It is rare that a property’s physical condition is without need of repair or improvement following acquisition. Further, as assets age, their layout and configuration may no longer be responsive to market desires. Accordingly, underestimating renovation budgets is one of the most common mistakes made by real estate fund managers. Even more troubling, most managers fail to hire the personnel necessary to cost effectively implement a major renovation, due to either a failure to recognize the importance of this function or a foolish attempt to reduce personnel expense by spreading renovation managers too thin. Depending upon the magnitude of the renovation, this step is often the single greatest contributor to investor returns.

Henna principals have many years of renovation experience, particularly in the lodging and residential sectors. We approach a major renovation project as seriously as we would a greenfield development. Further, rather than outsourcing the management of renovation projects, we retain this expertise “in house,” since following the completion of a renovation, a manager possesses detailed knowledge of his or her property, making him or her the perfect candidate to oversee management of the asset following completion of the renovation.