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Demystifying Property Analysis

Understanding property analysis can be the difference  between a big profit and losing everything. By Scott Fahl Property analysis has long been a subjective practice, with as many different opinions on best practices as there are properties. Getting it right can mean the difference between a big profit and losing everything. Why is it so difficult to get an accurate property value? Surely with all the billions that have been thrown at the  problem, there must  be someone with a solution. Right? For decades, companies and individuals have been working to create the Holy Grail for accurately appraising properties using Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). Automated Valuation Models The AVM model uses mathematical modeling combined with databases to attempt to predict a property’s value at a certain point in time. In a nutshell, the model is trying to pull accurate comps. The more precise the comps, the more accurately they can predict the property’s value. The AVM model sounds good on paper. But it falls apart rather quickly when you realize finding accurate comps is much more complicated than the price per square foot, selling price and proximity to subject property. To lay it out for you, mathematical models can’t tell you that Property A was well taken care of by one owner who is a carpenter by trade and pulled permits for all the work he’s done and that Property B’s owner isn’t a carpenter, pulled zero permits and may or may not have redone the electrical. The AVM models are getting better because they have much more access today to data. But, unless you can get homeowners to willingly provide data about their property on a regular basis, AVM models will always have a margin of error and in some cases a large margin of error. Investor Success Model Now, move the conversation to investment properties and everything changes. Owner-occupants are looking for things like demographics, noise, schools, traffic, walk-score, number of restaurants, grocery stores, dog parks, bus routes, biking trails, crime, etc., etc., etc. For investors, it’s simple: They are looking for one thing—profits! You can make an argument that investors  should also be looking  at the list of what owner-occupants want since it’s the owner-occupants who will be purchasing or renting the investment properties. Good point. But today’s real estate investment tech companies argue that you are overcomplicating things. They claim they can cut out 95% of the confusion most investors face when analyzing a property’s investment potential by changing the conversation from demographics and AVMs to focusing on what other investors are having success with. Looking at where investors are buying, what they are paying, what they are doing to properties (construction levels) and what they are selling or renting them for gives you just about all the information you need. A key piece to understand is this: When investors set the tone for an area (investment strategy, purchase price, rental rates, remodel levels, selling price, etc.), it gives you a near-exact game plan for what works and what doesn’t, virtually eliminating the need for inaccurate AVMs and demographics analysis. The reason this works so well is the investors are creating comparable consistency. Example: Investors A, B, and C all bought in the same area, around the same time, around the same price, added similar upgrades with similar finishes and sold near the same prices. If you find a similar home in the same area, in a similar condition and a similar price point to A, B and C, how long should it take you to decipher that it’s a good investment? The answer? Minutes! With this model, you know the best investment strategy for the area, what to pay, what level of construction is appropriate and what you can sell the property for. This level of comparable consistency removes the variables and equations that cause inaccuracies. If all comps are created equal, then AVM models would be extremely accurate. The problem for owner-occupant AVMs is when you add years of wear and tear, upgrades, additions, lifestyles, pets, etc., it becomes very difficult to determine how closely owner-occupant comps are to one another. Without going inside each property, you’re left to make assumptions that dramatically increase your investment risk—and at some point, that is going to bite you. When using consistent comparables, you can make confident, low-risk, data-driven, educated decisions in minutes. Tracking Consistent Comparables This model of using consistent comparables is achieved by using sophisticated and proprietary algorithms and substantial data sets. The results go way beyond valuing a single property and can go as far as assessing the investment potential of an entire nation—in seconds! Tracking investment activity on a national level can currently be done. But it’s mostly left to the behemoth data aggregators and delivered in the form of monthly, quarterly or yearly reports to the public or more detailed reports to institutions. These reports will tell you things like foreclosures are on the rise. Or, the fix-and-flip market is up 10% in Dallas/Fort Worth. Or, rental rates are increasing in Denver. This sort of data has its usefulness. But it’s not much help to those in the trenches practicing investment real estate every day (investors, realtors, appraisers, hard money lenders, etc.). It’s simply too vague. Today new technologies are filling in the gap by providing real time investment market analysis for the entire nation as well as down to the street level with the click of a button. It starts with bigger, better, more accurate data sources and is taken to next-level usefulness by cutting-edge technology companies who specialize in creating user-friendly software tools that solve widespread industry problems. These tools are not simply regurgitating their findings but have opened the door to allow users to create their own findings by entering their individual needs and parameters. An example of this  could be: Show me every property in Chicago that was flipped in the last six months and was originally purchased for 60% of the after-repair-value (ARV). Show me the

