PassiveInvesting.com continually looks for ways to deliver a better return for our investors (and a better experience for our residents) by doing things smarter and more efficiently.
You’ll be happy to know we took a gigantic step in that direction on March 3rd when Brian Bornhorst became the Director of Asset Management. We are extremely excited to have Brian on board. He brings a deep knowledge of real estate, strong analytical skills, and a passion for success to our team.
His work experience includes being the Vice President of Asset Management for Waterton Residential where he oversaw their nationwide portfolio across seven states. He was head of transactions for AIMCO where he did a lot of acquisition and disposition work. Before AIMCO, he was at Deloitte where he was a manager in the real estate solutions practice.
For the last five years, Brian operated BPG Apartments LLC, a multifamily investing group, a company he owned. He specialized in workforce housing—small four, eight, and twelve-unit properties—operating in and around the Denver area and with a location in Cleveland.
Brian had tapped out the potential of his “family money” investing group. In addition, he had been feeling that his talents were being underutilized (underwriting a four-unit multifamily property when he’d had experience underwriting 100 million-dollar deals). Plus, at his investing group, he did everything… he bought the properties, he managed the properties… he painted the units… he replaced the toilets… he remodeled the units… he was tired of doing everything. He was hungry for a change.
Maximize investor profit
Brian’s mandate at PassiveInvesting.com includes…
Maximize investor profit – Anyone worth their salt in real estate knows that one of the keys to success is your ability to understand the data and use your analysis to predict the future. When you do that successfully, you can avoid any unexpected expenses that can cut into the overall profits of the project, plus it enhances your ability to accurately predict your numbers. The following is an excerpt from a conversation Brian had recently (with a third party) about PassiveInvesting.com and real estate…
“The National Apartment Association has forecasts for rent growth at the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) level, so they’ll say the Denver market, is projected to grow at 6% rent for the next four years. That’s true, but when you dig into the micro-market information, an “A-class product” may be growing at 8% and the “C-class product” may be growing at 2%. So, when you look at your analytics, you need to understand all the pieces that go into the metrics. For example, the central business district of Raleigh might be growing faster than the suburbs. It’s important to dig deep into the data to really understand it. When we have the metrics lined up it means we can always achieve the returns we say we are going to have.”
Providing great living experiences for our tenants
While data is important, ultimately our business is all about people. We know that if we keep our residents happy and provide them with a great living experience, they will recommend us and stay with us longer. With Brian on board, PassiveInvesting.com’s focus will be even greater on that aspect of our business…
“The key to good management is being hands-on with knowing what your residents experience,” Brian said. “With all the management companies at our properties, we have them, at least a couple of times per month, walk the unit at night and see what it’s like for our residents to experience the property. So, you know what’s working, and what’s not. What lights are out? Things like that. It helps us to get a better understanding of how to market the property. You want to have ‘the right feel’ for your residents so you can make sure you’re providing the best quality at the best price. The best way to fulfill the needs of your investors is to make sure you’re providing a quality place to live for your residents. When you do, they’ll stay longer which reduces your turnover costs which is better for the market and better for your investors.”
As mentioned, Brian is a “jack of all trades” having hands-on experience on almost every facet of the real estate process from remodeling to crunching the numbers. His knowledge will ensure that PassiveInvesting.com always gets a fair price for services rendered by our suppliers… “When I see an estimate for replacing a toilet, I know exactly what it costs to buy a toilet, what it costs to install it, and how long it takes,” he said. “So that is incredibly helpful. Plus, I have an understanding of architecture so I can look at the floor plan and look at the estimate and know exactly how long it takes to do things.”
Systems and processes save time, money, and frustration
Streamline our processes — Brian is big on standardized processes. He is a big believer in checklists and tracking sheets. He believes in putting systems in place so the renovation teams and maintenance teams know the exact procedures that should be followed and who is responsible for what. It eliminates costly conflicts and stops minor issues from turning into bigger issues. When you have good processes in place, you can use them in every project, saving time, money, and frustration. Plus, when you keep a detailed tracking sheet it allows you to forecast out months in advance. For instance, if we can predict our future renovation needs it allows us to forecast the staffing needs to make sure we have the appropriate renovation team in place when we need them.
A solid foundation for future growth
Build a foundation for growth — At PassiveInvesting.com, we’ve set very aggressive goals for ourselves. We’re confident that Brian is the right guy to get us where we (and our Investors) want to be…
“I told them that I could help them triple or quadruple in size in the next five years,” Brian said. “I am sold on their model and they are open to making the necessary changes to do things the right way with regard to systems and processes. I know their goal is to put a certain amount of money to work every year, and I’m here to help them do it. I know how to set things up so that if we want to underwrite 100 deals a year, we can do it.”
“You get out of life what you put in.”
While Brian’s real estate acumen and his analytical skills are impressive, what’s even more impressive is his dedication to his family. He refers to his three kids as his greatest accomplishment in life. His oldest son, Sam, played football at John Carroll University in University Heights Ohio. (Sam is doing an online internship this summer and hopes to be back on the football field in the fall.) His middle child, Matthew, is studying aerospace engineering at California Polytechnic State University. His daughter, Elizabeth, goes to Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, Colorado (where he resides). (Brian plans to work remotely at least until his daughter finishes high school.) His wife, Amy, is no slouch either, she is Executive Counsel – Real Estate for Davita Inc.
Brian’s philosophy of life is simple… “The more you put into life, the more involved you are, the more experiences you have, the more you will get out of life and the better your life will be.”
We’re excited about the future and about what Brian brings to PassiveInvesting.com and our investors.
