All Forum Posts by: Barry Ruby

@Rafael Pinho

The main points that helped me the most concerned a second high rise mixed use project I engaged his firm to design for me in downtown Seattle.

The architect with development experience was able to define issues that were problematic with the first building and proposed solutions to the second before they arose.

Topics included fenestration, sub grade parking, mechanical systems, building services and a more creative unit design by creating smaller but extremely efficient use of space.

This architect basically became a member of the development team and provided value over and above the services typically rendered by architects.

@Rafael Pinho.

Many times I have asked architects and land planners to do minimal design work for a project in exchange for awarding them the job if the project goes ahead along with a substantial bump on their carried fees.

I have never done a JV with an architect in exchange for its contribution of all or part of its fees. If a JV was considered I would have proposed that the architect's participation in the project would be structured to meet a formula that tied the fee to the investor's equity required for the project.

For example, if total equity on the investors side of the deal was $1,000,000, a $100,000 fee contribution would give the architect a 10% ownership position in the investor’s ownership position.

@Rafael Pinho

As a developer with over 55 years of experience, I worked with exactly one architect that was fully versed on the development process.

That architect was able to provide me with extraordinary service that saved me time and money

Know it or not, architects are more than 1/2 way there in terms of gaining the literacy and skills needed to execute a ground up project.

Any architect that is interested in becoming a developer and or providing their developer clients with superior services is highly encouraged to pursue their intent.

@Jacob Valle

Jacob,

Before you try to find investors for any syndicated deal you need to have a private placement memorandum (PPM) in place.

If you don’t know what this is, you need to educate yourself about the various elections that are available to you as a sponsor as to the types of investment structures that can be used to fund a project.

The rules and regulations are set on the federal level and carry heavy penalties against violations.

I hope this helps you get a start on addressing your question.

@Gerald Kieffer Jr

Gerald, I have developed many different asset types and only one retrofit project.

There is no question that the retrofit was as or more challenging as any project I’ve done.

I suggest that you do a deep dive into solidifying your gross rental income and NOI.

Use your NOI to determine the value of your project and work backwards from that value to determine your "all in" budget by deducting a target profit, commissions and closing costs to define the total budget you have to work with.

Use your budget to determine if the scope of work required in construction costs can be met by your budget.

Doing this as early as possible can give you a good idea of whether or not the deal is feasible and has the potential to save you a whole lot of money and time.

Let me know if you need any help with this

@Jim Martinez

Jim,

I made an Excel workbook for my son

Let me know if you would like a copy of it and I’ll send it your way

@Anthony Freeman

I run out of bandwidth pretty quick trying to run numbers without using a robust Pro Forma even if I take off my shoes and count on my fingers and toes.

You need to be able to conduct Pro Forma modeling to properly assess the performance of any investment

Please let me know if you have any questions or need help

@Lorenzo Lopez

Hi Lorenzo,

I’d like to chat with you about the podcast

I can speak about acquiring a value add asset and or executing a ground up development

@James McGovern

Thank you for your reply James

Please let me know if you need any help with your analysis

@Jamaal Ragland

Jamaal,

You are offering exactly what is needed here and I sincerely hope that it is recognized and accepted as such.