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The Hard-Money Mindset that is Weakening Your Portfolio

With hard money so cheap, more investors should be using it. By Charles Sells The real estate industry stigmatizes hard money and private money lenders. Unfortunately, that is preventing thousands of investors from generating the wealth and returns they are fully capable of creating. Although private money was once (justifiably) considered expensive and sometimes predatory, those days are long gone. Before you lose one more cent, isn’t it time to change your mindset? What if you were told that it is you preventing yourself from really experiencing growth in your real estate portfolio and business? You would probably be annoyed and shocked. However, the odds are good that some long-held misconceptions about private money are creating barriers between you and the success that today’s real estate market holds. Getting Beyond the Misconceptions Here are three mindsets about hard money that are just plain wrong in today’s lending environment. If you believe any of these, take a minute to adjust your thinking and get ready for some serious growth in your portfolio.  1. Using hard money means giving up returns. So many investors think about hard money this way: “Why give up 8-10 points (or more) if I have my own capital?” But, why wouldn’t you do that? Consider this example: Investor Bob took $500,000 and invested it into five different opportunities at $100,000 each. Each deal was worth far more than $100,000, but Bob was able to spread his money out and dramatically multiply his returns by using leverage to make up the difference on each deal. Investor Bailey, on the other hand, took $500,000 and invested it in just one deal equivalent to any one of the five Bob invested in. Both investors made money, but Bob’s buying power and returns were nearly five times greater—even after he paid back the loans. 2. Private lenders want me to fail. Probably one of the biggest hurdles you will face in terms of accessing hard money is experience. If you don’t have it, you may have trouble getting a loan. But that is precisely because your private lender does not want you to fail. Furthermore, if it appears likely you will fail, a private lender probably will not want to be part of that process. When you work with legitimate private lenders, they will likely know even more about your investment area than you do. They will request appraisals (which they will expect you to provide at your expense). They will demand that plenty of equity remain in the deal after financing, and they will require you to prove real estate is not just some new hobby you picked up last week. In fact, if your private money lender pitches you on taking out a loan using verbiage resembling this familiar refrain, “Invest today, using other people’s money, in your spare time,” then run! With an experienced, reputable hard-money lender, your loan rate will often depend on your ability to prove you have experience in successful investing and liquidating. In most cases, three successful deals will get you in the door with a pretty good rate. Does this mean less experienced investors are out of luck? Not necessarily, but usually you will need to partner up with a more experienced party or work with a third-party servicer who has already established relationships with hard-money lenders. 3. My market’s hard-money lenders are too picky. I’ve tried to finance dozens of wholesale deals and they won’t bite. One thing that will stop investors in their tracks is trying to finance wholesale deals. If you have been finding yourself against a brick wall as you attempt to finance one wholesale deal after another that you found in your meetup, then the problem is likely that you are trying to convince your lender to fund a deal that isn’t worth doing. The heart of your problem is likely your source of inventory: wholesalers. Now, novice investors, pay close attention: There is a type of investor called a wholesaler, but you will probably never meet a truly legitimate one. In the past two years, the concept has invaded our industry that absolutely anyone can be a wholesaler and make a fortune at double-closings. Most wholesalers have no legal right to offer, list, sell or negotiate on behalf of the legal owner of the deals they are trying to do. What that means is the contracts on these deals are so convoluted and have been assigned so many times that often neither the wholesaler nor the seller has any idea which way is up anymore. Good news: A private lender is not going to want any part of that “ghost inventory.” Private-money lenders seldom loan on wholesale deals, but that does not mean those lenders are unreasonable. They could be saving your skin. Where Viable Deals are Located and How to Acquire Them Inventory is a hot topic these days because it is very tight in many markets. How can you achieve consistently high margins on investments? Stay off the beaten path. Keeping clear of the latest, greatest investing fad will give you the best odds of finding good deals and gaining high returns. Here are three “Inventory Truths” to follow to ensure that you’re spending your time looking for leads in markets that will work for you and your investors. 1. Being the big fish in a small fund is better than the alternative. You will hear a lot of investors say they like to operate in really big hot markets because there is more success in the market and they feel that increases their odds of being successful. The idea is not without merit; you’ve probably heard the saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” We have different rules in real estate. For nearly all investors, the best option if you want to be in the business of flipping is to get out of your own backyard. Choose your market based on metrics rather than on geography. As you consider a market, make sure

