The Big Deal

A lot of people ask me what my job entails. I'm an administrative assistant, but when I explain it is in a real estate development office they think I'm a realtor or I work with realtors. My big project over the last week will explain a little more of what I do, and what our company does.

My boss buys parcels of land or buildings and rents them out. He owns a lot of warehouses for commercial tenants, as well as small duplex type homes which families rent. But his main focus has been acquiring land to develop multi-family apartment complexes. There are several large complexes here in Greenville; a couple of them are over by the hospital/med school/dental school, and the newest that is being built will be an alternative to undergraduate dorms over on the main campus. There are also complexes scattered across the eastern part of the state: Newport, Jacksonville, Creedmore, and Clayton.

It has just been in the last couple weeks that I've seen several of these larger projects, and even the older ones are pretty impressive. They are all gated and built to pretty high standards--as far as apartments go they're pretty fancy! But one project stands out among all the others... 401 Oberlin. From the day I started my job, I remember the way this name was said around the office. It was sort of like a ray of light was decending from heaven and angels were singing a glorious chorus in the background--"4 0 1 Oberlin". I knew it must be a pretty cool place but last week when I visited I was blown away!

Rendering by JDavis Architects

My boss, Mr. Taft, had been planning a big party for all of his friends and business contacts to be held at the completed project. He was excited for everyone to see how nicely it had come together and visit with his friends. I helped him collect email addresses for the evite to go out. I called a lot of offices to get email addresses, and even called a couple banks' corporate headquarters to get the president's contact information. Last Monday I had the opportunity to meet him in Raleigh at 401 Oberlin to help set up for the party. As soon as I drove up I wondered how we could improve upon what was already there! I quickly realized that we would simply hang the directional signs I had made and let the rest of the project speak for itself. It is absolutely beautiful: from the lobby entrance on the corner of Oberlin and Clark, to the central courtyard with the large stone patio and pool. All of the apartments are connected through the interior (basically like a hotel, rather than the motel-style outdoor passages of most complexes) and either overlook the streets of Cameron Village or the courtyard area. The back side of the complex is a 5-level gated parking garage for residents.The ground floor of the property consists of retail tenants, most notably Tupelo Honey Cafe. A few of the retail spaces have yet to be occupied.

My dad was over on that side of town that day so I was lucky to have him stop in to visit and help us set up! Mr. Taft was pretty preoccupied with the party that night and mistook my dad for my husband... It was slightly awkward for both of them when my dad had to explain that he was my dad after Mr. Taft asked how long we had been married . . . But we still had fun setting up together and exploring this fancy property!

The purpose of the big party was also to celebrate the pending sale of the building. Mr. Taft had never planned to sell it, especially while portions were still under construction, but that part of Raleigh is booming in this industry right now and he received an offer he couldn't pass up! I'll let you read for yourself here and here.

Pretty cool, right! I never imagined I would get the opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes view of such a massive project and sale, but it was really neat to be part of. I was on some of the closing conference calls, but my biggest contribution was putting together the internal closing statement spreadsheet. Mr. Taft had a couple colleagues who were owners in the project, so we had to see an additional closing statement with all of the post-closing bills and reimbursements listed out to then detail how all of the distributions would come together. There are also potential escrows from the title company but we aren't sure yet how much, if any, of that will come back. I enjoyed working on the spreadsheet and learning the ins and outs of how these things work. I've learned a ton... when I first started I had all of the bills and reimbursements flip-flopped with the incoming funds but they were patient with me as I learned how everything fit together! Now my spreadsheet balances nicely and we are waiting for final approval from everyone.

These sorts of things are honestly pretty intimidating. I want to do well at my job and when I'm working on things I've never seen or been part of before I feel pretty lost and insignificant! But I can see how far I've come in the last 5 months and all that I've learned and it's neat to have been stretched. Just like when I worked at the church after college and with my dad in insurance for 2 years, I've enjoyed the opportunities to learn some of the ins and outs of these different types of businesses and how they work. And one day I'll get to see and learn how the dental industry works (although I have heard lots already that helps me understand a little more)!

Have a great weekend!
~Buckwheat