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Creative Dealmaking Delivers Returns
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment Thank you to all the readers who wrote in last week after we published our story about the hospital investment that turned into a big win. Since we received such a warm response to the last case study, I want to share another story that further illustrates how Alliance’s skills convert…
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Decisive Advantage
Brokerage December 6, 2021/Brokerage In the real estate game as in life, the spoils go to those who move on an opportunity quickly and decisively. A friend from my youth dated the same wonderful woman for years and never locked her down. Only after she moved on did he realize what a mistake he had…
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First Mover Advantage
Development December 6, 2021/Development I recently discussed how Alliance seals some great deals by acting quickly and decisively. As the old saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. But it’s not enough to be the earliest bird. You also need to distinguish between a juicy worm and piece of garbage. Knowing the difference, and…
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Political Risk and Investing
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment There’s no avoiding it – we’ve live in a volatile time in American politics. Despite the polarization and frustration, there is still at least one key area where Americans broadly agree. Whatever our political affiliations, all of us want growth and stability in our investments. Does political risk really affect our…
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Back to School, Back to Work
Lifestyle December 6, 2021/Lifestyle More than half the calendar year is gone, but that doesn’t mean that it’s time to coast to the finish. Quite the opposite. For me, the time between summer break and winter holidays is the most productive part of the year, and the next few months will determine whether I meet…
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Technology Is Making Business More Efficient
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment There has never been a better time for getting things done. With new tools, a savvy businessman can do more work, better, faster, and cheaper than ever before. In the real estate business, that means we can find, vet, finance, and manage real estate with greater confidence, shorter lead times, and…
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Technology Should Work for You, Not Against You
Lifestyle December 6, 2021/Lifestyle I’ve been thinking about workplace efficiency recently. Businesses have to adapt or face extinction. The last real estate investment firm to incorporate satellite and street imagery into their process simply won’t be able to compete. But if we’re not careful about how we use our tools, we’ll end up working for…
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Hurricanes Won’t Change Our Approach
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment Alliance invests heavily in the South – areas that have just been battered by back-to-back major hurricanes. As the affected communities work to put their lives back together, they’re on my mind and in my heart. At the same time, I’ve never been happier with my investments. Over the past few…
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Alliance Case Study: Relationships + Research = Profit
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment After receiving a great response to earlier stories about real Alliance deals, I’d like to share another high level picture of one of Alliance’s great recent investments. Background For investors with risk tolerance, early 2009 was a buyer’s market. The stock market was down 50% from its highs just 1.5 years…
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Building Something Great
Lifestyle December 6, 2021/Lifestyle Tragedy in the news recently has me thinking about what really matters. Life is short, our time is precious, and I want to make sure I’m living right. How do we know when we’re on the right track? Material success, public acclaim, etc. all lead to very different priorities. My favorite…
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Is Mindfulness a Fad?
Lifestyle December 6, 2021/Lifestyle Across the corporate world and beyond, mindfulness is all the rage. Consultants and gurus are selling books, lectures, retreats, and meditation classes that promise to make workers happier, healthier, more loyal, and more creative. Perhaps they can reach nirvana too. A “mindfulness” search in my App Store produces an endless…
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Know Your Counterparty
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment The more things change, the more they stay the same. From the dawn of humanity, we have been social creatures who achieve great things through collective effort. Whether the situation is cooperative (personal relationships), adversarial (war), or mix of the two (business), we have to deal with other people who have…
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Holidays Should Have a Point
Lifestyle December 6, 2021/Lifestyle Holidays are supposed to have a point. Holy days celebrate things of spiritual significance, and even secular holidays honor people, values and events worthy of remembrance and respect. No matter what religion or society a holiday comes from, it should have a message that outsiders can understand. So what’s the…
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Saving is a Mindset
Uncategorized December 6, 2021/Uncategorized How much should you save? The retirement planning advice industry will give you precise answers, based on your age, earning power, lifestyle, etc. More generally, conventional wisdom says you should save somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of your income starting early in your career. I applaud anybody who takes their…
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When to Sell an Asset
Investment December 6, 2021/Investment Good investors are also storytellers. An investment is a bet that we see potential others have missed (or undervalued). We buy when we have a theory of how and when the asset will reach its potential. Correctly laying out the story at the start gives us a picture of how…
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