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Georgia on My Mind

The Real Estate Investor’s Ongoing Love Affair with Atlanta Housing By Carole VanSickle Ellis It had been more than three years since Atlanta, Georgia, had posted a double-digit temperature, but it did so this past June when the heat index hit 100. It’s also been about three years since the city’s housing market posted double-digit gains in value, but that doesn’t really worry local investors, local businesses or even local developers. Across nearly all real estate sectors, investors still believe in Atlanta. “Unlike some other hot-but-higher-priced housing markets, there is not much evidence yet that the Atlanta housing market has overheated,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of market economics at Auction.com. “There is evidence of a recent slowdown in the number of sales, and the rate of home price appreciation is calming down a bit, but Atlanta is performing better than the nation on both of these metrics.” However, Blomquist and other local investors, such as Robert “RJ” Palano and Sanjay Raghavaraju, warn that a rising volume of available inventory could compel investors to accept shrinking profit margins in 2020 and beyond. Palano serves as acquisitions director for real estate investing company Buy Cash Flow Properties. He has been acquiring properties in Atlanta for decades. He describes the market as “frothy,” although he emphasized “there are always ways to find opportunities.” Raghavaraju, CEO and founder of 33 Holdings, a private equity real estate firm based in Atlanta and serving investors in North American and Asia, agreed. “We currently see a great deal of opportunity in value-add investments in single-family, office, retail and mixed-use asset classes,” he said, “but we are currently cautious at this point in time as e-commerce pushes these assets through a dramatic change. We want to see how we can be at the forefront of the changes as they happen.” 33 Holdings’ portfolio includes residential and commercial assets and development projects. Atlanta appears likely to be among the final major metropolitan areas standing as the scale begins to tip from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market in primary markets around the country. Although Atlanta, like most other 24-hour cities, has seen a certain degree of stagnation in sales volume in recent months, home prices have continued to rise. In July, the Atlanta Realtors Association (ARA) reported home sales prices were up 7.3% over the same time a year prior at a median value of $295,000. July sales also held steady in volume with July 2018, although a month prior, in June, sales volume was down nearly 13% year-over-year. The volume volatility is a result of a “mismatch between potential buyers and sellers,” ARA analysts said. They noted the prices of most homes in the area listed for sale in June were “substantially higher” than what most would-be buyers can afford. The total housing inventory in the city is just over three months’ worth, however, indicating demand is still high and the inventory is on the tight side of healthy. Residential Affordability Is Relative Fortunately for Atlanta-area real estate investors, the affordability factor in Atlanta is largely relative. While a median home price near $300,000 is certainly nothing to sneeze at, the cost of living in San Francisco, California, for example, is 96% higher. Brooklyn, New York, boasts a cost of living 82% higher. And, notably, those values come before considerations such as room to build (which concerns developers) the cost of acquiring land and materials for building new housing, or the cost of renovation. Compared to other gateway cities like Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., Atlanta’s metro rents are comparable but still favorable. Average Chicago rent in April 2019 was $1,511 each month, while D.C. posted $1,773. Atlanta rents were firmly below $1,300, at $1,272. As a result, many businesses are choosing to expand into the southeast with new regional hubs, or they are transplanting existing operations to Atlanta from other, more expensive areas. This keeps demand for real estate across sectors strong, despite the rising market heat. “As long as we stay within our operating parameters, our ‘box,’ so to speak, we are still acquiring properties, adding value, creating income-producing assets, then refinancing or reselling when the opportunity presents,” Raghavaraju said. “I doubt there is going to be a heavy slowdown in the Atlanta real estate market at this point because of how many of the fundamentals in the [national market] were corrected after the last crash.” Georgia’s business-friendly tax environment and willingness to aggressively court major corporations for headquarters and satellite offices in the state is aided by Atlanta’s relatively affordable housing when compared to other markets of similar sizes and resources. This not only brings in new commercial development and new tenants for existing commercial buildings, it also creates an ongoing demand for new residential developments as the population continues to grow and employees follow employers to the area. In January 2019, the state of Georgia lowered the corporate tax rate from 6% to 5.75%. It also added its own incentives to existing Opportunity Zone program incentives, offering new and existing businesses creating jobs in qualified opportunity zones (QOZs) the chance to qualify for tax credits of up to $3,500 per job. The city recently inked a deal with Starbucks to provide a $250,000 Economic Opportunity Fund grant to the company to support the creation of a new satellite office in the area. “The entire state has a long history of policies focusing on bringing in companies to insulate and build up the economy, and Atlanta reaps the vast majority of the benefits of those policies,” said Harding Easley, an account executive with Yardi Matrix. Easley noted that in 2019 alone, Atlanta was the recipient of 850 new jobs from Norfolk Southern (and associated new office space development), 1,000 potential “career opportunities” sourced from the BlackRock’s newest “innovation hub” (iHub) and 600 new jobs from Salesforce, which is already invested in the city and will take over the remainder of its existing building, renaming it Salesforce Tower Atlanta. Additionally, Pullman Yard Development

