On this episode of the Big Mike Fund, we’re talking with California-born and Oregon-native Matt Burk. Matt is the founder and CEO of Fairway America as well as Verivest, a fund administration company. Today we’re talking about the opportunities for the rest of Q4 2020 and beyond. Matt also gives us his expertise about terms in the industry (for example, fund versus syndication) in addition to defining what a good deal is and how it can become a great deal. He gives us a little insight on Fairway America and the Verivest platform as well.
Matt founded Fairway Financial Services, Inc. in 1992 and has led Fairway’s investment team for more than 28 years. He began his career in real estate finance in 1986 after graduating from the University of California, Davis with a degree in economics. His extensive experience has provided him with wide-ranging exposure and deep expertise in a broad array of real estate asset classes, structured finance, distressed debt acquisition and disposition, and open- and closed-ended 506 Regulation D funds.
Minute Markers:
00:20 – Hello and Welcome
00:37 – A little about Matt Burk
02:00 – The story of Fairway America
06:15 – The difference between investing in a fund versus syndication
09:50 – COVID and opportunities
14:26 – How can a good deal become a great deal?
20:00 – Other opportunities
27:00 – The Verivest platform
29:50 – The importance of verified sponsors
32:55 – Reaching out to Matt
33:45 – Thank you for listening to the Big Mike Fund Podcast
Quotes:
“I think repurposing is a big opportunity. I think there’s opportunity in smaller deals that are below the typical institutional size. There’s fewer players that are going to come in and bid up prices, so some of the middle market entrepreneurs can take advantage of some pretty attractive cap rates.” – Matt Burk
“That’s what we try to strive for in making good decisions—so that when things don’t go well, you can live with it and move on. But it is nice when they do go well and you get to kind of a place, we’re at least under LOI right now.” – Matt Burk
“If you look across the board in storage, the amount of supply that’s come on line the last few years has been significant. There is a, I call it, macro level supply issue that is putting downward pressure on rents. In the storage business, it’s very much a microbusiness.” – Matt Burk
“Since the shell is already there, if it’s in good condition, your cost of build out is much less than building it from the ground up. The thesis is you get in at 60–70% of what you can get in from the ground up. You end up with a Class A facility on a major arterial with a lot of traffic count and an infill location with limited supply..” – Matt Burk
“Once you start going through the process of verifying and monitoring your ongoing performance, it makes it that much easier for you to gain credibility with your investors on the front end. It’s super inexpensive and affordable to be able to do..” – Matt Burk
Resources:
Matt Burk email: mark.burk@fairwayamerica.com
