Streamlining CRE Purchase and Sale Process

CRE is a legal term for Commercial Real Estate. It includes office space, warehouses, and retail space. CRE purchase and sale processes can be frustrating and time-consuming, with numerous documents to sign by lawyers, brokers, buyers, and sellers.

Wouldn’t it be much easier if the various parties could speak directly to each other? The CRE process would be transparent and less expensive for all parties. Below are some of how Blockchain technology can help streamline the CRE process.

1. Reduce the Time to Closing With Smart Contracts

When you go to a restaurant, you order food and then wait for it to arrive. You are also charged at the end of the meal for your food, whether or not you receive what you ordered. Smart contracts are used because they reduce paperwork and errors by providing an automated payment system that eliminates human interaction with the process.

2. Eliminate Paperwork and Errors

When you buy a home with a mortgage, you must sign many documents, such as the mortgage and the deed, to make legal promises. The use of smart contracts can reduce this paperwork and eliminate errors by having all agreements digitally recorded on the blockchain. It would enable all parties to easily see what exact terms have been made, eliminating much of the human error and conflicts arising during closing documentation.

3. Reduce Costs

Smart contracts reduce the time and money that each party spends on the transaction. For example, closing costs are often high. This sum can be reduced by having all parties sign off on a UI (user interface) agreement at the close of escrow, reducing the amount of paperwork required to close correctly.

4. Reduce Risk

Typically, there is a relatively large amount of risk in residential real estate transactions because of uncertainty regarding property values and financing. Smart contracts reduce this uncertainty by automating all agreements and providing a transparent system that allows all parties to see the exact terms each party is entering into. It reduces the chance of human error, such as misspeaking or overlooking an important detail.

Conclusion

The use of smart contracts can significantly reduce the time, money, and risk necessary for a CRE transaction. It can improve the quality and speed with which closings take place while reducing risks and paperwork. With this in mind, it is clear why Blockchain technology will continue to significantly impact CRE throughout the year and in years to come.

This article was originally published on Jack Nourafshan’s website.

Profile of Jack Nourafshan, President of Reliable Properties

Based in Los Angeles, California, Jack Nourafhshan is a seasoned commercial real estate professional. As president of Reliable Properties, a real estate acquisition, development, and management company, Jack brings over 40 years of experience to his organization.

Jack Nourafshan completed his engineering degree from the University of Minnesota before earning an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University. After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Jack continued his education, going on to earn his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern California. It was there that Jack found his love for real estate. He began taking real estate courses and devoured all that he could about the real estate industry in Los Angeles. The knowledge he gained and the passion that he found while studying propelled him to create Reliable Properties, where he serves as President today.

Jack Nourafshan’s formal education helped shape his passion for entrepreneurship. There is nothing Jack enjoys more than sharing his expertise and experience with young, up-and-coming entrepreneurs. He understands the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships as well as an honorable reputation. Above all else, Jack places value on patience and helps those around him in any way that he can.

At Reliable Properties, aside from specializing in new construction, Jack helps his team with the repositioning and renovating of old or damaged properties such as shopping centers, office buildings, retail stores, office buildings, and residential properties. Jack and his peers set themselves apart from their competitors by having a hands-on approach. Indeed, the company is highly involved with every aspect of the development process- from project inception and acquisition to administration, construction, marketing, and management of every project.

Since founding the company in 1975, Jack Nourafshan’s real estate firm has long been considered one of the most dedicated organizations in Los Angeles to revitalizing urban communities.

Outside of real estate, Jack Nourafshan supports a number of businesses and nonprofits throughout Los Angeles. These organizations include Cedar Sinai Hospital as well as the Mayo Clinic, which performs groundbreaking cancer research.

In 2019 Jack was asked to travel to Egypt, where he had the opportunity to meet their President while honoring the Israel and Egypt Peace Treaty. Jack attended as an American delegate and presented the golf metal to the country of Egypt. In his spare time, Jack loves to stay active and spend as much time as he can with his family, explore California, and travel.

To see more from Jack Nourafshan, visit his LinkedIn and Twitter.

This article was originally published on SurprisinglyFree.com.

Holiday Volunteer Opportunities In Los Angeles

Finding a volunteer opportunity in LA is easy if you know where to look. In the spirit of giving back, the following list offers chances for all ages and interests to help out those less fortunate during the holidays. This blog post will help to guide you toward volunteer opportunities in LA. Whether an individual is looking for a specific type of volunteer experience or is simply looking to meet some new people, there’s no shortage of ways to lend their time and energy to a great cause.