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The Handshake

In a relationship business, you must genuinely build the relationship to get the business. By Mike Tedesco When I was 12, my brother John got me an after-school job selling newspaper subscriptions. Armed with nothing but our wits (and free umbrellas if you signed up), we hustled door to door and quickly became the newspaper’s top salesmen. In those four years, many a door was slammed in my face, but I learned how to approach strangers. I became quite good at it. These skills would later help me tremendously as a young loan officer, and I quickly became a top producer. I continued to develop this craft even as I began my own company. The Value  of Personal Connections Over the last 13 years, I built Appraisal Nation from three men with two lenders into 120 employees with more than 1,300 lenders across America trusting us for their valuation needs. My entire growth strategy is focused on one core principal: This is a relationship business and to get the business, you must build the relationship. Getting from first encounter to client is a long process, but the first encounter is always the most important. In the modern age of technology, true personal connection is becoming rare. I built my sales model on a different philosophy than most. I believe that if we are going to have a relationship business, we must actually meet our prospects and build from the very first interaction: the handshake. For the last decade, I have reinvested a large percentage of our profits into face-to-face interactions by sponsoring and exhibiting at more than 50 lending conferences a year. In that time, I have personally attended more than 400 conferences and shook thousands of hands. You may think meeting someone would be easy: Shake a hand, say hello and ask for their business. But, the process is a lot more complicated than  it appears. The wrong  first impression could mean never having the opportunity to earn someone’s business.  There is a lot that goes into meeting a new prospect. Preparation is key. Before you shake a hand, you need to be prepared both physically and mentally. Hawaiian  Shirt or Tie? Being prepared physically sounds straightforward enough. You simply look and act professional. You should always know your venue, know the crowd that attends and know the location. If I’m attending a retail banking conference in the Northeast, I wear a three-piece suit, sharp tie, cufflinks, stay collars, the works. If I’m at a broker show in Orlando, maybe my attire will be matching polo and slacks with shined shoes and a coordinating belt. I went to Credit Union conference in Honolulu a couple of years ago. I’d never done this conference before and was a little concerned, so I called the event director who advised that most people would be in Hawaiian shirts and flip flops because they incorporate a vacation into the show. I followed his advice and fit right in. The vendors in suits looked out of place. When you’re unsure, simply ask the event organizers about the general attire. And when you are unsure, always err on the side of caution. You can always take the tie off. Another big part is grooming. Unfortunately, the number of people who come up to me smelling like last night’s outing is astonishing. A fresh haircut, good grooming (brushed teeth, clean nails, etc.) and properly pressed clothes will make you look and feel like you belong. Always carry mints or gum. You will be doing a lot of talking, and your breath will get stale. Remember, never turn down a mint. There is usually a reason it is being offered. When possible, get a good night’s sleep. An average conference day for me can be 16 hours or more. Know Your Company and Products Being physically ready is only one part of being prepared. You have to be mentally ready as well. You would be surprised by the number of people I’ve met who have no place being where they are, whether in their position or at the conference. They are not equipped to answer questions, and they make their company look like a late-night basement startup that hired them from an online questionnaire. Know your company and products intimately and have value to offer. If you do not have all three of these, do not attempt to sell your product. Once you have mastered your company and believe in it, you should be confident enough to go to a conference. Confidence is key. If you don’t believe in your product, or do not want to be at the conference, or don’t like talking to strangers, it will show. Remember, you are the face of your company when you are traveling. What you do is a direct reflection of your company. This includes your appearance and behavior at airports, dinners and even clubs. Make a fool of yourself drinking too much and people will think your company is not responsible. If you look disheveled, unprofessional or ill-informed, a prospect will think your company is as well. Care about yourself and your company so you and the company are seen as a positive example. Finding Your Target The next lesson is to always have a target. Before I ever go to a conference, I look over the attendee list and send our present clients short emails asking to meet up for a 15-minute check in. I then send emails to the top 10 lenders I want to do business with. These may not be the largest, but they are the 10 that I know that we will align well with. I usually get three or four responses. Two will immediately say they’re “not interested.” That’s not a problem. I will follow up with them at the show because what they just did was start a dialogue, and I like dialogue! Another might say, “Please speak to so and so,” and I will. Then another will say, “I

