand and advanced in their CRE career. In addition to leading Enterprise training and career services for A.CRE, Tucker provides one-on-one career consulting, resume review, and LinkedIn profile review as part of the A.CRE Career Accelerator, an add-on to the A.CRE Accelerator.  A huge thank you to Tucker Wells for sharing his knowledge in this episode with the A.CRE audience!

We regularly respond to questions from A.CRE and Accelerator members as it relates to analyzing and evaluating real estate investment opportunities. Recently, in an Accelerator forum post a young professional marveled at how certain individuals in his office could look at a deal and within a matter of minutes make an assessment as to whether the deal was worth spending more time on. He asked if we had any insights into how that was possible. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Spencer, Michael and Sam discuss back-of-the-envelope analysis. They discuss specific techniques for quickly getting to a decision as to whether dig deeper, or move on from a deal. And they share insights from their personal experience, having collectively underwritten over $30 billion of real estate in their careers.

The real estate job market has changed dramatically over the past 3-4 months, with the market shifting from one that favored job seekers to one that now favors employers. In light of that shift, we're excited to welcome onto the A.CRE Audio Series one of the foremost experts in real estate careers: Kent Elliott of RETS Associates. Kent founded the real estate executive search firm, RETS Associates, in 2002. Since that time his firm has placed more than 3,000 real estate candidates spanning 22 U.S. states and across every major real estate discipline and property type. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, we discuss with Kent the current job landscape. We then ask Kent for pointers on how candidates can stand out in the interview (and beyond). This episode is a good complement to our other discussions on the A.CRE Audio Series with top real estate recruiters. Check out our season two episode with Jeff Wittenberg and our season one episode with Alex Barake.

In this episode of the Adventures in CRE Audio Series, we dive into the Masters in Real Estate decision. Specifically, we discuss for whom the Masters in Real Estate is ideal and share our thoughts on the benefits of this specialized degree. This discussion is a good complement to our two-episode discussion with Jim Spaeth in season one on the MBA in Real Estate.

Just like any skill in life, there are tips and tricks to learning that skill. Some suggestions are more helpful than others, although all contribute in some way. In this episode, we share one of the more valuable tips - what our marketing team has dubbed the "secret" - for learning real estate financial modeling. And what is that secret... wait for it... practice! Big "secret", I know. But we can't reinforce this point enough. True proficiency in real estate financial modeling doesn't come from memorizing formulas or using other people's models. Mastery comes from learning the right techniques, in the right order, and then practicing those techniques over and over again. But not all practice is equally as effective. So in this episode, we discuss a few strategies for practicing real estate financial modeling. We then share news about our new Real Estate Case Studies section of A.CRE that we're launching this month, to help you get the right practice for your area of interest.

At some point in their career, most real estate professionals choose to pivot. No matter whether that means making wholesale career change (e.g. transitioning into real estate from another industry), or simply moving from one property type to another, these career pivots can be difficult to navigate. In this episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Sam welcomes real estate developer and Accelerator graduate Nick Bouquet. Nick is a 15 year venture of real estate investment and development, including 12 years developing over $250 million of affordable housing projects. Nick is familiar with career pivots, having navigated one himself. And so in this episode, he shares his insights on how to successfully transition to new opportunities. Currently, Nick executes on redevelopment opportunities in the United States. His responsibilities span the development life cycle. From identifying, analyzing, and performing due diligence on potential investments, to securing entitlements and overseeing the entire construction process. A huge thank you to Nick for sharing his career story.

Commercial real estate professionals come from all backgrounds and all walks of life. Some start with the family business as a kid. Others study real estate in college and begin their career in the industry. But a large share of commercial real estate professionals start their careers in other fields, only to transition into real estate at some point in their career. In this week's episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Sam welcomes Accelerator graduate and Masters in Real Estate candidate Joshua Lau. Josh is a career changer, having started his career in civil engineering only to discover a passion for the business side of real estate several years in. Josh also brings an international perspective, having studied and worked in Canada, Singapore, and the United States.  Josh is currently finishing his first year of a two-year Masters Degree in Real Estate from the Baker Program in Real Estate at Cornell University. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science with Honours, Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. Between and undergrad and grad, school he worked in Civil Engineering, estimating, and project management at firms in Singapore and Toronto. 

Many A.CRE readers are young professionals and college students trying to navigate the job market in a recession. Finding a job in commercial real estate amidst the craziness of the COVID-19 pandemic can be challenging, especially for those with little to no experience in the industry. In this episode, we speak with Matthew Farrell, someone with direct experience finding his first job in CRE in the middle of a deep recession.

