What are lenders actually looking for in today's market?

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Sabanek of Ariel Property Advisors to discuss what is getting financed, what is struggling to get financed, and how lenders are evaluating deals in the current environment.

A lot of people assume financing is simply about finding the right lender. What Matt explains is that the market has become much more selective. Lenders are paying closer attention to sponsor quality, documentation, operational history, and how risk is being presented.

The conversation also explores the differences between free market and rent stabilized assets, how lenders are approaching affordable housing, and why some deals continue to attract strong financing options while others struggle.

A few key topics from the conversation:

• What successful financings have in common today

• Why lenders are more focused on sponsor quality than before

• How paperwork and documentation impact outcomes

• The reality of financing rent stabilized properties

• What is changing in the affordable housing space

• Why advisors need to be involved earlier in the process

One point that stood out was that financing challenges rarely appear overnight. Most of them can be traced back to decisions, assumptions, or missing information that existed much earlier in the process.

The earlier you understand how lenders are evaluating risk, the more options you tend to have.

What are you waiting too long to address before bringing a deal to market?

#StartWithTheCloseInMind #DefenderOfTheDeal #CommercialRealEstate #RealEstateFinance #CapitalMarkets

What actually creates the best business opportunities?In this episode, I sit down with Joe Apfelbaum, founder of Ajax Union and EVAI, to discuss relationship-driven business development, LinkedIn strategy, AI, and the role authenticity still plays in building long-term business relationships.Joe shared how his business evolved from traditional SEO and digital marketing into a much more relationship-focused approach once he realized that the strongest opportunities consistently came through trust, not traffic.The conversation focuses less on tactics and more on how people actually build meaningful relationships in business today.A few areas we discuss:• Why transactional networking usually fails over time• How LinkedIn should actually be used• The difference between visibility and trust• Why consistency and follow through matter• How AI should support relationships instead of replacing them• Why real relationships still outperform automationOne point from the conversation that stood out was, “The point of LinkedIn is not to be on LinkedIn. The point is to build real relationships.”The tools around communication continue to change, but the fundamentals behind trust and relationship-building have not changed very much.The people who consistently generate opportunities are usually the people who stay present, follow up, and invest in relationships without forcing immediate outcomes.What relationships are you approaching too transactionally?#StartWithTheCloseInMind #DefenderOfTheDeal #RelationshipCapital #BusinessDevelopment #LinkedInStrategy

What kind of deals do most investors avoid?

Usually the ones that look too complicated.

In this episode, I speak with Scott Barone, founder of Borough Management, about identifying opportunities in situations most people avoid and why execution matters more than the deal itself.

Scott shares how his business evolved from a small contracting operation into a platform operating across hotels, affordable housing, rezoning projects, and one of the largest charter school portfolios in New York.

The conversation focuses on how difficult deals are evaluated, how value is created through structure and persistence, and why controlling the process changes outcomes.

Key insights include:

• Why complexity often creates opportunity

• How execution determines whether a deal succeeds

• The importance of verifying assumptions yourself

• Why controlling more of the process reduces long-term risk

• How rezoning and specialty assets create hidden value

• Why reputation matters more than marketing in real estate

One point that stood out throughout the conversation is that most people stop when they encounter uncertainty.

The better operators learn how to work through it.

“Fortune favors the bold.”

But only if the execution holds up once the deal becomes real.

What are you avoiding because it looks more difficult than everyone else wants to handle?

What is the risk most investors miss before they buy?

Most deals are evaluated based on what is visible. Numbers, location, and rent assumptions. In practice, the risk often sits in what is not immediately seen.

In this episode, I speak with Kristin Fortino, founder of OnePoint Real Estate Group, who operates across brokerage, advisory, and capital. That perspective allows her to evaluate deals beyond the surface level.

We discuss how access to zoning, violations, and building data early in the process changes decision-making and how understanding these factors can turn what looks like a problem into an opportunity.

