Ep #15: Creating Wealth Investing in Student Housing Ground Up Development with Zach Feldman

In this episode, Wayne talks to Zach Feldman, Vice President of Development at Aptitude Development—one of the nation’s top student housing firms. Zach spearheads the company’s new development efforts around the country, focusing on sourcing and underwriting new opportunities, as well as pre-development, entitlement, capital markets, and investor relations.  

Topics on Today’s Episode:

• Getting started in real estate from the ground up, specifically student/multifamily housing
• Real Estate Success: Principles of having your money work for you
• Family, Friends, Partners: Buy student housing buildings based on highest yield on cost
• ENJOI 77 HOLDINGS: Introduction into student housing world at institutional level
• Aptitude Advantage: Student housing development w/expertise, entitlement, construction
• Off-Market Strategy: Provide best returns to investors and best residences for students
• Secret Sauce: How to find and source student housing land deals to create value
• Development Lifecycle: Start with macros in market and find location that makes sense
• Pain Points: Zoning, variances, and entitlement risk where town isn’t developer-friendly
• Main Macros: Enrollment, rents, concessions, occupancy, endowment, and tuition costs  
• COVID Impact: Student housing continues to hold its own, remains recession resilient
• Differences, Decisions: On- or off-campus living depends on lease, location, and design  
• Financing Options: Land loans, raising equity, entitlement process, construction phase 
• Cost Segregation Analysis: Push depreciation into first few years for large tax benefits
• Limited Partnership: Real estate passion is a lot of work, not a get-rich-quick position 
• Due Diligence: Do your homework to know the market and avoid investment mistakes 

Links and Resources:

Aptitude Development
Zach Feldman on LinkedIn
Zach Feldman’s Phone: 781-789-4354
Zach Feldman’s Email
ENJOI 77 HOLDINGS
Wildcat Fund
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
BiggerPockets
The Untold Stories of Real Estate Investing - Ep #13: Maximizing Real Estate Investment Returns through Cost Segregation with Yonah Weiss
Wayne Courreges
Free Passive Investor eBook by Wayne Courreges
The Untold Stories of Real Estate Investing Podcast