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4 Things to Consider When Investing in Single-Family Homes

Trends, opportunities and investment strategies for this growing asset class By Kendall Krawchuk Many real estate investors swear by multifamily investments, but investing in single-family homes can also be a great way to increase cash flow and your bottom line. For many, the single- family asset class is also  a way to diversify their  real estate portfolios. If you’re thinking about investing in single-family homes or single-family rentals, here are several trends, opportunities and strategies to consider. 1. Demand remains strong, but affordability is still a concern The landscape for investing in single-family homes and rentals will likely be cautiously optimistic. Demand remains strong. A recent survey by Trulia reveals an increase in the number of Americans planning to buy a home, with 40% intending to buy in the next two years. However, the issue of affordability continues  to trouble potential  homebuyers. More than half are concerned about saving enough for a down payment, a rate that is  even higher among millennials, now the largest demographic cohort of homebuyers. Investors  will also need to navigate rising median and mean prices, despite the slight uptick in inventory at the end of 2018. Because of this, we expect to see increased activity in more affordable markets. 2. There’s a  growing demand for single-family rentals With affordability still  a concern, more and  more consumers are deciding to rent. This is particularly true among millennials, whose confidence in being able to save for a down payment is at its lowest level since 2011. Yet as millennials start to have families of their own, their needs are outgrowing traditional apartments or even 1- and 2-bedroom rentals. Many single-family rentals are being outfitted with updates attractive to younger families, such  as energy-efficient amenities, open floor plans  and green spaces. This demographic shift  may be one factor driving the increased demand for single-family rentals and subsequent spike in rent prices in 2019. We anticipate that the remainder of 2019 will offer even more single-family investor opportunities to buy, rent, refinance or sell to turnkey owners seeking these single-family rental properties. 3. Off-market properties and overlooked markets may provide new opportunities for investors Competition is growing  on the buy side of single- family home real estate  investing, with institutional investors selling off considerable portions of their portfolios. And platforms like Opendoor, Knock and Offerpad are attracting busy homeowners looking to sell quickly. Investors should seek creative solutions in a crowded buying landscape. One notable shift in 2018 is many buyers who are investing in single-family homes are increasingly willing to acquire fixer-uppers from channels like the MLS. So, for some investors, it may make sense to develop a robust system for sourcing off-market properties. Single-family home investors should also consider overlooked markets The largest and most overcrowded—San Jose, San Francisco and Seattle—saw the greatest decline in prices at 2018 year-end, yet many experts still consider them overpriced. 4. Many people investing in single-family homes use financing to respond more quickly to market changes Many predicted 2018 to be the most competitive homebuying year in history, and yet the year ended with a slight cool down in activity and rise in inventory, particularly in the largest markets. Through the remainder of 2019, investors should prepare for longer timelines to sell and budget for either holding the property longer or anticipate selling at lower prices. Finding the right balance between the two will best prepare them for movements in the market. Similarly, single-family home investors should also consider financing partners who are set up to close on properties quickly and to deftly respond to changes in the industry. The success of many investors will largely depend on their ability to move quickly and find creative solutions to market shifts in 2019 and beyond.

