Before becoming a real estate agent in 2012, I worked for 10 years in the securities business raising millions of dollars for venture capital investments and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). That is the foundation for our expertise in crunching the numbers for clients. Prior to that, I spent 13 years in the advertising industry working with major brand clients such as McDonalds, Hyundai and Proctor & Gamble. Our marketing is different and innovative compared to our competition.

The experience in both investments and marketing seemed like a perfect fit for helping clients with the buying and selling of multifamily. Thus, I decided to move into directly selling multifamily assets as opposed to raising money for REITs. I quickly found that my experience allowed my team to develop an in-depth understanding of multi-family real estate that can help guide clients when making decisions regarding buying and selling.

Right now, the most challenging thing is the City of Los Angeles’ eviction moratorium and rent freeze. It can be very difficult to achieve a good price for a property that has a lot of tenants who are not paying rent. It is equally difficult to run income models when there is no date certain as to when owners will be able to start to raise rents again. In the past, we have considered tenants who are late or not paying rent as a potential opportunity to turn over that unit and move the rent to market. However, the city of Los Angeles constantly changes the rules for eviction. Now many potential Buyers are concerned that they will be sitting on a building with very little income with no way to recoup that loss in the end since the city will not allow them to evict over past due amounts once the moratorium is lifted. When you have no way to enforce payment of rent and no idea when you will be able to raise rents it creates a lot of uncertainty.

I have only worked with KW Commercial Santa Monica and have had an excellent experience so far.

The pros are that KW provides a tremendous amount of diverse training that helps us stay experts in our field. They have a marketing department that handles our monthly postcard and and other marketing needs. KW Commercial also has a cap system, in which once you achieve your cap you no longer pay a split to the brokerage company. This is great fit for a team like mine that does 7 figures a year. Most importantly the owner is genuinely focused on helping agents succeed. The cons are that KW Commercial is not always recognized as a major force in the commercial real estate space like other brokerages that are 100% commercial. However, I have been able to overcome this by tracking all sales in my specific market and showing that KW Commercial has a similar market share as our competitors in the multifamily space.

2021 Double Platinum Award, 2021 Million Dollar Club, 2020 Top Producing Agent During Covid-19 100 Units+, 2019 Quadruple Gold Team, 2019 International Medallion Award, 2018 #1 Commercial Team in Multifamily Units, 2018 #1 Commercial Team GCI, 2018 Double Platinum International Medallion Award, 2018 Million Dollar Club, 2017 Quadruple Gold International Medallion Award, 2016 Quadruple Gold International Medallion Award, 2015 Triple Gold International Medallion Award

One of the proudest moments for our team was the sale of 14420-14432 Valerio Street, a 96-unit multifamily property located in Van Nuys, California during the height of the Covid-19 stay at home order in 2019. The most difficult detail about this sale was not only the pandemic, but the fact that the initial buyer attempted to cancel after having removed contingencies, risking the loss of nearly one million dollars in deposit. Our team was able to successfully negotiate and assign the in-place contract to a newly found replacement private investor based in San Diego. What made this transaction even more interesting was that the property was off market. Therefore, our pool of possible buyers was limited compared to what it would be had we listed the property. In the end, KMCG was able to find a replacement buyer for this off market property during the pandemic and the property sold for $19,232,375.

We like to stay on the cutting edge of marketing technology that can help us communicate the vision of the property that we list. Currently this includes the things many agents are doing such as virtual tours, drone photography and video presentations. However, one thing that sets us apart is our virtual tour rendering that show the vision of how the exterior and interior can look after renovations, unit reconfigurations and ADU additions. Clients can virtually move through the upgraded courtyard or common areas as well as the upgraded interiors which allows a potential buyer to experience how tenants will feel when entering the building and their unit. For the financials we have created an underwriting template that shows the current cap rate, what the cap rate would be after adding ADUs, what the cap rate would be after tuning all the units based on estimated expenses as well as the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) or Average Annual Return over a certain hold period. What makes this software stand out is the ability for our clients to enter their own assumptions such as expenses and timeline for building the ADUs, the number of units they believe can be turned each year and the cost of renovations. We also underwrite every property that is available in our market using our proprietary database that allows us to compare properties by cap rate, gross rent multiplier, price per foot and/or price per unit. This is something that cannot be done on LoopNet, The MLS or Crexi. Thus, we can provide metric comparisons for our clients to other properties available on the market with the click of a button. Of course, we use things such as DocuSign for signing purchase agreements and escrow documents, and Drobox for our deal rooms to supply clients with all of the books and records they need to review while under contract. This helps to make our clients escrow process as easy as possible.

These testimonials are very important since they communicate to potential new clients that prior clients have been very satisfied and happy with our services. This can be one of the most important tools for getting new listings.

Although we have not focused on online review forums, we do collect testimonials from our clients after every sale and use those in our online marketing efforts.

KMCG is a full-service multi-family listing and buying team oriented completely around what is best for our clients. We do this through six steps that have proven results: First, we conduct a thorough interview with our clients to establish their objectives so we are clear on their goals, timelines, concerns, where they see themselves, what they expect from us and how we can best be of help. Second, we conduct extensive research and investigation about each property that we list for sale and/or recommend to buyers so that we can provide knowledgeable input on the condition of the asset as well as the pros and cons going forward. Third, we conduct a “value discovery” through creative envisioning with the assistance of our interior designer/architect as well as construction specialists and engineers. This process identifies ways a new owner can add value to the asset. This includes the possibility of adding Alternative Dwelling Units (ADUs), reconfiguration of the interior floor plans and providing interior/exterior remodeling recommendations all designed to maximize the income at the property. This helps the Seller get a better price and helps the Buyer justify the price by providing a path toward generating higher income from the asset. Fourth, when we list a property we create innovative marketing materials that visually demonstrate the value we have discovered in a property. We provide renderings of the recommended remodel of the exterior that includes a design with maximum curb appeal and illustrates where the Alternate Dwelling Units (ADU) would be added. We provide new architectural plans and renderings of the interiors that visually demonstrate why we believe higher rents can be achieved compared to the leasing of the old floor plans and design. This not only helps our seller achieve a higher price but also provides the Buyer with a vision for the future of the property and a roadmap on how to get there. Fifth, we are experts at the numbers. Kelly Morgan Commercial Group underwrites every property that is listed in our market in addition to our own listings to identify what we believe to be the true cap rate before and after adding value based on our “Value Discovery”. Most importantly we identify the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) or Average Annual Return for a 5, 7 or 10 year hold period based on implementing the value add strategy that is tailored to fit each Buyer. Sixth, we provide comprehensive escrow expertise and micromanagement. Kelly Morgan Commercial Group has a full-time experienced escrow concierge who follows up on every step of the transaction process and solves issues before they arise. Our problem solving and people skills ensure we can handle challenges and eliminate obstacles that could hinder the sale. This paves the way for a very smooth escrow that will get done on time.