The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected real estate investing tremendously as more companies were forced to shut down physical stores, hotels, office spaces, and other establishments to comply with health protocols and social distancing. Is there a silver lining in real estate investment despite this?

Today’s guest believes so. Licensed attorney, real estate broker, and financial advisor, David Blatt, believes that 2020 can be still seen as a positive year to invest in real estate because a lot of opportunities have been opened up due to the pandemic.

David Blatt is the CEO of CapStack Partners, an NYC based company focused on helping real estate clients find debt solutions, including project financing, loan sales, and syndications, and loan workouts and restructuring. He is a Registered Investment Advisor and holds Series 24, Series 79, Series 82, Series 7, and Series 63 securities licenses. He is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and California, and is a real estate broker in New York and Florida.

David is also a public speaker and has spoken at big real estate conferences about capital and investment trends in real estate, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Moreover, he hosts his own real estate investment podcast, "Make the Deal: Real Estate Investing with David Blatt" and has been invited as a guest on YouTube shows of Grant Cardone, Jake, and Gino, CEO Money, as well as podcasts such as Embracing Uncertainty.

Join in on our conversation, as David shares the current state of real estate investing during the pandemic, how he ran his debt fund for 10 years, and the reason why putting your money in “unloved assets” like hotels and offices, is a great opportunity for real estate investors.

In this episode, we’re discussing…

[01:41] How David started in real estate specifically, distressed real estate and debt capital markets
[05:25] The current state of real estate markets during the pandemic
[11:57] The difference between an investor or a spectator
[12:29] How refinancing with a 10-year fixed or longer works
[16:46] Why there are massive opportunities in investing in hotels despite the pandemic
[19:20] Why stay in Hotels and not AirBnbs?
[21:12] Is there a future for retail assets?
[23:18] Opportunities in Suburban Office Spaces
[25:03] The value of renting a hub or a space to collaborate
[26:02] Why the evolution of flex office Space models has been fast-tracked by the pandemic.

David’s Top Tips:

“Real estates are fixed assets, right? So, it's one of those types of things that when you go into it, it's not as easy to get out of it. If you just don't like the direction it's going in, you liquidate. But it's really also an asset that teaches you the discipline of long term investing, and really thinking about how you're putting your money out.”
“Are you an investor or a speculator? If you define yourself as an investor, then you really need to look at opportunities through a longer-term lens. Because otherwise, you're going to end up undermining value creation, if you have to continue to jump in and out of things, reset, and hope to find something to roll into on the next one that makes sense.”
“Doomsday is driving [people’s investments] towards a brick wall and maybe the forbearances that are in place burn off. Suddenly, [they] carry defaulted loans and [they] want out now. But to me, I just see those as really tremendous opportunities to buy irreplaceable real estate.”

“I think that there are massive opportunities in the hotel space right now, simply because people are, from what I have been seeing, dumping assets.”
“I'm an optimist. Things get back to a new normal and that involves people traveling, whether it be for work or pleasure, and they have to make decisions about places to stay. What's happened now, is that the hotel development pipeline is basically milk.”
“Nobody's bringing more hotels online. So whatever is out there is out there. As someone who is choosing to stay in a hotel, you can choose to stay at those that are built and open. From that standpoint, you now have a long term supply and demand component that's going to start working in your favor as a hotel operator.”
“I particularly like suburban offices because I just think people do want to work closer to home.”
“What people don't necessarily know is that a lot of the bigger companies have started to essentially outsource the office.”

Nicole’s Top Tips:

“If you're a mature kind of long term investor, you want to continue to grow and build the wealth, and not to have to frantically search around where you can put the capital and reduce your taxes.”
“I think it has been interesting to see even before COVID just the influx in temporary office space places to come and collaborate kind of shared spaces. In my corporate world, I have used those spaces because they were closer to where the team was, and basically access a facility where we could all meet and collaborate. People want to get together and don't always want to be virtual, but maybe want some of a balance.”

Resources:

Check out CapStack Partners
Listen to David’s Make the Deal: Real Estate Investing with David Blatt podcast or YouTube
Join us in the Richer Geek Subreddit!
Leave me a voicemail with your thoughts on the show!
Check out our free quiz for guidance and ideas about what to do with your money that’s smarter and can help you generate extra income now
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Resources About David:

Categories: Real Estate Investment, COVID-19, Finance

Tags, David Blatt, CapStack Partners, unloved assets, financial advisor, real estate broker, hotel asset, : hotel asset, real estate asset, lawyer, suburban office space, capital and investment trends in real estate, flex office spaces, distressed real estate, debt capital markets, office outsource, collaboration, build wealth, reduce taxes.

ABOUT DAVID BLATT

David Blatt is the CEO of CapStack Partners, an advisor focused on helping real estate clients find debt solutions, including project financing, loan sales & syndications, and loan workouts and restructuring. A licensed attorney, real estate broker and advisor, David took a humble start as a receptionist at a real estate firm and parlayed it into a career in real estate investments and the creation of his successful company in 2012. David is the host of the real estate investment podcast, "Make the Deal: Real Estate Investing with David Blatt" and has been a guest on such Youtube shows as Grant Cardone, Jake, and Gino, CEO Money, as well as podcasts such as Embracing Uncertainty.

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