Patient Capital in a Flip-It Culture

Build It and Dump It

A lot of real estate works like this: buy something, do the least you can to bump the value, sell it, move on. The building becomes someone else's problem. So do the tenants. So does the block.

We've watched it for years in Southern California. Paint the outside, rename the building, jack the rents, sell in two years. Build with the cheapest stuff that passes inspection and be gone before the warranty calls start.

That doesn't build neighborhoods. It drains them. And it usually happens in exactly the areas that can least afford it.

Why We Hold

We plan every project like we're going to own it for ten years, because we plan to. That changes everything.

If we're paying for the roof in year eight, we don't cheap out on it in year one. If we're taking the maintenance calls, we put in systems that last. If our name is on the building for a decade, it had better be a building we're proud of.

It changes how we treat tenants too. People who like where they live stay longer. That's good for them, good for the block, and good for the building.

“When you're going to own something for ten years, you build it like it matters.”

What We Buy

Almost nothing we buy is pretty. It's old auto body shops, used car lots, mechanical yards, and houses that should have come down years ago. Some of them were real problems for their neighbors.

Those are the properties that can do the most for a neighborhood, and they take time. Planning approvals in coastal California take years, not months. A flipper can't wait that long. We can, and when we can, we put the property to work while we wait so it's covering its own costs.

What Patience Gets You

Better buildings, because they're built to last. Better blocks, because we're still around after the ribbon cutting. Better relationships with the city and the neighbors, because we're not disappearing after the sale.

It isn't the fastest way to do this. We think it's the right one.

Who We Work With

We look for partners who get that California development runs on years, not quarters. People who see the affordable homes required by density bonus as part of the deal, not a cost to fight. People who want to own something they're proud of.

If that's you, we'd like to meet.