1.NO KID HUNGRY CALIFORNIA

Headquartered at the historic Los Angeles Theatre, NO KID HUNGRY boasts over 8,000 volunteer hours from local families in 2016 alone. Some of their holiday volunteer opportunities include helping to package and distribute monthly food boxes, sorting and organizing holiday food drives, and assisting with administrative projects such as data entry. NO KID HUNGRY also partners with non-profit organizations for their holiday volunteer opportunities. If you want to serve alongside families, the organization offers a family service event (FSA) program with pre-screening in December.

2.ADOPT-A-FAMILY PROGRAM

During the holidays, the holidays can be the most difficult for families who cannot afford everything their hearts desire. This is where Adopt-A-Family steps in to ensure that no family goes without gifts during the holidays. Adopt-A-Family is a social welfare program that provides Christmas gifts and food baskets to needy single-parent families.

3.YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL

With over 1.9 million students in California, there are bound to be many different public schools that need some help during the holidays. Luckily, your school may also benefit from a little holiday cheer. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a large school district that runs the Los Angeles public schools. Providing a wide range of volunteer opportunities, LAUSD offers everything from tutoring students to organizing holiday toy drives to working at various community events.

There’s no doubt that the holidays can be a difficult time of year for those who are less fortunate. Fortunately, there are many volunteer opportunities in LA that work year-round to ensure that orphans and other people in need get the help they need.

Originally published on Jack Nourafshan’s website.

Insights from Jack Nourafshan, President of Reliable Properties

Since founding the company in 1975, Jack Nourafshan’s real estate firm has long been considered one of the most dedicated organizations in Los Angeles to revitalizing urban communities.

To see more from Jack Nourafshan, visit his LinkedIn and Twitter.

Our Interview With Jack Nourafshan

Question: What’s the most important thing we should know about you?
Jack Nourafshan: Most important thing: very focused, High integrity to Successfully accomplish objectives set. Very efficient, very organized. Does research well and works well with teamwork and can properly work with different complex other people’s personalities.

Question: Name the most impactful lesson you learned from failure.
Jack Nourafshan: There have not been many failures. However, when decisions were made with emotions above logic and sound due diligence, it is bound to result in questionable conclusions.

Question: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Jack Nourafshan: Balancing life between successful work objectives, accomplished children, and happy family relationships. Taking good care of the health of myself, my family, and my employees. Including exercises and satisfactory, warm relationship with friends and persons who I work and relate with. Prayers and thankfulness for what I have so far and achieved so far are of immense value to me.

Question: What did you waste the most time on when you were first starting your career?
Jack Nourafshan: The wasted time when started my career was to go in many directions and wanting to do more than I could successfully handle. Therefore I decided to focus on a few things that I am good at.

Question: Name a tool you use for work that you can’t live without.
Jack Nourafshan: Softwares that are focused and targeted to the industry. But not be so dependent on it that without it, can still progress forward, even at a slower speed.

Question: What is your favorite hobby and why?
Jack Nourafshan: My favorite hobby is reading on many subjects to learn, do sports and spend time with my family and friends.

Question: What excites you the most about your industry right now?
Jack Nourafshan: The most exciting thing about our industry is to make sure changes taking place are properly handled so the risk will be minimized and under control.

Question: What concerns you most about your industry right now?
Jack Nourafshan: My greatest concern about the industry is how much amazon and other online platforms will impact any further retail sales. We have been aware of it for over a decade and have strategized to have minimal impact.

Question: What’s the greatest risk you’ve ever taken?
Jack Nourafshan: The greatest risk taken was to purchase a large fully vacant property. However, we turned it successfully to fully occupied.

Question: Name one small habit that positively impacts your productivity.
Jack Nourafshan: When I have many items come to me at the same time and it feels overwhelming, I take a short walk, breath deep several times, eat a healthy snack, thank God for what I have accomplished so far. Then I take one issue, in order of importance, at a time and one by one resolve each thing until I’ve accomplished everything that needed to be done.

Question: What tips do you have for getting a seat at the table?
Jack Nourafshan: Depends on how important it is. Usually, I talk to people who are already in and see if their objectives are worth my efforts and my skills desired by the group. If yes to both, I will press forward strongly. If not will, I do not waste any time on it.

Question: What book has made the biggest impact on your life?
Jack Nourafshan: Bible

Question: Do you value intelligence or common sense more? Why?
Jack Nourafshan: I value intelligence more since it incorporates research and analysis. Common sense can be a moving target.

Question: What would you consider to be the perfect day?
Jack Nourafshan: A perfect day is when all objectives set for the day are accomplished and I go home with a smile, to be greeted with a hug and smile by my wife and children.

How to Protect Yourself from Another Housing Bubble

Buying a house is a long-term investment. It is not usually the case when one has to deal with a housing bubble. A housing bubble can be devastating and frustrating since one’s home loses its value. A house is an investment because it should appreciate with time.