Key insights include:

Why most deal risk is not in the numbers

The importance of identifying issues before committing

How different perspectives change how you evaluate deals

The role of technology in speeding up analysis

Why execution starts before the deal is purchased

A deal is not defined only by its current condition, but by what it takes to move it forward.

The earlier you understand that path, the better your decisions become.

What are you not seeing in your deals before you commit?

What actually determines whether a deal succeeds?

Most people focus on closing. In practice, the outcome is determined after.

In this episode, I speak with Michael Mintz, founder and CEO of MD Squared Property Group, an operating platform managing over 150 buildings and thousands of apartments.

The focus is on execution. What it takes to operate a property at scale, where value-add strategies tend to break down, and why many deals that look strong on paper struggle in reality.

One consistent theme is that execution is often underestimated. Costs are assumed. Timelines are compressed. Teams are expected to perform without being fully built.

As Michael pointed out, scaling a service business becomes more difficult as it grows because outcomes depend on people. Maintaining consistency is not automatic.

That same dynamic applies to real estate deals.

If the team is not in place, if the budget does not reflect real operating conditions, and if the right advisors are not involved early, the business plan starts to fail under real-world pressure.

Execution is not something that happens after closing. It is part of the deal from the beginning.

What are you building into your deals before closing that will actually hold up after?

Why Transactional Agents Cost You at the Closing Table

What actually breaks a deal?

Most people point to the market. In real transactions, it is usually something that was visible earlier and not addressed.

Mukul shared a situation where the lender recommended by the sponsor took the file and disappeared. This was two years into the deal, with a notice to close already issued and no financing in place. They had to scramble and take on a secondary mortgage at 16 percent just to get the deal done.

I have seen versions of this many times. Different structures, same pattern.

The deal keeps moving, but no one is really owning the outcome. The broker gets paid, the deal gets pushed across the line, and the risk stays with the buyer.

That is not a market issue. It is a representation issue.

Key insights:

• The difference between transactional and advisory brokerage

• Why access is no longer the value

• Why identifying risk early changes outcomes

• How early decisions show up at closing

• Why real advisors focus on what can go wrong

Sending listings is easy. Identifying what can go wrong early is what actually matters.

Most issues are visible earlier than people think. They just do not get addressed.

By the time you reach closing, you are not making decisions. You are dealing with what was already set in motion.

What are you allowing early that you will have to solve later?

What separates developers who successfully partner with nonprofits from those who never get past the first conversation?

In Episode 4 of Start With the Close in Mind, Dorian Lam speaks with Wayne Ho, President and CEO of CPC, about how mission-driven organizations evaluate partners before any deal is structured.

CPC serves nearly 80,000 New Yorkers and operates through complex layers of public and private funding.

That requires a different standard.

Wayne explains:

“We want to find partners that understand that we are committed to a mission.”

And adds:

“It’s not just about building a building… it’s about building and supporting and empowering a community together.”

We explore:

• How nonprofits evaluate alignment before execution

• Why mission understanding is critical early on

• What builds confidence in a partner’s ability to deliver

• How funding structures impact timelines

• Why partnerships extend beyond project completion

This is not transactional.

It is long-term alignment.

“It’s not just about a development project… we have to partner together on the operations.”

What does your approach communicate before you even introduce yourself?

What separates brokers who last decades from those who disappear after one cycle?

In this episode of Start With the Close in Mind, Dorian Lam speaks with Bob Knakal about what long-term success actually requires in a cyclical commercial real estate market.

With Manhattan turnover averaging 2.5% annually and average hold periods approaching 40 years, brokerage is not about constant transactions - it is about sustained positioning.

Bob shares lessons from multiple downturns, including:

“You can only sell a building once.”

“Instead of knowing something about everything, know everything about something.”

“It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.”

We explore:

• Market cycles and how to survive them

• Why specialization creates leverage

• The discipline required to remain relevant

• How market presence directly benefits clients

• What separates transactional brokers from long-term operators

This conversation reframes brokerage as a long game.

If owners transact once in a generation, then the real advantage is not momentum - it is durability.

How are you building a strategy today that will still position you correctly when the next correction arrives?