All Forum Posts by: Alexandre Boustany

Hello David, 
Thanks for the feedback regarding politics and legalities - this is very helpful for countries in these regions - I'll definitely dive into these aspects as well.

Hi Bigger Pockets Community!

I’ve newly joined our family business in developing commercial buildings and would appreciate your advice if the following potential project is considered as a strong long-term hold.

Project Summary:

• 40-year ground lease
• Initial investment: $USD 930,000 (which includes the 10 years of prepaid land rent and all other costs  such as permits, contracts, engineering, geotechnical studies, etc.)

Revenue & Occupancy:

• Annual rental revenue (Year 1): the equivalent of $USD145,000 (at 100% occupancy)
• 7% shop rent increase every 5 years

Operating Expenses:

• Recurrent yearly expenses total USD$20,000, covering: Security, maintenance, generator upkeep, insurance, taxes, repairs, and contingencies
• Land rent restarts in Year 11 with a 10% increase every 10 years

Financing:

1. With loan (USD$550,000 at 7%, over 6 years)
   → Break-even in Year 12

After breakeven, the project produces pure cash flow for 28–32 years.

Would you consider this a strong long-term hold?
Would you use debt here or propose a different financing strategy?

Appreciate any advice, feedback, or red flags I might have missed.

Thanks a lot!

Hi BP Community!

I’m developing a commercial building in a country in West Africa, and would love your insights on its profitability and financing approach.

Project Summary:

• - 950 sqm corner plot under a 40-year ground lease
• - G+1 commercial building with 36 shops, a prayer room, and rooftop ad panels
• - Located in the capital's market zone — very high foot traffic
• - Initial investment: the equivalent of $USD 930,000 in local currency which includes the 10 years of prepaid land rent

Revenue & Occupancy:

• - Annual rental revenue (Year 1): the equivalent of $USD145,000 in local currency
• - 7% shop rent increase every 5 years
• - The annual revenue assumes 100% occupancy, which is typically reached within 1–2 years in this area due to high demand and visibility

Operating Expenses:

• - Recurrent yearly expenses total USD$20,000, covering: Security, maintenance, generator upkeep, insurance, taxes, repairs, and contingencies
• - Land rent restarts in Year 11 with a 10% increase every 10 years

Financing Scenarios:

1. - With loan (USD$550,000 at 7%, over 6 years)
      → Break-even in Year 12
2. - All-cash (no loan)
      → Break-even in Year 8

After breakeven, the project produces pure cash flow for 28–32 years.

 Would you consider this a strong long-term hold?
Would you use debt here or go all-equity to speed up returns?

Appreciate any advice, feedback, or red flags I might have missed.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks Nathan and Chris for the quick feedback, I truly appreciate it.

I am a bit new to the real estate development business, so after checking your replies, I went back to my numbers to check why it is that people in the local market here are telling me this is a good investment, whereas experts like you are telling me otherwise.

I rechecked and noticed that my numbers showed that we would break even in actually  10 years - by this I mean that after finishing the construction, the net income would cover our initial investment in 10 years period. 

Is this considered a good deal?

I decided to share some of the numbers in local currency for some clarity:
Over the 40-year lease period, here are the numbers:
Total revenue = 7,296,753,405 (considering 100% occupancy)
Total Costs (inc. Construction, Initial costs, Land rent, & Operational Costs, etc.) = 2,931,596,976
Total Net Income = 4,365,156,429
Initial Investment (Construction costs & Initial Costs in the first 2 years of construction, including a 5-year advanced rent payment) = 1,049,141,440
Total Land Rent = 891,072,000

Thanks

Hi BP Community 👋

I'm an architect who has joined a real estate development company in Lomé, Togo (West Africa).

I’d appreciate your thoughts on a deal I’m currently analyzing. Here are the key details:

• It's located in Lomé, Togo (West Africa)
• It’s a commercial project located in a designated commercial zone
• We’re securing the land on a 40-year lease
• Our financial analysis shows that total revenue over the 40-year period would be 2x the total costs, including both fixed and operational/recurrent expenses
• The return on initial investment (construction and setup costs) is estimated to be around 14 years

Would this be considered a good deal in your opinion? What would you flag or look deeper into if you were reviewing this yourself?

Thanks in advance 🙏

Hi BiggerPockets Community,

I’m Alexandre Boustany, an architect who has recently started co-managing my father’s medium-sized real estate development business in Togo, Africa. It's an exciting journey for me, but also new to the business side of this industry.

I’m looking for a mentor or coach with experience in real estate development and business strategy to help guide me through this journey. Your insights and advice would be invaluable as I navigate the early stages of this transition.

If anyone is open to sharing their knowledge and collaborate, I’d love to connect!

Thank you, and looking forward to being part of this amazing community.

Best regards,
Alexandre Boustany

Hello @Amir Khan! Great to meet you and thanks!

First Point:

Here are the top 6 needs for our workflow (some might be repetitive or could be expanded):

1. Centralized Document Storage with Access Control

Have a secure, centralized system to store, organize, and share all company documents (e.g., contracts, blueprints, reports, scanned records, etc.) while managing access permissions for teams and individuals.

2. Real-Time Collaboration and Communication

Have a tool for teams to collaborate on various subjects (designs, plans, and reports) in real time, with integrated email / chat to track history.

3. Accounting System with "Control" Checks

Software to manage revenues, expenses, payroll, and taxes, etc., and ability to verify receipts and transactions (the verification is done by upper management to check and validate the revenues and expenses)

4. Tenant and Lease Management

Simplify tenant payment workflows, digitize receipts, and efficiently manage leases, rent collection, and maintenance requests, etc.

5. Scanning and Digitizing Physical Documents

Ability to easily scan all physical documentation (previous data and present data)

6. Reporting and Analytics Tools

Dashboards for financial, operational, and tenant data analysis. This would allow us to have a clear bird-eye view of the various data in order to analyze and take decisions

Second Point:

I would prefer to manage it internally for confidentiality purposes. However, it would be interesting to check the option of an outside vendor for a small fee

Third Point:

I wouldn't expect to have often custom changes. I would expect however to have bug fixes and maintenance for the system. Therefore, it would be ideal that the system be simply in design and infrastructure, allowing local IT specialists in Togo to provide their support.

Fourth Point:

It is preferred to start with a physical "in-office" network through a server before transitioning to cloud-based or "out-of-office" solutions

Thanks,

Alexandre Boustany

Hello Everyone,

My name is Alexandre Boustany, and I’m excited to join this vibrant community!

I’m an architect who has recently stepped into the world of real estate development, taking over my father’s small business. We are a team of five employees, and our work involves renting land for a number of years, designing and developing buildings, and managing them—including renting and maintenance.

It’s an exciting yet challenging new chapter in my professional journey, and I’m eager to learn and grow alongside all of you.

One of my key goals is to modernize our company’s workflow, which is currently reliant on traditional pen-and-paper methods. 

I would be incredibly grateful for any advice or insights on building a solid digital structure for a small business like ours. Specifically, I’m looking for tips on where to start and how to effectively implement digital solutions in a way that aligns with our needs.

I’m also more than happy to share my own expertise in architecture and real estate development, wherever it might be helpful to this community.

Thanks!
Alexandre Boustany