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Commercial Real Estate is the New Liquid Asset

The blockchain and “tokenization” of CRE are taking off, bringing new liquidity to a traditionally illiquid asset class. By Aaron Lohmann As every seasoned CRE investor or lender knows, getting into a CRE investment requires significant due diligence and paperwork. Exiting an investment can be difficult if a recession strikes or if a property is outdated, poorly located, oddly configured or has other issues that limit cashflow and marketability. In fact, the illiquidity of investment real estate is why some investors stick to stocks and bonds. With the potential to digitize and accelerate the CRE investment process, blockchain technology is poised to transform CRE finance. The blockchain not only stores transaction data in an immutable secure digital environment, but it can also support securities regulatory compliance. Blockchain Comes of Age Blockchain technology has been available for nearly a decade, but it is only now beginning to emerge as a major CRE industry disruptor. It originated as a means of backing cryptocurrencies by providing an indisputable record of ownership, which happens to be a very valuable capability for CRE financing too. As the name suggests, a “blockchain” is a database of digital blocks of transaction data, each block timestamped and connected to the previous block via secure programming. Each data block is highly secure and impossible to alter or erase, making blockchain an efficient way to store transaction documents such as property deeds, mortgages and shareholder agreements. Think of blockchain as a digital ledger. But instead of the digital ledger belonging to a single server and a single owner, it is replicated and stored on multiple servers all networked together. When a new data block is added to the chain, all the server nodes automatically update themselves to maintain identical copies of the ledger. For example, if you used the blockchain and cryptocurrency to sell a CRE investment to a different owner, all the transaction data would be recorded in the blockchain ledger. So, there’s no human argument about who owns what share of a property or who has the final version of paperwork. All the transaction information is securely recorded and can’t be altered. How is This Possible? From its earliest days, blockchain technology has been advanced by software developers around the world. One important advance was the development of the digital security token, in which the token is programmed to represent a share of a debt or equity instrument. In recent years, software developers using the Ethereum blockchain platform created standards for a new kind of token that can be used to execute investment transactions in compliance with securities regulations—a major advantage for the CRE industry. While many advocates of the blockchain have recognized its potential  for different kinds of financing and investment, securities requirements have been an obstacle in the past. Today, technological advances make it possible to use a blockchain-powered platform to buy shares in CRE debt and equity instruments and trade them just as you trade stocks and bonds—and completely in compliance with securities regulations. Specifically, Ethereum or possibly other blockchain platforms can be used to create security tokens that represent ownership in some kind of asset or interest. In the case of CRE investment, a security token could represent a 100% or fractional ownership interest in a CRE debt or equity investment instrument and would replace paper documentation of the ownership interest. And a token can have a built-in smart contract that will accurately execute the terms of the ownership stake. Tokenization in Action Imagine a partnership wants to raise $7 million in equity to build a senior housing community. It lists the project—and its associated market volume, current price, project location, market cap and more—on a digital platform backed by a blockchain. As an investor, you use U.S. dollars to buy digital tokens representing shares of equity in the senior housing project. The token assigns ownership to you, just as a paper certificate represents the shares of stock that belong to the owner of the certificate. That is, your legal rights and responsibilities are embedded in the token in the form of data. Then, all information about the transaction is recorded on the blockchain. Since the blockchain is an immutable public ledger, no one can ever argue with you about your equity stake in the senior housing project. And your digital tokens are programmed to include “smart” contract functionality that automatically distributes funds from the partnership building the senior housing community to you, a token holder, as the project advances. Over time, you may decide you’d like to exit the senior housing investment. The beauty of security tokens is that, being digital, they can be easily bought, sold and exchanged—just like stocks. No more waiting around for the lawyers, appraisers, notaries, lenders and everyone else to do their part. Tokens with built-in smart contract capabilities will take care of all that and generate real-time auditable records that reinforce trust. In Contrast… Tokenization creates something that has never existed before: a secondary market for CRE investments. Traditionally, an investor receives a partnership or membership interest in the entity that owns or is developing a commercial property. Assuming the property produces rental income, you receive monthly or quarterly distributions. If you have an equity interest, you receive—ideally—a return on your investment when the asset is sold or refinanced with a permanent mortgage. Either way, in traditional CRE investing, the investment is extremely illiquid. If you want to exit the deal, you need another investor or the project sponsor to buy out your shares by negotiating terms and entering into a contract. You may need permission from the managing partner of the ownership entity, and you need to submit paperwork to a transfer agent. It’s a lengthy process that can take weeks or months, involving endless emails, conference calls, documentation and constant confirmations. Streamlining Across the Middle While CRE will always have actual humans performing some transactional roles, investors trading tokens on a blockchain-based trading platform will have fewer reasons to call a lawyer or a

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