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Real Estate Investing
Real estate investors Jesse Wig, Adam Colucci and Dan Spanovich found an off-market deal to purchase Bowtie High. CNBC Make It/ YouTube

This Pennsylvania trio bought a $100K abandoned school and turned it into a 31-unit apartment building — how to invest in real estate without all the heavy lifting

While this article is sponsored, we apply strict editorial guidelines to all of our content.

American real estate developers are on a conversion spree, turning vacant office buildings into residential units and remaking urban living across the nation. It’s among the growing number of ways ordinary investors can break into real estate to diversify their portfolios beyond stocks and mutual funds.

A trio of investors from Pennsylvania recently demonstrated the possibilities when they transformed an abandoned school into a modern apartment complex. Jesse Wig, Adam Colucci, and Dan Spanovich bought Bowtie High – an abandoned high school in the Pittsburgh suburb of Homestead – for just $100,000. Spanovich, a 42-year-old developer, played a pivotal role in assisting his co-investors in converting the dilapidated property into a thriving upscale apartment complex.

With an investment of $3.3 million, the team successfully transformed the former school into a 31-unit apartment complex. The project addresses neglected property and the growing demand for affordable housing in the area. It shows how real estate can be an impactful wealth-building add-on to conventional investment vehicles.

Thankfully, real estate investments – prized for their ability to generate passive and stable cash flow as a hedge against stock market volatility – have never been this accessible. Today, investors can leverage online platforms and bypass the complexities and heavy lifting associated with property development and renovation.

Finding the right investment platform

But real estate investing doesn’t have to involve heavy labor or even finding desirable properties on your own. Commercial real estate private equity firms like First National Realty Partners are making it easy for investors to discover investment properties and begin earning from day one.

FNRP offers qualified investors entry to top-tier commercial real estate assets, primarily focusing on essential real estate sectors like grocery-anchored retail, multi-family housing and industrial properties.

Necessity-based, grocery-anchored properties are especially attractive, producing reliable returns because they typically remain operational even during economic downturns or crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. This stability ensures a consistent flow of customers and steady rental income for property owners.

Grocery-anchored properties – plus plenty of office, residential and retail – can be found in FNRP’s property list. FNRP meticulously sources its pool from both public and private markets across the country, using data analytics to understand where people live, shop, work and how they consume. All that data empowers investors to take advantage of high-traffic properties and generate consistent revenue. The firm manages every phase of the investment process internally, from purchase to sale, utilizing a skilled team that excels in legal, acquisitions, leasing, and other critical parts of the process.

FNRP360, the firm’s comprehensive management and operating platform, incorporates traditionally outsourced functions, such as accounting, property management, asset management, acquisitions, legal and leasing. Integrating those actions allows FNRP to implement asset management strategies with precision and speed.

The emphasis on instant information flow brings FNRP and its clients immediate insights into assets, enabling them to capitalize on opportunities and promptly address operational issues at a property, such as repairs or other challenges.

How it works

Four easy steps take you from looking over potential properties to earning your first check:

  • Step 1: Research FNRP’s property list which is searchable by an easy-to-use menu that allows prospective investors to quickly isolate sectors, geographic markets and national brands that make sense to them.

  • Step 2: Once you’ve selected a property to consider, FNRP provides an informative 60-minute live webinar that addresses all facets of the deal: financial objectives, an analysis of the asset management strategy, an examination of market trends and demographics, followed by a dedicated session at the conclusion for addressing your questions.

  • Step 3: Once you have the minimum investment of $50,000, FNRP’s purchase platform makes it easy with a secure digital process.

  • Step 4: FNRP distributes quarterly cash distributions, and investors also get full access to the property’s performance reports, lease updates, and other asset-specific information.

Get Started

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