Your Home Is More Than The Sum Of Its Parts
June 27th, 2020 – Sanford Coggins
More than a collection of wood, stone and glass. It’s where you live, work and laugh with those you care most about. Think about the significance of the “living room” and the role it plays within your family. It’s a place where your kids learn life lessons, a space for you to welcome and entertain guests, a gathering point for family members to meet when they’re yearning for a connection. Home is where life happens!
Your housing directly affects the quality of your life and the lives of those you hold dear. This has always been true, but it is an effect that has been magnified in a world still experiencing a global pandemic. VisionWise Capital is proud to provide our residents with eminently livable, newly renovated residences. A home can foster self-respect and that self-respect can live on in future generations.
When you invest in the VWC Multifamily Fund III, you are not only investing in a multifamily property – you’re investing in people, raising the quality of their living standard and building a community of residents at the same time. The “after” pictures speak for themselves.
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These are just a few of the recent upgrades we’ve made to properties, other renovations include soft-close cabinets and drawers, scraped ceilings, vinyl plank flooring, new appliances and recessed lighting *. Tying it all together is our focus on building an inclusive community, where residents feel pride of ownership while living in a rental unit.
Why do good when you can do great? Over the past seven years, VWC project level returns have averaged 24% annually – and we’re just getting started. We’re currently on the cusp of the best market cycle for buying mid-sized apartment properties in ten years, giving us an outstanding opportunity to purchase quality buildings in prime locations in Orange County and its perimeter cities.
We always use conservative leverage of not more than 50% bank debt at acquisition, completely focused on defending and protecting your investment. We want you to benefit from the double-digit returns we expect to see in the upcoming summer months.
Make money and receive the reward of a quarterly distribution from a time tested real estate investment. Subscribe to the VWC Multifamily Fund III today to begin receiving your 6% distributions paid quarterly at 1 ½ % per quarter on each dollar invested – available only to accredited investors with a minimum of $100,000 investment.
Your first responsibility in life is your family – as it should be. So as you look for opportunities to help them achieve their dreams, build a legacy of meaningful investments. Make a difference in the lives of your family and the lives of those around you, be part of the Fund III legacy today.
Diversifying Your Portfolio 101
July 31, 2019
In the investment arena, diversification is king. Everyone from Bill Gates to Jim Kramer will tell you- a diversified portfolio is a safer portfolio. Here’s why:
1. Safety of Principal
Even more than growth, principal protection should be the focus of your investment strategy. Diversification helps you to defend your principal against unexpected swings and catastrophic failure. For example, investing in a single-family residence can be lucrative, but the property is either fully leased or 100% vacant. However, investors can reduce the risk of losing principle during vacancies by diversifying their investment into several units, such as multifamily properties or an office building with multiple tenant leases.
2. Better Odds of Success
A diversified basket of stocks, bonds, real estate assets, and other investments can help you to mitigate unsystematic, or non-market risks significantly better than holding a substantial portion of your capital in any single asset class. Keep in mind, this mainly applies when the assets are in separate sectors. For example, if you are invested in petroleum extraction, gas stations, and oil futures, you are not truly diversified, all of those assets will be affected by the discovery and consumption of petroleum byproducts.
3. Different Asset Types Offer Different Benefits
Other reasons to focus on diversification include the benefits offered by different asset classes. A stock that pays dividends offers capital appreciation over time as well as regular cash flow, as long as the company is successful. Other assets will allow you to hedge against prevailing trends, for example: investing in a public transit manufacturer when the auto market is hot. Still Other asset classes like real estate, combine cash flow, appreciation, and tax deferral/elimination benefits that are unsurpassed among the top asset classes.
The Importance of Real Estate in a Diverse Portfolio
The vast majority of high-net-worth individuals in the US and abroad hold some real estate assets in their investment portfolios. Here are just a few of the reasons why:
1. Tax Benefits
Uncle Sam views any investment in real property (real estate) as a depreciating asset. When you own a commercial or investment property, you can deduct the natural wear and tear, maintenance, and other capital costs from your yearly tax bill. In some cases, you can eliminate the majority of the tax burden from an investment using depreciation strategies. If you choose to deploy capital in an underserved region or neighborhood, there are additional tax incentives from which you can benefit: local, state, and federal grants for community development.
