At the beginning of every new year, I get inundated with requests from friends and colleagues to "pick my brain" about becoming a real estate investor.  Of course, I want to share all of the how to's of building wealth in real estate.  I WANT to give back and help promote the use of this most effective tool in becoming more financially independent!
I start off with any "brain picking" session by asking the person: "Why do you want to be a real estate investor?"  I have to say that the most frequently heard answers to this question are as follows:

1. I want to earn extra money.
2. I am struggling financially and real estate seems like a good option to solve that.

I never mean to cause any offense in my response to these reasons, but I usually reply "your reason isn't good enough."  Let me explain:
A typical investment property in a good location in Rochester, NY is usually going to run you anywhere between $100k to $200k.  Thanks to our strong banking system, a lender will usually allow you to borrow between 75%-80% of the appraised value of your property!  So to buy a decent property you will need to put down anywhere between $20,000 and $50,000 of cash.  Lets assume you want to buy a $100k property for the purposes of this scenario...

​Upon David Martin and my professional journey, we have come to realize that the reason the participation of these projects remain in the hands of the very few is due to HIGH barriers of entry. It takes a lot of money and experience. For us it has taken decades of experience and to forge the relationships with the people who make our projects happen: our investment partners. Who happen to all be high net worth individuals. People who can spare anywhere from one hundred thousand to half a million dollars to partner with us on our projects.  To see some examples of some of our recent completed projects click here.

We realize that this system is extremely exclusive.

Our company OakGrove Companies seeks to be more inclusive with all parts of our company, but have not been inclusive on the curation of our investment partner base. The reasons for this are simple. Having a hundred small investment partners on a project instead of one large investor is very cost prohibitive. The cost of compliance, financial reporting, and just the simple logistics of having to communicate with a hundred partners as opposed to one.
Crowdfunding technology and securities law reform over the past 10 years has been a game changer and will allow us to be way more inclusive to our partner base. So that being said, our New Years resolution in 2021 is to widen our audience of potential partners! So if you are interested in receiving information on our upcoming development opportunities, please request to subscribe to OakGrove Capital's upcoming investment offerings here!

Cheers and Happy 2021!

A real estate developer is an individual or organization that acquires real estate with the intention of transforming it or increasing its value in many ways.  OakGrove Development is always seeking to acquire undervalued real estate assets in great locations with historic value.  A development project might not always be a vacant piece of land or a vacant dilapidated building.  We have acquired buildings that were fully occupied but had some aspects that were missing in reaching highest, best use and value.  Such as buildings with low rents, high expenses, or a less than optimal tenant mix.  So what does is take to be a successful developer?

A successful developer possesses the following qualities:

• A deep understanding of the leasing markets in which they are pursing development.  If they are going to bring a vacant building back to life or transform it into a higher and better use, it is crucial to understand how the end user will value their space.  This knowledge is gained by studying comparable properties in relevant location and actually familiarizing themselves with those products.  It's one thing to understand market data but it requires a hands on approach to term that data into actionable intelligence.  At OakGrove Development, we utilize software systems like the Multiple Listing Service, CoStar and Loopnet to help us with data.  Not only that, we spend considerable amount of time walking properties, networking with brokers and appraisers.

​At OakGrove Management Group LLC, you can trust that your property investment will be in the best hands.  Unlike other management companies, OakGrove's staff is committed to driving high tenant retention for our clients.  As investment property owners themselves, OakGrove Management Group's founders David Martin and Matt Drouin, know that high turnover means high expenses for property owners.  However, most management companies do not assign this as top priority.  These expenses include: vacancy loss, make ready costs, leasing commissions, utility expenses, etc.  The National Apartment Associations estimates that these costs usually average between $1000 and $3000 per turnover!  Did you also know that 60% of tenant turnover is controllable with staff performance the largest determining factor according to Satisfacts Research?
So what does OakGrove Management Group do to drive customer satisfaction to help retain your tenants?

• Flawless Move In Experience - Many property owners start out on the wrong foot when they lease to a new tenant.  When a tenant moves into your apartment home, it is crucial to have everything right.  The apartment needs to be sparkling clean.  It needs to have proper pre maintenance.  It needs to be delivered on the day that is promised to them.  If this process is fumbled in any way, your tenant doesn't forget it, and you can kiss that lease renewal goodbye for next year.  Our team has adopted a proactive approach to the move in process.  The apartment undergoes a thorough pre maintenance checklist, making sure all outlets work, the heating/cooling works, all lights work, plumbing, appliances, that the apartment is professionally cleaned, smells good, etc.  We double check and make sure the keys that we are giving the tenant actually work.  We make sure there is no interruption in utilities.  After all of this, after we give the keys to the tenant, we send out a move in survey 2 days after the tenant moves in, just to make sure everything is right.  Believe it or not, great customer service is a proactive thing, not reactive.  People do not like to complain.  Most remain silent and don't renew their lease next year.
• Responsive Maintenance - Our maintenance technicians will respond within 24 hours of a maintenance request and usually have the repair done that day.  Our entire team is dedicated to quality and responsive maintenance; the job is done right, the first time, every time.
• Proactive Maintenance - Our staff will inspect the interior and exterior of your property regularly (we tidy up common areas and pick up around the property regularly), identify potential problems such as leaks, mechanical issues, and other deferred maintenance before it blows up into an expensive emergency.  Investment properties abide by the rules of Murphy's Law, if something bad is going to happen, it will happen and at the most inconvenient time!

