EQUITY FUNDAMENTALS · A LIBRARY OF TWENTY-TWO PAPERS
Fifty years of closed transactions, taught in plain language.
Written by our partners from transactions that actually closed and paper that actually paid. Every paper here comes from real transactions and real counsel, in the craft the rooms call equity marketing.
Darryl McCullough, Senior PartnerCOUNSELING SINCE 1972
Alejandro Duque, Managing PartnerSTRUCTURE & STEWARDSHIP
FOUNDATIONS
No. 01
Use My Equity
The paper we share before a first conversation: what the equity you already own could be doing, and how it goes to work without selling.BY DARRYL McCULLOUGH & ALEJANDRO DUQUE6 MIN READNo. 02
What Is Your Equity Earning Today?
Most owners know what they paid and what the property is worth. Almost none know the return their equity earns at today's value, and that number changes minds.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER4 MIN READNo. 03
The Stairway of Benefits
Cash has no value by itself. It is a stepping stone to the benefits you actually want. Here is a ladder for thinking about every equity you own.5 MIN READNo. 04
We Are All Different
Before any transaction, an honest self-assessment: what kind of investor are you right now, what is your situation, and what do you actually need?4 MIN READNo. 05
Seller Flexibility Equals More Options
The more forms of payment a seller can accept, the more buyers exist for the property. A one-page picture of why flexibility widens the market.2 MIN READDEALS THAT CLOSED
No. 06
Asset Growth Using Non-Cash Equities
One piece of vacant land, moved through a mortgage, an apartment building, a government building, and a mobile home park. A true story, and how to prepare for your own version.5 MIN READNo. 07
Finding Transactions in Slow-Moving Properties
Stagnant listings are full of transactions waiting to happen. Two closed deals that cash buyers had passed over.4 MIN READNo. 08
Land Assembly Formula
Seven homeowners, one developer, and a formula that gave every family the same premium. Today it is a 360-bed student housing project.5 MIN READNo. 09
Lease/Option Formulas
When a stubborn seller and a careful buyer cannot agree on price, a lease with an option to purchase can give both of them exactly what they wanted.4 MIN READNo. 10
Leases: Vacancy = Equity
Rent lost to vacancy is gone forever. One landlord traded ten years of empty space for a free-and-clear development parcel.4 MIN READNo. 11
No Cash Acquisitions
A debt-free beachfront property, a buyer with no cash, and a transaction that closed anyway: 70 percent carried by the seller, 30 percent taken in trade.3 MIN READNo. 12
No Money Down With Benefits for All
A seller in no mood to sell, a developer with no cash to buy, and a formula that paid the seller a 25 percent premium anyway.4 MIN READNOTES & PAPER
No. 13
When Selling Your Note Makes Sense, and When It Doesn't
Selling paper is the fastest exit and the deepest discount. A plain framework for deciding whether the discount is worth it, or whether you are leaving value on the table.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER5 MIN READNo. 14
Note-for-Note Exchanges: Trading Problems for Performing Assets
You hold a note you no longer want. Someone else holds an asset you would rather own. A structured exchange can trade one for the other, without the cash discount.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER5 MIN READNo. 15
Joint Ventures on Notes: Sharing Risk and Upside
You hold the note; a partner brings capital or expertise. How note joint ventures are structured, how the economics divide, and what to demand of a partner.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER5 MIN READNo. 16
Technical Default vs. Maturity Default: Why the Difference Matters
A borrower who stopped paying and a borrower who paid perfectly until the balloon came due are two different problems. One is often a hidden opportunity.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER5 MIN READNo. 17
Five Alternatives to Foreclosing on a Defaulted Note
Foreclosure works, but it is slow, expensive, and often the worst financial outcome available. Five paths experienced note holders consider first.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER7 MIN READNo. 18
How Note Buyers Price Non-Performing Notes
The discounts feel aggressive, but they are not arbitrary. What drives a buyer's number, and why knowing their math tells you whether to take it.BY ALEJANDRO DUQUE, MANAGING PARTNER6 MIN READWORKING TOGETHER
No. 19
Partnerships
A cash call in the 2008 recession, answered without a single question, because of one thing: integrity. Plus twenty-three rules for being partnership material.4 MIN READNo. 20
Preparing for Increased Transaction Benefits
Reflections from the school of hard knocks: markets move without your approval, so plan the recovery of your principal before you plan the profit.4 MIN READNo. 21
Reading and Thinking
Warren Buffett reads and thinks. Deal-makers mostly deal. A short case for the habit that improves every transaction, and one book kept within reach of the desk.2 MIN READNo. 22
In Darryl's Words
A few lines our senior partner has repeated for fifty years, because they keep being true.1 MIN READRather talk it through than read?
The first conversation is complimentary, and it stays between us.