🏠 Developing Single Family Homes for families that value status, education, and convenient access to NYC. | 📧 Sign up for my newsletter to follow along 👇🏾
New Jersey, USA
Joined February 2021
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Stress tested my spec home portfolio this weekend.
$11.224M owed to hard money lenders.
We average ~12 months from purchase to sale.
Loans mature at 18 months
So assume we hold every home 6 months longer than usual.
6 extra months @ 10% = ~$560K.
Big number, but sb ok... As long as we still hit our underwritten exit.
Off-Market Broker Exclusives are hit or miss.
Just lost one w/ an $800k ask. I offered 862,5 and all that did was give the seller confidence to go to market.
The last time it worked I offered $75K over ask on $1.3M to cancel the broker's open. That was ~2 years ago.
Brightwood sellers were an elderly Asian couple (Taiwanese to be specific)
Asking price: $1,000,000.00
Opening Offer: $888,888.88
Closed @ $920,000.00
IYKYK
Late 70s ~Billionaire that's done every type of deal under the sun.
Francis Greenburger's advice over dinner:
Have enough cashflow that the boom-bust cycle can't sink you & you're not so dependent on your next trick.
That one hit a little close to home as someone who builds spec homes and gets paid only upon sale.
I don't think restarting my rental portfolio is the answer, but I have a few ideas worth exploring in 2027...
Thinking back to when we accepted $2.5M on Project Townsend.
- 5% below ask.
- 2% above underwriting.
Underwrite conservatively and "below ask" is still a win.MSign up for my weekly newsletter if you want more content like this delivered directly to your inbox every Sunday at 6am.
sendfox.com/sunshak
This sounds ridiculous & self-serving, but I just used a YouTube video I put out 5 years ago to pull a motivated seller list for a market I'm trying to do more deals in
If you want to watch, search YouTube:
"SunShak + How to Use Propstream to Find Motivated Sellers [2021]"
My JV Partner and I often find ourselves one-upping each other on how we're using AI to improve our respective businesses
We are quite literally in a competition to see who can make our joint business better
Doesn't suck
Our sellers on Roosevelt pushed closing twice
Elderly couple, looking for their next and likely final home
That takes time, which is completely fine
We're not in the business of pushing people out of their homes
+ we'll take all the time they can give us to get our plans in order
Cost of sale on a $2.5M new build is close to a quarter million bucks.
That's why we try like hell to sell everything pre-completion.
Every cent counts (time often being the largest line item)
Thinking back to when we accepted $2.5M on Project Townsend.
- 5% below ask.
- 2% above underwriting.
Underwrite conservatively and "below ask" is still a win.
A non real estate professional brought my agent a deal "This guy is willing to sell to me for 750, can you find me a buyer for 800?"
He wanted a taste, and I was happy to oblige if he could get the deal done
~10 days later the middleman quite literally ran out of steam
My agent stepped in and we got it UC in ~24 hours @ 800
Does middleman deserve a lick?
Seller called us in May 2025.
We hit their ask, but they ultimately weren't ready.
I checked in every month or so.
Then a text: "Can we still do business?"
Giddy is an understatement. 🧘🏽♂️
Under Contract & Working on Construction Documents while my preferred agents help them find their next home.
Bought: 10/06/25
Sold: 8/21/26 @ $2.85M
319 days. ~103 of them in entitlements.
Lightning fast for new construction. Still think we can shave ~13 days off permitting.
Thinking about the two 12-year-olds who rang my doorbell offering to wash my trash cans.
"$20... per can." Outrageous pricing.
Respected the hustle so I let them do 1 can.
I was their first customer ever.
Wonder if I was also their last... LOL
Haven't seen them since.
Going out tomorrow @ 6AM
My biggest takeaway from Reconvene 2026
Link in Bio if you ain't on it already
🎯
Thinking back to when we accepted $2.5M on Project Townsend.
- 5% below ask.
- 2% above underwriting.
Underwrite conservatively and "below ask" is still a win.MSign up for my weekly newsletter if you want more content like this delivered directly to your inbox every Sunday at 6am.
sendfox.com/sunshak