2. Safety of Principle and Predictability
Real estate has remained a beacon of stability in an otherwise volatile economy. Stocks and commodities are subject to swings, even during bull markets, like the one we find ourselves in today. While there have been notable drops in real estate values throughout the years, namely during the 2008-2009 recession, the overall trend is clear- since the 1950s home prices have risen consistently, with home values in the late 2010s outpacing inflation by double digits. Much of the risk involved in RE can be limited by investing and maintaining a healthy ratio of debt to income for any given property or set of properties.
3. Reliable Returns
Think about your ideal investment asset. You likely desire appreciation, stability, and consistent cash flow, real estate investments can fulfill your investment objectives. When renting commercial or residential spaces to tenants, you can count on monthly rent checks to pay down the mortgage and operating expenses, etc., regardless of how well your asset is appreciating over time. This reliable cash flow not only pays down your financial obligations, it allows you to leverage the income stream to acquire more properties, and thus generate higher returns.
What Percentage of Your Portfolio Should You Invest in Real Estate?
We recommend that you consult your financial / wealth advisor to determine the appropriate level of risk verses return for your particular portfolio and targeted financial objectives.
HOW TO THRIVE DURING AN ECONOMIC RECESSION
June 21, 2019
Despite roaring growth in the property markets, fears of an economic contraction have remained close to the minds of many investors. Memories of “The Great Recession” in 2008 are still fresh, and one of the most common questions I am asked by investors is: “How will VisionWise survive during the next recession?” This is, of course, an excellent question for investors to ask particularly in the RE sector. At VisionWise Capital it’s not how we will survive, but how we will thrive.
The Approach to a Recessionary Periods
Recessions are not a death knell in the RE industry; you can survive them. You can’t always see them coming but you can avoid the majority of the harmful effects by steering clear of holding an enormous debt burden. That burden is essentially a form of economic bondage and reduces one’s ability to respond to recessionary pressures effectively. An effective strategy is purpose-built to avoid this trap, and likely includes placing a premium on properly managing debt. If you utilize a sophisticated algorithm to determine how much debt can be safely supported during a downturn, with “The Great Recession” acting as a baseline for our model, then you can minimize the risk of losing the property during a downturn and feel comfortable investing during any type of economy.
In 2008 and 2009, apartment incomes dropped on average 20% in our investment market, Orange County. That number was stunning at the time, and it is still a heady statistic when you consider that when you’re at 80% leverage you only need to see a 12% drop in income before seeing a notice of default from the bank. However, if only 50% loan-to-cost leverage is used, then the investment will withstand up to a 32% drop in income before having to worry about a notice of default. With leverage at 50%, I’m comfortable facing asset ownership challenges that may arise during the next recessionary period.
Eliminating the D’s and F’s on the Report Card
The core principle at the center of our long-term growth strategy is to maintain our debt at a nominal level to protect against a downturn. From the beginning, I strived to help investors eliminate the D’s and F’s on their investment report card. Everyone loves A’s, B’s and C’s are acceptable, but to be successful, you have to eliminate those assets that present a loss of principal risk. Not every investment has to be a home run, but avoiding strikeouts is an absolute must.
Identifying Opportunities During a Recession
Keep in mind that many operators in the RE market are over-leveraged and will risk losing their properties during a recession. Our goal is to remain a player in the market while everyone else is scrambling. When the real estate market is down, prices go down, but if you have the capital reserves and a time tested strategy, you can acquire properties significantly below their actual value. A recession can be an outstanding time to acquire quality assets and build future profits. Many of the most successful investors in the real estate market can attribute their success to strategically important moves during, and after the 2008-2009 crisis.
Multifamily Assets Weather the Storm
During a recession, almost across the board, incomes drop. This results in reduced rental demand as fewer and fewer people can afford to lease an apartment, especially in a high cost of living market like Orange County. On a macro level, Class A, B, and C properties will react differently to changing economic conditions, with Class A properties being the most vulnerable. Class A properties are on the higher scale of monthly rents, and it often takes two incomes to afford a Class A apartment comfortably, this is particularly pronounced with millennials. If either of these two individuals loses their income stream, their viable options are: move back in with their parents, or move into an older, well-appointed, comfortable VWC location. People may have to scale back on their living situations during a recession, but they still need a place to live. Our position in the market helps insulate us from issues that affect the higher end luxury developments in OC and surrounding areas.
Caution and Courage
Finding success when investing in Multifamily RE takes a partially cautious approach, but also the ability to identify and take advantage of opportunities when the right deal presents itself. By not over leveraging and actively working to eliminate the D’s and F’s from your report card, you can minimize risk and invest boldly through any economy.
