There are so many factors that contribute to or prove to be detrimental to any business’s success. Being in the real estate industry for many years now, InvestPlus REIT has seen and experienced all sorts of challenges. During times of adversity, this is when businesses are tested most, and this is where operational excellence comes into play.

What is operational excellence, and why is it important to your business?

Operational excellence in real estate is being able to manage a huge volume of real estate properties really well—consistently. Not everyone can do it right, and it takes a certain skill set to grow a real estate company successfully. With operational excellence as part of your arsenal, better business-related decision-making can be expected, resulting in positive effects for your company.

Handling the marketplace can truly be stressful at times, especially during recessions and special unforeseen events such as the pandemic. When everyone is affected by soaring interest rates, measures must be taken in order to ensure profit for both the seller and buyer. How do we achieve this?

Debt Can Be an Asset!

About 5−6 years ago, we started exiting multifamily and went into industrial real estate. It is important to note that exiting and knowing when to sell falls under operational excellence too. Always keep in mind that exiting or selling will depend on where your company is, what your goals are for your company, and how exiting aligns with those factors.

For InvestPlus REIT, there were challenges when we moved into industrial real estate. Buyers wanted long-term financing and we found ways to work on this as well as timelines ourselves. Fortunately, we locked in our rates before the W.H.O declared the pandemic which drove interest rates up. It is in this kind of scenario that assumable debt becomes an asset.

With solid mortgage terms, you can sell your property along with it assumable debt that in time, still proves to be profitable even for the buyer. From the outside, this asset may be invisible! This is why working with reliable real estate investors can truly pay off for interested parties, as advice and factors taken into decision making are backed by years of experience.

Creativity is an Asset Too

It is important to note that each and every scenario is different. As an example, InvestPlus REIT President and CEO Domenic Mandato has faced about four recessions in his years as a real estate investor. All those instances raised the following questions:

• How are the problems going to be handled?
• How can we take advantage of the situation?
• What is working/not working in the company?
• What S.O.P.s can be standardized and improved?
• How can we still generate income even within our portfolio?

Market crashes and times of adversity are always great opportunities to look inward. It’s a good time to reflect and rethink what works and how to build on it along with what is no longer serving the goals of the company. Discovering inefficiencies help us improve and exercising creative thinking plays an important role in coming up with solutions!

Scratch that—being creative is critical to success. No matter your role in the company there are always different perspectives that can and should be taken into consideration when coming up with innovative solutions. Consider this…

Ask your co-workers, spouse, someone who isn’t in the same field as you are, or even your kid a question that relates to your business and listen closely to their insight. This kind of creative brainstorming can spark genius solutions you would not have thought of because you’re so deep into the world of real estate. Hearing fresh input can re-jig your senses and come up with new answers to the all important real estate question: Where else can we grow?

Remember operational excellence and your hidden assets!