Tech to Real Estate: A Unique Journey with Kranti Ponnam

 

Tech to Real Estate: A Unique Journey with Kranti Ponnam

 

Guest: Kranti Ponnam, an accomplished engineer with a strong background in technology, embarked on a remarkable journey in the real estate world. Born and raised in India, Kranti’s early exposure to his family’s deep involvement in real estate ignited his passion for the industry. Despite a successful career in technology, he remained steadfast in his belief in real estate as a more reliable investment avenue than the stock market. Kranti’s real estate journey began with the acquisition of small condos and apartments in San Diego. From there, he expanded into the commercial real estate sector and became a limited partner in syndicated deals.

 

Big Idea: Join us for a deep dive into the thriving Atlanta real estate market and discover investment opportunities that extend beyond the city’s limits. Our guest, a seasoned investor, takes us on a journey through different facets of real estate, emphasizing the importance of market selection, effective strategies, and adaptability in achieving long-term financial security.

 

 

    

 

Dan: Yeah, you and me both. You and I were talking before we got to record about me having to cancel and you twice, and I was like so excited and looking forward to the episode once our booking agents started the conversation, like wow, here’s a really cool conversation. We’re going to have multi-family investment syndication in the Atlanta market, which the listeners know. I love the Atlanta market, I’m bullish on it. It’s going to be a great market, I think for another five, 10 years at least into the foreseeable future. But you also had this tech data driven background, which I think is unique, right? For people who come on the show and people who are usually syndicating real estate deals, usually they start flipping houses, maybe buy some things, develop, buy, build a three unit, and now they’re going to buy a 100 or 200 unit apartment building. I think your path was different and that was part of why I was excited. Maybe you could tell the origination story, the brief play by play on how you got to where you’re at and what the business model looks like now.

Kranti: Sure. My background is an engineer, and then came out of college, took a job in a field that was totally unrelated. I went to school for mechanical civil engineering master’s degree and then came out and did work in the technology space. So always was in the technology space. But growing up, and I grew up in India, my dad, my whole family has been in real estate and real estate was more of a second nature. So once I started making money and started building businesses and going into it, I’ve never invested as much in stock market, still don’t believe it one bit. So I have some holdings, but always been a believer of real estate and that’s how I first started buying. I bought my office complex that we basically had our company located. I think we did really well on that particular building and sold it in about a span of eight years for five x the price.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

www.kipi.bi

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Kranti Ponnam & I Discuss Teach to Real Estate:

  • Transition from Technology to Real Estate Investing: Kranti delves into his unique journey transitioning from the technology sector to real estate investing, highlighting how his strong belief in real estate, coupled with a technology background, paved the way for his substantial success in the real estate market.
  • Exploring Different Real Estate Asset Classes: Kranti’s diverse investment portfolio spans various real estate asset classes, from small condos to retail strip centers and multi-family properties. He shares his strategic diversification tactics, showcasing his adaptability and astute investment acumen across diverse segments of the real estate market.
  • Unveiling the Potential of the Atlanta Real Estate Market: Kranti’s enthusiasm for the Atlanta market is fueled by its remarkable potential. He outlines key factors, such as population growth, job opportunities, and affordability, which make Atlanta an enticing and sustainable market for real estate investment.
  • Strategic Scaling: Kranti’s approach underscores the significance of strategic scaling in real estate investment. He provides insights into adding value to non-performing assets, optimizing property performance, and maximizing returns while diligently managing risk factors within a dynamic market.
  • Impact of Market Trends on Real Estate Investments: Kranti shares valuable insights into how market trends can significantly affect real estate investments. He addresses the evolving market dynamics, particularly focusing on factors such as interest rates and rental growth, which play a pivotal role in influencing investment decisions and asset values.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 233 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Inside the Self-Storage Industry with Jacob Vanderslice of Van West Partners

 

Inside the Self-Storage Industry with Jacob Vanderslice of Van West Partners

 

Guest: Jacob Vanderslice is a real estate investor and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He is the founder of Van West Partners, a real estate investment firm that specializes in self-storage facilities. Jacob has an extensive background in residential fix and flips, multifamily, adaptive reuse retail, and town-owned development, but his passion lies in the self-storage business. Jacob explains the reasoning behind his shift towards storage, the company’s investment philosophy, and how they create value in their facilities.

 

Big Idea:  Real estate investor and entrepreneur Jacob Vanderslice shares his expertise in self-storage investment. Jacob discusses his journey in real estate investing and how his company, Van West Partners, moved from single-family rentals to self-storage investments. He emphasizes the importance of creating value through income streams and optimizing unit mix for maximum revenue. Jacob also talks about his investment philosophy, which centers around value-add investments in growing markets.

 

 

    

 

Dan: This is a pretty quick return, right? 6 months later, here we are. I don’t recall if we did it when we were on the call live recording or when we were spending some time before or after the episode, but we were talking about a fund you had set up for self-storage that had a pretty big dry powder dollar amount looking to allocate. I think my comment was, “Do you think you can actually allocate that?” I think that might be a good place to start so you can divulge the details as you see fit there and some adjustments to the playbook for VanWest going forward to get us started.

Jacob: Yeah, well, hopefully, six months ago my answer was the same as it is now. Because we could start to feel the shift back then. We had targeted a pretty large equity allocation when we launched this in January of 2022, which might as well have been 10 years ago relative to the history of the real estate market. Not much has changed, but we’ll end up closing the fund with 11 assets, just over 80 million in total capitalization leverage in the low 60s. We love the assets we’ve bought. We started acquiring in April 2022, and our last acquisition was in June of this year, so we’re raising our final round of capital. We’re going to close out the fund by 1231. Really, the reason for that is, first of all, we’re a closed-ended fund, and we’ve been open for a little while. Secondly, deal flows have substantially diminished. The bid asks spread is still very wide. It’s been widening, it feels like the last year or so. Sellers are just not transacting and you’re not seeing as many deals come to market. Buyers are having a harder time making their assumptions work, just give them what the interest rate environment has done. Bank financing is more difficult to get. You’ve got this incrementally declining transaction volume, and I think it’s going to just continue through the end of the year and we’ll see what 2024 looks like, but I think there’s going to be some opportunity coming up.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://www.VanWestPartners.com

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Jacob Vanderslice & I Discuss the Self-Storage Industry:

  • The evolution of Van West Partners’ investment strategy
  • The state of the US real estate market and the impact of COVID-19
  • The role of technology in the real estate industry
  • The potential impact of government policies on the market
  • The outlook for the real estate market in the near future

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 232 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.