​Easy to use management software.  After thorough research and experience with multiple property management software, we selected Appfolio for our company.  It is incredibly mobile friendly, allowing your tenant to pay their rent, receive text and email notifications concerning property maintenance, and submit maintenance requests, right from their phone or mobile device!

​If you want to get your valuable time back, have peace of mind, increase value and cash flow; know that your properties are being managed by best in breed real estate professionals, then contact us today for a complimentary portfolio review, where we will survey your properties, analyze your income and expense statements, and make recommendations on how to increase your cash flow, how to streamline your operations, and reduce your headaches.  We will do all of this whether you hire us or not!  So if your properties collectively produce over $10,000 a month or more in rent, call us at 585-413-4410, you would be an ideal candidate for our management services!

​Our City and County leadership needs to embrace a strategy to foster the development SMALL retail.

Our local officials seem to always be wanting to attract the Moby Dick's of businesses to our area at the expense of identifying what the bottlenecks are for fostering the growth of small business; and then opening those bottlenecks to create the walkable neighborhoods we all want to live in!

Other cities have a vibrant and eclectic mix of small retail in their retail corridors.  This creates many options for city residents and having several 750 to 1500 square foot retailers creates a critical mass that brings people near and far.  People like options and having 8 to 10 retailers in a walkable area is better than having one 9000 square foot Morton’s, let’s say.  The truth is, I would never go to a Mortons, and I never did since it opened back in 2017.  Well I lied, I did go to Morton’s.  I went there.  Looked at the menu and the prices at the bar, politely put the menu down and walked to Aunt Rosie’s instead.  My wife and I never looked back.

But if we had a small steak house, a regional Italian restaurant, a sushi joint, a craft cocktail bar, a dive bar, a greasy spoon, and Mediterranean street food place, and a vegan spot… that’s what is going to motivate us to walk the 15 minutes to that area.

So why don’t we have plenty of these epicurean hubs in Rochester?  There are two short answers: 1.) lack of economic capacity (poverty) and 2.)  The onerous building and zoning code regime we have in our city and state.  In this essay, I will go into expanding on the latter, and offer up some recommendations to policy makers on what they can do to create fertile soil for the vibrant & bustling retail corridors we all wish to see in our community.

I have been in real estate brokerage, management, and development for 14 years.  95% of my focus has been in the City Of Rochester.  One of my biggest frustrations of working in this municipality is in the leasing of small retail spaces.  Let me run a real life scenario for you…

I own a mixed use building on the corner of Monroe and Meigs in the Pearl Meigs Monroe neighborhood.  I had a nail salon that I inherited as a tenant.  It is a space that is a little under 700 square feet.  The nail salon was month-to-month so I gave them notice to vacate and they left.  I wanted to get a food or beverage retail operator in there so that my residential tenants in the area would have a space to get food or drink, hang out and build community.

It took me a year of offering 6 months free rent in order land a lease with an operator that was willing to take this project on.  Why did it take so long?  It wasn’t for lack of interest to be clear.  I had hundreds of inquiries from great start up businesses and existing businesses who were very excited about the space.  When we would get to the point of getting serious, they would check with the city about what they would have to do in order to locate their business at my building.  This was the point at which the prospect would disappear into the ether, never to be heard from again!

So what happened?  Well, when they would go to the city, zoning would tell them they would need an alternative parking plan; a public hearing for this, a public hearing for that.  If they were able to get through all of that, they would also need to talk to building code.  If they had a certain occupancy above X amount of people, they would need a public bathroom, and a public bathroom that had a wheel chair accessible 5 foot turn radius.  If they had an occupancy above Y, which is not very many people, they would need to put in two bathrooms.  If that took up too much space in their 700 square foot bar/eatery then, guess what, you would need to have another hearing!

It is intimidating enough as it is opening a new business.  When they build up enough courage to draft a business plan, save up enough money to pull the trigger and actually find a space, the City throws the book at them and really offers no support system for helping them navigate this system, that is, without forcing them to spend thousands of dollars on architects and engineers.  I have seen this policy regime stamp out many potential small businesses from sprouting up in our community.

The City Of Rochester’s 2034 Comprehensive Plan is helpful and does attempt to address some of the outdated zoning red tape, but I do not think it goes far enough.  So what’s the solution?  I have a couple suggestions:

1.) Create a full-time position in City Hall which will serve as a small business creation advocate.  This person will serve as a point of contact who will “connect the dots” for local entrepreneurs trying to navigate the zoning and building code system.  This person will be an expert on all things building and zoning and be able to identify back doors and efficiencies for proper space planning.  They will also be able to provide architectural services and space planning free of charge.  If there is no other option besides having a hearing for a building code or zoning variance, this person will be able to work hand in glove with the entrepreneur in preparing the application and the supporting documentation needed to have a successful hearing.
2.) Expand the $8000 50/50 match grant program that is administered by the City’s Office Of Business and Neighborhood Development.  To not only have a match grant for furniture fixtures and equipment, but for build out costs as well.  If a prospective tenant is looking to change a bodega, liquor store, or nail salon into a higher impact retail use, such as a small bar, restaurant, or coffee shop, it is very hard to try and convince a landlord in putting a substantial amount of capital into this prospective tenant’s build out.  The main reason is that restaurants and the like have one of the highest percentages of failure out of any business.  So landlords pass on financing these types of build outs because of that risk.

This is just two recommendations; what are your ideas on fostering more smaller retail?


https://www.whec.com/coronavirus/mortons-steakhouse-sign-taken-down-closed/5726526/?cat=565&fbclid=IwAR35u-6yVxC2e41CAQzqUL9J0egYyPR2F6nwGWN-JKECyw99ZNutOny4GZo