Homeowners that went through the 2007 financial crisis understand the negative impact of a housing bubble. It results in prices sinking and leading to higher mortgages compared to the value of the house. As home prices keep rising in the U.S, it is essential to think of the ways one can protect themselves from a housing bubble. Let’s delve into the key factors to pay attention to regarding protecting existing and future homes from a housing bubble:

Growth of the economy

Home prices may increase to an extent they are out of reach to many potential homeowners. In such situations, when the economy is growing, it is usually a good sign, and one does not need to worry about the housing bubble. The problem comes in when the economy is not growing yet the housing prices keep going up. It is a clear indication of a housing bubble, which can negatively affect a homeowner.

A growing economy means that there will be an increase in jobs and salaries to cater to the increased prices of housing. In such instances, one may not need to worry about how they will take care of their mortgage since they will handle the gap created. On the other hand, if the economy is not growing yet, housing prices are rising, homeowners may opt to sell their houses to protect themselves from the housing bubble.

Buying a house without plans to move

Individuals buy homes for different reasons. Some people buy their dream homes to live there for the rest of their lives, while others are just house flippers. If a homeowner does not have plans to move from their house for the next decade, they should not worry about the housing bubble popping. On the other hand, house flippers may find it challenging to get back their returns during a housing bubble. Therefore, one must purchase a house to live in for a long time to avoid the housing bubble getting the best of their investment.

Most homeowners usually purchase a house for investment. With that in mind, they can benefit during a housing bubble by getting equity from the home when prices rise. Conversely, equity comes in handy when the value of houses declines. The equity received can assist in other financial matters or in buying a cheaper place.

This article was originally published on Jack Nourafshan’s blog.

Effective Ways to Grow Your Real Estate Business

It’s no secret that the real estate industry is a competitive one. You need to be aware of many aspects of this business if you want to get ahead of your competition and grow your business. In this blog post, we’re going to discuss four effective ways for growing your real estate company from the ground up!

1. Network More

Real estate, more than any other business, is all about who you know. It doesn’t matter how hard you work or how good your marketing is if you don’t have a strong network to back it up. To grow your company as quickly as possible, it’s essential that you start building those relationships with other agents and investors as soon as you can. You never know when you might need to call in a favor or for an introduction.

2. Offer More Services

Many agents stop marketing themselves once they get their first sale, but opportunities are always happening within the industry. For example, if your last transaction was a short sale, you could take on distressed property deals. If you sold a vacant house, you could begin marketing to real estate investors.

3. Improve Time Management

Time is money, so you must always maximize your time by learning new business skills and improving upon past ones. Managing your time wisely will allow you to accomplish more tasks in a shorter amount of time, and it’ll also free up some needed space for networking, marketing, and taking on new opportunities that come your way.

4. Dedicate Yourself to Your Craft

While it’s important to branch out and explore new business opportunities, you should also be dedicating a fair amount of time to improving your current skill set. The more work you put into yourself, the more money you’ll make. You can’t expect to get far in real estate if you’re only working for 5 hours per week.

In conclusion, there are many ways for agents to grow their real estate businesses. However, none of these strategies will work unless you put in the necessary time and effort. The only way you’ll be able to make this happen is if you set specific goals for yourself each week or month. This way, your business will constantly be growing, and you’ll be more productive than ever!

Originally published on Jack Nourafshan’s website.

Pros and Cons of Investing in Hotel Real Estate

Investing in hotel real estate can be lucrative, but it is not without its drawbacks. The following list of pros and cons will help you decide whether or not to invest in hotel real estate.

Pros

Higher returns

The most obvious benefit of investing in hotel real estate is higher returns. The term hotel can be misleading in terms of rates as these investments may not yield a lot more than other properties, but if you look at the return on investment, then hotel real estate always comes out ahead. The reason for that is because investing in any type of property has income tax benefits.

Buy and hold for high resale value.

The hotel real estate market is a stable market, with slow but steady growth. Holding onto your property as long as possible will give you the highest gains in this type of investment. There is also minimal risk involved because hotels are a basic need for many people, so there is always a steady market to sell the property.

Hotel staff is available and willing to help at any time

The management of your hotel real estate can be done remotely in most cases. You will have constant contact with your property manager, who can guide you through the profit-making process and can help you find tenants and take care of any problems that may arise.

2) Cons

Low returns on investment

The main drawback of investing in hotel real estate is the low returns it yields. For example, if you invest $1 million and bring in a 5% return each year, after 20 years, your property is worth just over $2 million. Investing that same amount of money in stocks might yield 10-20 times that amount.

