National Realty Investment Advisors: Building Profitable Assets

National Realty Investment Advisors, LLC is a team of Philadelphia-based professionals that specialize in taking undervalued real estate assets and turning them into lucrative rental properties. NRIA works with 11 licensed property professionals and strategically employs its resources to garner high returns for its investor-clients.

NRIA has about 150 repeat investor-clients who each own five to six rental properties. The company has generated over $100 million in property equity based on cash-in investments of $7.5 million. NRIA investors are collectively experiencing positive cash flow of $300,000 per month through townhouse properties developed and managed by NRIA.

National Realty Investment Advisors: A HistoryFounded in 2006 by Rey Grabato, the NRIA team has been committed to real estate development efforts in Philadelphia for the past eight years. Rey had been a mortgage banker for a decade, but ultimately decided to focus his expertise on revitalizing the city of Philadelphia and helping other investors. NRIA started with just two employees at its founding, but has grown to include 15 employees and hundreds of regular clients.

National Realty Investment Advisors has been fully supervising many of the renovations that have transformed Center City Philadelphia in the last decade. In fact, NRIA has completed more than 615 property renovation and construction projects in the city, including new buildings, refinancing, and rentals.

The ProcessNRIA takes low-cost, undervalued land and uses it to build valuable, high-quality rental homes at wholesale rates.

Here’s how it works: Clients put cash down and get a brand new, pre-rented home with 100% financing often provided. Owing to Philadelphia’s 10-year tax abatement law, investors don’t have to pay property tax on the home for 10 years. Furthermore, the home starts with built-in equity thanks to the fact that investors are starting from raw land and developing a ground-up, 100% newly-constructed town home. Land and construction are purchased at wholesale rates – creating true built-in equity – typically with a $100,000minimum.

When all is said and done, investors get 100 percent ownership and the property is deeded to their name only. The profit is not pooled; instead, it goes solely to the client.

The built-in equity created in NRIA properties is exemplified in many of its clients’ case studies. In the case study described below, the client was able to obtain $229,800 in equity from a house built in 2013:

Initial Investment $7,500Loan Cost Basis to purchase home: $340,200Final Appraised Market Value today: $570,000Built-in starting gross equity earned: $229,800

Investment GoalsNRIA strives to apply the best available real estate investment expertise while strategizing to foster built-in equity. This starts from the initial plan and continues as the property is maintained over time.

National Realty Investment Advisors coordinates 90 to 95 percent of the investment financing— including acquisition, development, and closing costs— for each deal they handle. By operating on a wholesale basis, NRIA can buy, construct, and otherwise develop properties at a price that is below the market rate. This is accomplished through smart buying and sheer economy of scale, as NRIA is one of the dominant property developers in the Philadelphia region. NRIA also utilizes the auction process to take advantage of the best deals on the market.

A team of experts helps NRIA analyze lucrative prospects— including specialists in planning, permits, zoning, and design, who strategize to make the most out of each client investment. Investment deals generally focus only on prime neighborhoods that are approved by experts. Once an initial analysis is conducted, two auditors review the deal to ensure the suitability of all elements, from rents to equity return. The final review is performed by an independent banking institution that provides client financing. This ensures there are three sets of “due diligence eyeballs” that will vet each investment thoroughly before the purchase.

Of course, approval of investment deal is never a guarantee. Rather, it is contingent upon the built-in equity that NRIA uncovers, along with credit, income, assets, and other elements of an individual’s financial situation.

Micro-ManagementManaging an investment property is best-executed by someone with an experienced background and strong local market roots and connections, which is exactly what NRIA professionals provide. National Realty Investment Advisors employ property managers and skilled, proven local partners to fully manage client assets on a daily basis. Clients are free from all of the “dirty work” of maintaining a rental property and simply receive bi-monthly reports.

NRIA also maintains its own weekly quality-control audit checks and balances, and coordinates with the city and bank to ensure that all necessary inspections take place. This is maintained through each phase of development, from construction through tenanting.

Long-term WealthThe concept behind NRIA is that through lucrative investment strategies, investors can build an extensive portfolio that brings them long-term wealth and a retirement plan. If investors have a strong enough credit profile available, they can potentially build a portfolio of 10 to 20 rental units,each with more than $100,000 in built-in equity. Clients can work with NRIA professionals as they set their own goals, such as a college fund for their children or a retirement date.

Rebuilding PhiladelphiaNational Realty Investment Advisors have played a principle role in reviving Philadelphia after the housing crisis that led to the wipe out of numerous abandoned properties. In fact, NRIA is the largest custom town home rental developer in the city, an accomplishment its professionals credit to theirlong-standing knowledge of the legal, zoning, permitting, rental, and building code factors in the city.

Philadelphia offers unique property investment opportunities that can’t be found in other major cities. One notable advantage is the 10-year tax abatement law that provides property developers with no need to pay property taxes on their newly-constructed town homes for a decade. The tax abatement is transferrable to new buyers of the homes, so it applies for all NRIA investments.

This law has encouraged more investment and growth in the city while offering lucrative profits for investors, and it’s one of the reasons NRIA has been so successful.

This demand for luxury City Center town home rental properties in Philadelphia is why NRIA focuses on premium, high-end locations of value, as the company believes these properties have a promising future in the market. More and more people are opting to move to city centers instead of suburbs, sparking the need for more town homes located where people can live, work, and shop. This national “re-urbanization” trend is growing in momentum.

Through investment projects like those at National Realty Investment Advisors, clients gain from owning and renting professionally-managed, “hands free” property ventures as they help to revitalize Philadelphia’s Center City.