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Why Is a Feasibility Study Needed? A feasibility study serves two different purposes. One, it's needed for internal decision-making. Without a good grasp of the market, the financials and potential outcomes, solid decision-making is next to impossible. Two, investors and lenders will demand a detailed study to assure themselves that the developer has thought the [...]
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Building Apartments With a Joint Venture Partner
What is a Joint Venture? A joint venture (JV) is a collaboration between two or more business entities for the purpose of starting a new business activity. Each party contributes value to the joint venture and agrees how to divide up income and expenses. Where a JV Fits In Fundamentally, a joint venture partner is [...] -
Where to look for land
Where to Look for Land Land acquisition is a multi-year undertaking. It requires time and research to find suitable land, navigate municipal requirements, assemble a team of professionals, structure a deal, begin due diligence, get the required approvals, close, get permits, have contractors ready, and finally, find financing. Finding Opportunities In the quest for finding [...] -
Multigenerational families need asset & property managers
For multigenerational families owning apartment properties, there can be many difficulties, competing factors and points of view brought to the table when it comes to management of property. At this point, for most portfolios built in the 50s and 60s, generation one has passed, generation two is in their seventies, and generation three are in [...] -
Art of the flip: Converting office buildings to apartments
The far-reaching effects and opportunities of the pandemic are countless, and doubtless you have probably educated yourself on the ones that are relevant to you. In this article, I'd like to highlight one which we think is a major opportunity globally for apartment developers. It is no surprise that lockdowns and the continuing need for [...] -
Blockchain and the future of commercial real estate
You’ve heard us mention blockchain in Derek’s most recent Quarterly Apartment Download, but why do we think blockchain will affect the future of real estate? How does it work? At its most basic level/[to break it down], blockchain is a method of storing data. The data is stored in the form of a ledger and [...] -
Perspectives and Frustrations of Apartment Development
Residents fall in love with their communities. They love the parks, the memories, and the housing they have. Though developers built these communities, they are often not included as part of those communities. Their initial vision of what could be is discounted, forgotten and ignored when new development is proposed. Case in point: In Preston, [...] -
Renters Often Pay Higher Municipal Taxes than Homeowners
Derek Lobo was recently interviewed by Steve Paikin on TVO’s The Agenda about a little-known disparity between municipal taxes charged to homeowners and residential tenants in Ontario. It’s widely believed that only property owners pay property tax but it’s actually not true, and in fact, renters sometimes pay more property tax than those in single-family [...]