High capital needs

Investing in hotel real estate requires a lot of capital, and you will have to be ready for it because the process is much more complex than that of investment property or commercial property. You will need to consider taxes, insurance costs, and any other type of fee associated with bringing your investment up to code before you can start generating returns on the investment.

Consult a real estate agent and a financial advisor before deciding if hotel real estate is a suitable investment for you to make an informed decision. Make sure to consider all aspects of the investment, including taxes and insurance costs, in your budget. You will also need to decide how long you plan on holding onto the property and decide how to handle it best when that time comes.

When you are planning a budget, always factor in return on investment, even if it is low. Your long-term gains will not show until you sell the property years down the road.

Investing in hotel real estate can be a significant investment, as long as you do your research and understand all costs associated with your decision. It can be a lucrative investment in the long term if handled properly, so always make sure to look at both the pros and cons when making this type of investment.

Commercial Real Estate Trends of 2020 Part 1

Commercial real estate is often shifted or reshaped by things such as globalization, workforce trends, technology, and the retail industry. In 2020 it appears that most commercial real estate professionals are optimistic.

Here are a few of the biggest commercial real estate trends of 2020.

Experiencing Retail

People want to be engaged when they spend money. In recent months the American Dream mall at the Meadowlands in New Jersey opened. This mall is a gleaming example of the rise of experiential retail. In fact, only 45 percent of the mall is actually retail space. The majority of the space is entertainment, restaurants, and other related uses. People can go indoor skydiving and then grab a bite to eat on their way to the movies. This trend is already popular across the country as old shopping centers become mixed-use spaces where people can live, work, and play. It seems that places such as the American Dream mall are more than a trend and that experiential retail is here to stay. This provides commercial real estate developers and investors with a ton of opportunity to convert old retail spaces into places that will thrive again.

Demand for Industrial Space

Industrial properties were highly sought after by investors last year and that is a trend that will continue through 2020. Consumers demand the same or next day delivery which is a huge factor in the surge of distribution and warehouse facilities being developed. As more and more people are completing their shopping online there is a need for more warehouse space and old malls make the perfect conversion projects. The trend of malls becoming distribution centers will continue to grow as retailers continue to compete with e-commerce organizations such as Walmart and Amazon. To match the demand spec building is increasing, however, the spec spaces are being leased quickly, often before the building is even completed.

Election Year Creates Inaction

It is very common for business owners to slow their decision making duing election years. Small to mid-sized building and business owners often wait to see who will be in the White House which creates a possibility for greater opportunities. Since a portion of the competition is sitting out of transactions and waiting to see what happens there could be interesting chances for those that don’t.

This blog was originally published on Jack Nourafshan’s website.

Conversion Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate has seen a trend of retail to warehouse conversions emerging in the past few years. Due to the dramatic shift in the retail industry, these conversion projects are becoming increasingly popular all over the country. As the shopping habits of consumers in the United States as changed malls have been closing. It’s estimated that within the next ten years thousands of malls will shut down. Commercial real estate professionals have been adjusting and there is a major spike in the development of warehouses and mixed-use spaces in the place of shopping centers such as malls.

The huge number of store closures has caused many investors to reconsider making investments in retail altogether. This is especially true of investors who are interested in commercial real estate properties. However, both the retail and commercial real estate industries are now being presented with unique opportunities. Old shopping malls containing large amounts of square footage are becoming available to those who want to take advantage of the major shift in consumer behavior.

It makes perfect sense that warehouses and distribution centers could be structured from existing old properties such as malls. Consumers are buying things online and there is a major need for more facilities to handle the number of daily delivery orders. The only significant downside to this conversion venture is that retail properties often are required to be rezoned into industrial listings. Industrustral spaces do not often generate as much in income, sales, or property taxes which can cause surrounding communities to push back.

However, another alternative for these old shopping centers and malls is to convert them into mixed-use spaces. Mixed spaces are becoming popular, not only with commercial real estate companies but also with the communities that they serve. People want to be engaged when they spend money which makes mixed-use space in indoor-outdoor areas incredibly popular. These spaces form a “live, work, play” combination with accessibility and the feeling of community.

In commercial real estate, these mixed-use or lifestyle centers include things such as restaurants, office spaces, retail stores, and condos. Everything is within walking distance from each other and consumers can enjoy walking within a close range of their home while going to a doctor’s appointment or shopping. More people are moving into the suburbs, yet with the feeling of community being created by these mixed-use centers, they can enjoy the closeness to everything that they enjoyed in the city.

There will be things such as lease restrictions and shared workspace details for investors to work out, however, commercial real estate developers will continue to take advantage of the new and interesting opportunities that the retail industry is creating.

This blog was originally published on Jack Nourafshan’s website.