Clean Tech Meets Real Estate with Owen Barrett

 

Clean Tech Meets Real Estate with Owen Barrett

 

Guest: Owen Barrett is a dynamic entrepreneur with a decade of experience in clean technology and real estate. As the founder of Raven, he is revolutionizing the real estate industry by combining clean technology and net-zero principles with profitable investments. Owen’s expertise lies in implementing energy-saving solutions in commercial properties, and his company offers a unique opportunity for investors to participate in net-zero real estate with minimal capital. With a focus on integrating rooftop solar installations, Owen and his team bring a wealth of knowledge in clean tech, enabling them to optimize energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and increase property value. His innovative approach extends to the development of proprietary software that automates solar billing, streamlining the process for multifamily properties. Owen Barrett is a trailblazer, democratizing net-zero real estate and paving the way for a sustainable and profitable future in the industry.

 

Big Idea: In this eye-opening podcast episode, Owen Barrett, founder of Raven, shares his investment philosophy centered around identifying overlooked secondary markets with strong economic tailwinds and integrating clean technology into real estate acquisitions. He discusses the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax credits and rebates for decarbonization and electrification projects, presenting lucrative opportunities for investors in single-family homes.

 

 

    

 

Owen: I’ve spent about a decade of my life being in clean technology, so anything that saves energy and saves money. And what I’ve noticed over time is that commercial real estate as a whole across an industry is the furthest behind when it comes to implementing clean technology into their properties, which is saying a lot because a lot of industry is pretty far behind. Three, four years ago you didn’t really need to get that creative to make money in commercial real estate. The market was going up, everything was going up, but now that’s different. Now rents are more stagnant, rents are even falling in some markets. And so now energy conservation’s an easy way, an easier way for property owners to make properties more valuable. So it’s interesting timing for us because there’s a lot of macroeconomic tailwinds or headwinds, I guess, that are happening that make our value add model a little bit more popular.

So we’re in this interesting space of combining clean technology with real estate acquisitions, we couple the two. Raven is the newest business, the newest brand. And the idea behind Raven is to democratize the ability to invest in net zero real estate. So we pay investors 10% annual interest, the minimum investment is $250 and we were really deliberate behind that because we wanted it to be an opportunity for everyone. I come from a past of regulation or 506D offerings, which is a lot of accredited investors, $50,000 minimum investments. And with Raven we just wanted to make it more attainable for everyone. So we really decreased the minimum investment, tried to make it an opportunity for everybody.

Dan: Yeah, that’s pretty interesting. This is the first time out of 223 guests I think that we’ve ever had that low of a minimum investment. So every single other syndicator is probably $50,000 or $100,000 and it’s going to be an accredited investor type of offering only. The 10% annual interest, how is that paid, sorted out? Is that going to be like a flat interest rate paid at the end of the deal no matter how good or bad Raven does on the deal? Or is that calculated in some other methodology?

Owen: No, yeah, we’ve structured it as preferred debt. So it’s a promissory note to Raven. We pool the capital, we buy and decarbonize buildings. It’s paid quarterly right now. The goal is to move that to monthly. That’ll probably happen in 2024. In investing there’s no such thing as a guaranteed return, so we don’t guarantee 10%, but we do pay our regulation A investors before we pay ourselves. So they earn 10% before we make any money. So we tried to structure it in a way that it’s not risk free, but it’s as low risk as you can get within the real estate realm.

 

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://JoinRayven.com/

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Owen Barrett & I Discuss Clean Tech Meets Real Estate:

  • Secondary markets with economic tailwinds: Exploring investment opportunities in smaller, overlooked markets that have significant economic growth potential.

  • Cash flow markets: Emphasizing the importance of investing in markets that generate consistent cash flow rather than relying solely on property appreciation.

  • Tax credits and rebates for decarbonization and electrification: Highlighting the benefits of leveraging incentives provided by initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce renovation costs and promote sustainability.

  • Newer vintage properties: Discussing the advantages of acquiring properties directly from developers to minimize repair and maintenance issues.

  • Clean technology integration: Exploring the integration of clean technology, such as solar panels and electric heating solutions, into real estate investments to enhance property value and reduce operating costs.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 223 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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