A lot of incredible real estate professionals have gone through the A.CRE Accelerator and we think sharing their stories will add value to your career. In this episode of the A.CRE Accelerators in Action series, Sam talks with Craig Cadwallader about what he has learned throughout his extensive career in real estate. In this episode, Craig shares his career path from an undergraduate degree in Communications, Marketing, and Business Management, to asset and portfolio management positions at an established student housing operator, to Vice President of Capital Markets at Avison Young. Craig offers valuable insights on the importance of proactive communication between buyers and sellers, especially in troubled and uncertain times. His story is one that will resonate with commercial real estate brokers, student housing professionals, asset management and portfolio management professionals, and other commercial real estate professionals looking to enhance their career.

Commercial real estate is the business of building, leasing, managing and selling space. And the demand for and how that space is used is largely a function of human psychology and behavior. With the human-psyche turned on its head due to COVID-19, how we use and interact with space is going to change forever. And that change will greatly impact the economics of commercial real estate, including apartment investments. In this special episode of the A.CRE Audio Series, Spencer and Michael welcome special guest, Lane Beene, to discuss the impact COVID-19 is having on multifamily investments. Specifically, they discuss which operational and economic metrics matter most for apartments in a post-COVID-19 world, and how multifamily operators are adapting in order to not just survive, but thrive.

A lot of incredible real estate professionals have gone through the A.CRE Accelerator and we think sharing their career stories will add value to your career. In this episode of the A.CRE Accelerators in Action, Sam talks with Terry Kipp, a Senior Investments Associate at a family-owned real estate investment company. Terry's career story is one of deliberate networking and the opportunity to have worked on a diverse range of commercial real estate deals. With experience across the property type spectrum, and at both large institutions in NYC and mid-sized family offices in the South, Terry's perspective is valuable to CRE professionals at all stages in their career.

In this special episode, Michael, Spencer, and Sam discuss there experience going through the Great Recession of 2008. As part of that discussion, they share insights and lessons learned from that time. They then offer advice, especially to those who are dealing with difficult financial or career circumstances and asking the question, what do I do now? Listen as the guys share personal aspects of their story, in hopes of providing a helpful perspective in this time of increased uncertainty and distress.

In this special episode, Michael and Spencer discuss the changing work environmental in commercial real estate. More specifically, with the entire CRE workforce currently performing their duties remotely on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, a paradigm shift in how work is done in CRE is underway. Listen as Michael and Spencer imagine a world where more CRE professionals work remotely, where office space is in less demand, and where contract work grows exponentially.  At the end of the episode, Michael and Spencer make a call to action to Accelerator Graduates. If you're interested in performing contract real estate financial modeling work, we'd love to connect you with individuals needing your help. Go to: https://www.adventuresincre.com/audioseries/#contractwork        

Welcome to the A.CRE Audio Series! On this episode, I am here once again with the creators of the Adventures in CRE website, Spencer Burton and Michael Belasco. Today we are joined by an awesome guest, Alex Zikakas. Alex is the president and founder of capstone advisors, launched in 1996. Capstone is a diversified asset development and asset management company that has served as advisor and asset manager for some of the world’s largest financial institutions and hundreds of complex real estate investment and development projects. During our time today we are diving into some great topics. You can expect to learn more about Alex, how he got started in this industry and his process in getting started as an entrepreneur. We also talk about making a deal, how to figure things out and the best ways to execute strategy.

Welcome to the A.CRE Audio Series! On this episode, I am here once again with the creators of the Adventures in CRE website, Spencer Burton and Michael Belasco. Today we have a great guest, Vicky Lee. Today we are talking about Vicky’s career path and what she does on a day to day basis. Vicky is the vice president of development for Focus in Chicago. Vicky has over 10 years of real estate development and design experience. She is a great resource for many, especially those starting their career or looking for a transition. Learn more during this episode from Vicky about topics such as transitioning from the design or architecture side to ownership. We also talk about bridging the gap, beneficial skills to develop and the seven phases of development.

Welcome to the A.CRE Audio Series! On this episode, I am here once again with the creators of the Adventures in CRE website, Spencer Burton and Michael Belasco. Today we are joined by Jeff Wittenberg. Spencer and Jeff have known each other for a while. Jeff has a good idea of what employers are looking for as well as insight for candidates to have maximum career success. Jeff is the managing director and practice leader for Kaye/Bassman. He leads strategy, team and operations of their construction and real estate practice. Over 20 years he has had responsibility for talent acquisition, training and development, marketing communications and overall governance. During our time today we are talking about the general landscape for commercial real estate recruiting. We are also talking about the mid-career move. It all comes down to being proactive. Learn more during this episode.

Welcome to the A.CRE Audio Series! On this episode, I am here once again with the creators of the Adventures in CRE website, Spencer Burton and Michael Belasco. Today we have a special guest Ben Stevens. Today we are actually continuing a previous conversation. We are picking up where we left off from the last episode with Ben. Towards the end of Ben’s time working on his MBA, he began writing a book called The Birth of a Building. He continued that effort following graduation and eventually published the book. It is now used as part of the curriculum of several top business programs in the U.S. to help teach real estate development. In this episode, Ben shares a lot of great perspective and talks more in depth about his book.