The Journey of a CRE Entrepreneur with Alex Zikakis Part II - S2E10

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About this Episode – The Journey of a CRE Entrepreneur with Alex Zikakis Part II

Welcome to the A.CRE Audio Series! On this episode, I am here once again with the creators of the Adventures in CRE website, Spencer Burton and Michael Belasco. Today is part two of our interview with Alex Zikakas.

During our conversation we dive into Alex’s brain and discover what he looks for when making a deal. It’s really important that you are the person people trust. We also dive into what’s going on today, where there are weeds and opportunities for relocation. As always there is the topic of risk in the commercial real estate market. We hear Alex’s thoughts on that as well. Alex provides great insight and advice from landing his first deal to where he is today.

Show Notes – S2E10: The Journey of a CRE Entrepreneur with Alex Zikakis Part II

Landing the 1^st deal [0:46]
- His first deal was a regional mall in Indiana.
- He bought software so he could start modeling it.
- After connecting with contacts, he evaluated the deal and negotiated.
What does Alex look for in a deal [9:15]
- Buy multi-tenant commercial real estate as a value-add investor and increase its value through superior leasing execution and significant capital investment in the asset.
- In the beginning, it was do it anywhere you can find the asset. He wasn’t looking to do anything long-term.
- He always wants to look where else in the real estate arena is there severe dislocation.
Being the guy people trust [18:36]
- Where’s the asset class we should be investing in?
- The opportunity in buying single family homes.
Weeds and areas of relocation [25:24]
- If debt gets out of control, people start financially engineering returns.
Risk in the commercial real estate market [28:13]
- People are underwriting fairly modest returns generally.
- There’s not a lot of concern around the next big implosion.
- You have to be thoughtful about getting money out.
Parting advice [30:56]
- If you are ready to go, you are ready to go.
- Be super prudent with your first investment.