Capital, debt, and the financial infrastructure underneath them.
The work is sized to the decision in front of ownership and handed back with the systems in place. Below is the full range, grouped the way an engagement runs: the capital decision, the finance function that has to support it, and the sectors and situations we know from the inside.
Capital and decisions
Most engagements start here: a maturity, a raise, a sale, an exit, or a buy-sell-hold question the current numbers can't settle. We structure the decision first, then the capital.
- Debt and equity advisory
- $550M+ of debt closed across acquisition, bridge, construction, land, and permanent.
- Refinancing and construction finance
- A $50M construction loan behind a multifamily conversion, closed through pandemic logistics.
- Buy, sell, hold and highest-and-best-use
- The analysis that turned a stalled extended-stay hotel into a $100M multifamily asset. Case
- Acquisitions, dispositions, and business sales
- A $106M land sale on a $40M basis; a structured exit from a construction company. Case
- Exit and legacy structuring
- Operating businesses to a family office; investor returns from 3% to 12% with no NAV loss. Case
- Lender, investor, and surety relations
- About $450M of surety programs; $3B+ of new capital structured for institutional and family-office investors.
Financial infrastructure
The capital only closes on numbers a lender trusts. When the reporting can't support the decision, we build what's missing, working down through the finance function as far as the engagement needs. Fractional and interim CFO/CIO work sits here as a capability, used when it is the right form for the engagement.
- Reporting design and benchmarks
- Reporting by entity and by asset; benchmarks a board can act on.
- Governance, controls, and board reporting
- New York-level controls in a region that had restated; board reporting for a family running a US business from abroad. Case
- ERP scoping, selection, and implementation
- Dynamics AX scoped for 101 entities across seven jurisdictions; Sage 300 for a 40-entity developer; ERP selection for a services company.
- Audit readiness and multi-entity consolidation
- Audited statements and K-1s for a family-office limited partner, from single-entity QuickBooks, in under a year. Case
- Fractional and interim CFO/CIO
- The seat, held for as long as the engagement needs it, then handed to the person who will keep it.
- People, process, and systems
- Reframed roles, improved closings and workflows, value stream process mapping, documented process gaps and resolutions.
Sectors and situations
Real estate, hospitality, and construction, from both chairs: as the operator's CFO and as the investor's. The situations below recur across all three.
- Multifamily, mixed-use, commercial
- From garden-style portfolios to a 206-unit Manhattan conversion with a hospital block lease.
- Development and construction
- A $500M development program; construction finance, bonding, and an orderly wind-down.
- Family offices and private investors
- Set-up, governance, and the shift from operating businesses to passive capital.
- Asset and property management
- Reporting that separates asset performance from manager performance, so the buy-sell-hold decision can be made.
- Hospitality
- Fifteen years at Marriott International; ten business turnarounds across hotels and real estate. Case
- Foreign investors establishing US holdings
- Cross-border structuring and liaison in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Page
Finance systems built to scale.
We build real estate finance functions that handle more complexity with less manual work. Our experience includes a family office operating with one US employee on payroll and a system scoped for 101 entities across seven jurisdictions. We have cut a monthly close from 25 days to 10.
We define the reporting requirements before selecting and implementing the systems behind them. That includes AI-assisted reporting and reconciliation where controls and human review support their use. The aim is a finance function ownership can trust, with the capacity to grow without adding overhead at the same pace.
Questions owners ask.
What does a capital, debt, and financial infrastructure advisor do for a real estate company?
We start with the decision ownership needs to make and identify what is missing from the financial information or the finance function. We build the reporting, controls, team, and systems needed to move forward, and help structure the debt or equity the plan requires. We stay through execution, then hand off a finance function that can run without us.
What is "financial infrastructure" in a real estate company?
Financial infrastructure is the people, systems, reporting, and controls behind a real estate company's numbers. It includes property- and entity-level reporting, the monthly close, cash forecasting, and the supporting records lenders and auditors need. When it falls behind the portfolio, ownership loses visibility and decisions stall.
When should an owner-operated real estate company bring in a fractional CFO or outside finance advisor?
Common triggers include an approaching loan maturity, a capital raise, new lender or investor reporting requirements, or a buy, sell, hold, or refinance decision that keeps getting deferred. Another is an owner who cannot step away from routine finance work. The best time to bring in outside leadership is before a deadline forces the issue.
Do you replace our CFO or controller?
Not necessarily. We can work alongside your CFO or controller and strengthen the team around them. Where the company needs a different finance structure or leader, we help ownership define the role and manage the transition. The scope depends on what the business needs to move forward.
What size real estate companies do you work with?
We work with owner-operated and family-held real estate companies whose financial infrastructure has not kept pace with the portfolio. Fit depends on the complexity of the business and the decisions in front of ownership, rather than a fixed revenue or asset threshold.
What real estate sectors do you work in?
Our real estate experience spans multifamily, mixed-use, commercial properties, development, and single-family rental portfolios. We also bring hands-on CFO experience in hospitality and construction, with an understanding of both the operating business and the investor's priorities.
How do you help ownership decide whether to buy, sell, hold, or refinance?
We reconcile the property and entity numbers, then compare the realistic options against ownership's objectives. For each path, we test cash flow, capital needs, financing terms, and downside risk. Ownership gets a recommendation and a plan for carrying it out. Sometimes the best answer is to do nothing. We say so.
How long does it take to get a real estate company audit-ready?
Timing depends on the condition of the books and the reporting required. We have taken a developer from single-entity QuickBooks to audited multi-entity financial statements and K-1s in under a year. We prepare the records and coordinate with the independent auditors and tax CPA, while putting the controls and team in place for future reporting.
Do you help real estate companies raise debt and equity or refinance existing loans?
Yes. We help ownership determine the capital structure the business needs and manage the financing work through closing. Our experience includes $550M+ of debt closed and $3B+ of new capital structured. Debt experience spans acquisition, bridge, construction, land, and permanent financing.
Do you receive fees or commissions from lenders or brokers?
No. Our client pays us. We do not receive fees or commissions from lenders or brokers, and we agree our compensation with ownership before work begins. Fees are fixed or time-based, with a success fee only where it keeps our interest aligned with yours.
What does an engagement cost, and how long does it take?
The first conversation and a brief written read are at no charge. After that, we agree a fixed or time-based fee for a defined scope, with a clear handoff. The first paid step is usually a bounded assessment: the question being answered, the information we review, the deliverable, and the point at which ownership decides whether to continue.
An initial assessment generally takes weeks. Building a finance function or completing financing typically takes months, depending on the starting point and the outside parties involved.
Which accounting, ERP, and reporting systems do you work with?
We have worked directly in QuickBooks and Sage 300, as well as Microsoft Dynamics. Our ERP work covers requirements, system selection, implementation, and team handoff, for businesses ranging from a few entities to more than 100. We design the reporting before choosing the software.
Do you work with family offices and foreign investors in US real estate?
Yes. We support family offices and foreign investors acquiring or operating US real estate, working alongside their counsel, CPA, bankers, and other advisors. We work in English and also support clients directly in Portuguese or Spanish.
Where are you based, and do you work remotely?
US-based, working nationally and cross-border. Most of the work is remote, with time on site where the engagement needs it.