Anchin Block & Anchin partner Marc Wieder specializes in succession planning for real estate families. Conflicting views of different generations within a family require an “umpire” of sorts to help each generation to understand the other’s point of view and the insights they each bring to the table. Wieder is able to offer this unbiased perspective.
Sometimes families decide to unload some of their real estate assets. The younger generation may want investment properties in trendier areas such as Brooklyn instead of the portfolio’s existing out-of-borough locations or a family may be looking to change the look of the portfolio over time as its younger generation takes the helm.
However, the price differential is frequently too great to exchange a building in Bronx or in Queens for a building in Manhattan. “These families have buildings that they’ve owned for years with low leverage and good cash flows,” Wieder says. “To swap that investment for something in Manhattan with a 3% cap rate may not give them the cash flow that they’re accustomed to.”
Swapping out the investments these families have owned for years for something in a newer neighborhood is sometimes a difficult and nuanced decision.
Wieder helps families navigate through transitioning their portfolio. He is able to counsel them and help identify the optimal succession plan. By applying his broad knowledge of the market and assessing each family member’s goals and opinions, he is able to offer his professional opinion without “taking sides,” which helps the family to get along and do business cohesively.
“It’s important to have someone who the family trusts to offer an unbiased opinion,” Wieder tells us. “That adviser has to go beyond the business; they have to understand the family. They have to know the dynamics of the family, the family issues and each individual’s issues. Not every family is the same.
Wieder started with Anchin Block & Anchin 35 years ago as a member of the audit staff. He helped launch Anchin’s cost segregation practice as an affiliate company of the firm (one of the first firms to do so). Wieder ultimately refocused his efforts on counseling real estate families. He now is co-practice leader of the real estate group, one of the firm’s largest specialties. Wieder reviews contracts and restructures deals to find options that provide the most tax-efficient solution for both sides of the transaction.
Wieder tells us he believes Queens will be the next borough to see drastic improvements and hikes in property value. He described the Forest Hills / Kew Gardens area, specifically, as a great transit hub with many opportunities for investors to breathe new life into older buildings. This trend of modernization, Wieder predicts, could drive area property values up similar to what we’ve been seeing in Brooklyn.
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