What Do I Do Now?

As Published in South Florida Business Leader Magazine; December, 2008

As I sit in my office overlooking South Beach and Downtown Miami there are still a few construction cranes in sight but most of the condo buildings are up and delivering units.

They will soon be joined by new office towers and additional retail space. Lenders are willing to lend if you have a deal that appeals to them.When I meet someone today I ask them “What cycle are you working in?”  Most folks are waiting for the next cycle to start – IT ALREADY HAS.

I just got back from another “what do I do now” conference attended by people looking into the future and seeing challenge and change. I see it too. However, where some folks may see it as a bad thing, I view it as an OPPORTUNITY.

Months ago I began to search for a platform and plan to address the market conditions in 2008-2010+. The last time around I bought and sold condo and retail properties with ultra-high net worth investors and managed receivership properties.

This cycle my approach is based on some of what I did in the last cycle and builds on the almost 20 years of experience I have had since then. I have affiliated with a firm that has provided special asset and REO services to the lending industry for 20 years. We are making a market in trading notes, mortgages and REO. We have our own co-investment funds. Most importantly, we have the infrastructure to underwrite and operate the properties for ourselves and others.

I am also teaming with some ultra-high net worth investors to buy properties.

These are initiatives for both commercial and residential properties. We will keep overhead low, be a low-cost, dependable service provider and help America get back on its feet. My plan is to create transaction flow and execute all the deals my partners and I can find that make sense. Right now the number of transactions I would execute for my own account is small…but it is increasing rapidly.

I have seen a number of loan and REO pools that contain assets that I would want to own. The time to buy individual assets from those pools is coming and in fact is already here. As the economy shifted I moved with it. Folks that can be nimble and add value in today’s market will be inundated with opportunities.

The time to act is now.

While some firms are contracting, others are forming and growing rapidly. The new economy will be exciting and offer many places to create wealth. Real estate professionals just need to be patient, be willing to work as hard as you need to and more than anything else…stay creative and flexible.  So, rather than complaining that “there is nothing going on out there”, GET MOVING there are LOTS of opportunities.

Jim Fried is a Miami based real estate entrepreneur. He has owned or brokered over $1.3 billion worth of transactions during his 25 year career. He works his own business plan and helps other real estate business persons develop and grow their businesses.