Perform an Operational Review to See How Well Your Real Estate Business Is Running
In the wide, wide world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), most business buyers conduct thorough due diligence before closing their deals. This usually involves carefully investigating the target company’s financial, legal, and operational positions.
As a business owner, you can perform these same types of reviews of your own company to discover critical insights.
Now you can take a deep dive into your financial or legal standing if you think something is amiss. But assuming all’s well, the start of a new year is a good time to perform an operational review.
Why Perform an Operation Review?
An operational review is essentially a reality check into whether – from the standpoint of day-to-day operations – your company is running smoothly and fully capable of accomplishing its strategic objectives.
For example, a real estate business relies on recurring revenue from established clients as well as new revenues, in order to survive and grow. It needs to continuously ensure that it has the knowledge, talent and resources to acquire, buy or lease properties to develop or resell. The point is, you don’t want to fall behind the times, which can happen all too easily in today’s environment of disruptors and rapid market changes.
Before getting into specifics, gather your leadership team and ask yourselves some big-picture questions:
- Is your company falling short of its financial goals?
An operational review can spotlight both lapses and opportunities for increased profit and can offer recommendations to improve management performance.
- Are day-to-day operations working efficiently?
Implementing system controls like automated financial tracking systems and data analytic tools can help real estate companies streamline their operations and improve efficiency.
- Is your company organized optimally to safeguard its financial records and reports?
Protecting financial information is especially important in the real estate industry where most transactions involve large sums of money.
- Are your company’s assets sufficiently protected?
Implementing system controls to protect your business and its properties can prevent unauthorized access; making regular inspections will identify any issues or damage.
What to look at
When business buyers perform operational due diligence, they tend to evaluate at least 3 primary areas of a target company:
- Operations: Buyers will scrutinize a company’s structure and legal standing, contracts and agreements, sales and purchases, data privacy and security and more. Their goal is to spot performance gaps, identify cost-cutting opportunities and determine ways to improve the bottom line.
- Selling, general & administrative (SG&A): This is a financial term that summarizes a company’s sales-related and administrative expenses. An SG&A analysis is a way for business buyers — or you, the business owner — to assess whether the company’s operational expenses are too high or too low.
- Human resources (HR): Buyers typically review a target business’s organizational charts, staffing levels, compensation and benefits, and employee bonus or incentive plans. Their goal is to determine the reasonability and sustainability of each of these factors.
A Funny Question to Ask Yourself
Would you buy your real estate company if you didn’t already own it? It may seem like a funny question, but an operational review can tell you, objectively, just how efficiently and impressively your business is running. Roth&Co is happy to help you gather and analyze the pertinent information involved.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied upon for legal or tax advice. If you have any specific legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, please consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.
Video: Real Estate Right Now | Hotel Metrics
Real Estate Right Now is a video series covering the latest real estate trends and opportunities and how you can make the most of them. In this episode we dive into the 5 major KPIs to consider when investing in the hospitality industry.
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There are five major KPIs, or key performance indicators, that investors in the hospitality industry use to evaluate and compare potential hotel investments:
- The Occupancy Rate (OCC)
This measures the percentage of hotel rooms occupied by guests at any given time. The OCC is calculated by dividing the hotel’s occupied rooms by the total number of rooms available. A hotel with a low OCC will need to look for ways to increase room availability in order to remain viable.
- The Average Daily Rate (ADR)
The ADR represents the average price guests pay for a room. It’s an important metric because it reveals the price point that guests are willing to pay for a stay at the hotel. The higher the ADR, the better. A growing ADR tells the investor that a hotel is increasing the money it’s making from renting out rooms. To calculate the ADR, the investor takes the total (dollar) amount in room revenue and divides it by the number of occupied rooms
- Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)
The RevPAR is calculated by dividing a hotel’s total room revenue in a given period by the total number of rooms available in that period. The RevPAR reflects a property’s ability to fill its available rooms and measures how much revenue each rentable room in the hotel generates. A hotel’s RevPAR is particularly useful because it takes into account both the occupancy rate and ADR.
- Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room (GOPPAR)
To get a good picture of a hotel’s overall financial performance, an investor might want to look at its GOPPAR. The GOPPAR calculates the revenue from all hotel departments and amenities, then subtracts operating expenses, and divides that by the total number of rentable rooms. GOPPAR is a broad metric; it takes into account all of the property’s revenues – including room revenues and ancillary services, like on-site restaurants or stores.
- Market Penetration Index (MPI)
Finally, an investor will want to look at a hotel’s MPI to see how it fairs compared to others in the market. The Market Penetration Index measures a hotel’s occupancy against the average occupancy of its competitors. It helps the investor understand how well a hotel is doing relative to its competitors in a given market. An MPI is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s OCC by its number of available rooms. That number is then divided by the product of the average market occupancy rate and the available rooms in the market.
Remember that no single KPI will reveal the full story about a hotel’s potential. The KPIs are tools that are meant to work together to inform an investor about a hotel’s strengths, weaknesses and commercial possibilities.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied upon for legal or tax advice. If you have any specific legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, please consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.
Video: Real Estate Right Now | Passive vs. Non-Passive Income
Real Estate Right Now is a video series covering the latest real estate trends and opportunities and how you can make the most of them. This episode discusses the difference between passive and non-passive income, and why it matters.
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When it comes to a real estate investment, the income generated can be defined as either passive or non-passive.
Passive income refers to income earned from any business activity where the investor does not materially participate in its creation. When a real estate investor invests in a real estate property, but has no substantial, hands-on, active participation in generating its income, that income is defined as ‘passive.’ Passive income comes from money that was invested in a property and was left to generate revenue; the earnings are regarded similarly to earnings from interest, dividends, royalties and bonds, though the tax rates differ.
On the flip side, when an investor materially participates in the day-to-day activities of managing a property – for example, collecting rents, managing tenants, advertising and maintenance – the income he generates is defined as ‘non-passive.’ Some other examples of non-passive income include wages, earnings from active stock trading and earnings from business activity.
Why is the difference between passive and non-passive income relevant?
Because the way your income is categorized impacts how it will be taxed.
Generally, the IRS does not allow a taxpayer to offset passive losses against non-passive income. Passive activity loss rules preclude a real estate owner from deducting losses generated from passive income (i.e. rental income) from non-passive income (i.e. business income).
However, when it comes to taxes, there are always some exceptions to the rule.
If a taxpayer qualifies as a real estate professional, as defined by IRC Sec. 469, the passive activity loss rules do not apply. The investor, or ‘real estate professional,’ can use the losses from real estate activities (like rentals) to offset ordinary and non-passive income.
In another caveat, if a taxpayer owns a piece of real estate and uses it for his own business (i.e. it is “owner occupied”), then real estate loss (passive) can offset the business’ ordinary income (non-passive).
The takeaway? It is essential for a real estate owner to correctly define his income as passive or non-passive in order to enjoy the greatest ROI.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, nor should it be relied upon for, legal or tax advice. If you have any specific legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, please consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.
Video: Real Estate Right Now | Donating Appreciated Property
Real Estate Right Now is a video series covering the latest real estate trends and opportunities and how you can make the most of them. This episode discusses a tax-friendly way to maximize your charitable donations – by donating appreciated property.
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Donating appreciated property to a charitable organization that you care about is not only a do-good, feel-good undertaking; it also offers valuable tax benefits. When you sell a real estate property and donate the proceeds, your earnings are subject to capital gains tax. If instead, you donate that same property, you are free from capital gains taxes and the charity gets a higher-value donation. It’s a win-win.
A second benefit is realized when a real estate owner donates appreciated property held longer than one year. Appreciated long-term assets – such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other personal assets like real estate that have appreciated in value – qualifies the donor for a federal income tax charitable deduction. Generally, this deduction is for the full fair market value of the property (or up to 30% of the donor’s adjusted gross income). If the property is held for less than a year, an owner can still benefit by deducting the basis of the property. Since the calculation is based on fair market value, it is highly recommended to get a qualified appraisal on the property so that the donor can substantiate its value if challenged.
