The first step to negotiating an attractive deal is conducting a thorough evaluation of it, as described earlier. By understanding a target property as well as its seller, we gain precise knowledge of its value and the reasons a seller’s expectations may be unrealistic. We establish our pricing goal going in, and we don’t close unless and until we get there!

Sadly, many real estate fund managers think their job is finished at acquisition. If the markets improve, then the investors make money. If they don’t, well then “at least we have our acquisition fees.” Henna believes that acquisition is just one opportunity to create value during a real estate investment’s lifecycle, and it is neither the first opportunity, nor the last. In fact, if a manager fails to dedicate proper attention to the Identification and Evaluation phases that come before, the Acquisition negotiation may be moot.