What happens if the property is mortgaged? That debt is taken into account when calculating the deduction. The donation of the property is divided into two parts. The portion of the fair market value representing the mortgage is treated as a sale, and the equity portion is treated as a donation. The adjusted basis of the property will be prorated between the portion that is ‘sold’ and the portion that is ‘donated.’ The calculations are often complex, so don’t try this at home! Consult with an experienced tax advisor when donating a mortgaged property for the most accurate computation of your tax benefits.
The double benefits of donating appreciated property – a fair market value deduction and avoidance of the capital gains tax – makes donating to causes you care about both a generous and tax-efficient way to support a charity.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, nor should it be relied upon for, legal or tax advice. If you have any specific legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, please consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.
Video: Real Estate Right Now | Holders vs. Developers
Real Estate Right Now is a video series covering the latest real estate trends and opportunities and how you can make the most of them. This episode discusses the difference between holders and developers, and why it makes a difference.
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An identity crisis in the real estate industry can make for costly tax obligations. The real estate industry is diverse and there are many roles to play – investor, agent, broker, developer. Each has its own tax ramifications. Before embarking on the purchase of a property, a buyer needs to ask himself some important questions in order to understand what role he is assuming. What is his business? Is he purchasing a property to hold and profit from as an asset? Is he purchasing a property to develop for sale?
Let’s start with some definitions. A real estate developer is someone who buys land and builds a real estate property on it or buys and improves an existing property. His intent in purchasing is to sell the property for a profit. A developer profits by creating real estate.
A holder or investor purchases a property with a long term intent. He intends to hold the property, rent it out and accrue revenues from it. A holder profits by possessing real estate.
Whether a purchaser defines himself as a holder or a developer is critical because the tax treatment of real estate holders provides certain benefits that are unavailable to developers.
A real estate holder may purchase a property, rent it out, collect income, and when he sells the property, his profit is taxed as a capital gain, as long as he’s held it for more than a year. That means that instead of being subject to the ordinary tax rate he had been paying on his rental income, his income from the sale will be subject to a lower, long term capital gains rate of 15%-20%. Holders are allowed to take advantage of a Section 1031 like-kind exchange to defer the recognition of their gains or losses that would otherwise be recognized at the time of a sale.
Because a holder may be challenged to prove that his intentions were to hold and utilize a property for the long term, it is advisable that he keep good records to support his status. Lease and rental agreements, advertising and listing information, and research efforts should be documented and saved in case his position is challenged by tax authorities after the sale of the property.
For a real estate developer, it’s a whole different picture. A developer is taxed like someone who is running a business that buys and sells real estate inventory. A real estate dealer, or developer, is defined as “an individual who is engaged in the business of selling real estate to customers for gain and profit.” Under this definition, a developer’s income, earned by the sale of his property, would be taxed as an ordinary gain, and taxed at the higher ordinary income rate of up to 37%. He may also be subject to self-employment taxes up to 15.3% (subject to OASDI limitations) as well as city taxes. Developers also cannot depreciate property held as inventory or use a Section 1031 like-kind exchange to defer income recognition. However, they may take advantage of their real estate selling expenses by taking them as ordinary business expenses and deducting unlimited ordinary losses.
Under the IRS Code, each individual property purchased is assessed independently, so one’s status as ‘holder’ or ‘developer’ is not absolute. A real estate entrepreneur may own a portfolio of rental properties which makes him a holder, and may simultaneously purchase and sell other properties, making him a developer as well. His tax status will depend on his intent for that individual property at the time of purchase.
Before purchasing, the savvy investor must be cognizant of his goals and make sure to structure his purchase properly at inception in order to avoid any tax surprises. Consult with your financial advisor regarding newly acquired or potential real estate assets.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, nor should it be relied upon for, legal or tax advice. If you have any specific legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, please consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.