Lock7 Development

Lock7 Development bought the land for our 66-unit Beech Tree Place apartment building in September 2014- a decade to the day it will be complete. Here's the story: - We bought an off-market, existing 13-unit building at 7428 Georgia Ave NW in DC from a landlord who was tired of running the building - The existing building was in poor shape, but was on a large lot that we knew one day could be developed - We tried unsuccessfully for years to negotiate with the tenants to vacate. In DC, a tenant can remain in their unit for as long as they want when a lease ends. Plus with rent control, we couldn't raise the rents. - Finally, we reached a deal where the tenants agreed to relocate for a few years if we built affordable housing on the site and they could move back into the new building at the same rent they were paying at the old one - DC awarded us the gap financing we needed in 2021 and we began the project using the funding and low-income tax credit equity I'd say it has been a win for all parties. The tenants get a new building, DC gets more much-needed affordable housing, and we found a path to develop a new building on a site we owned. Looking forward to welcoming new tenants in less than two months. #affordablehousing #lihtc #realestatedevelopment #apartmentinvesting

Amazing pics from Lock7 Development's 70-lot Clayton Crossing subdivision in Arden, NC. Sitework is done and we're selling the site on Monday to a national homebuilder. We purchased this site once the rezoning was complete. During the construction, we were fortunate to avoid any rock or bad soils. On to the next one! #ashevillerealestate #landdevelopment #townhomedevelopment

Where we're selling townhomes, buyers are telling us that they'd rather rent until rates come down and we get past the election. Where we're leasing retail space, tenants are telling us that they don't want to be renters because they want to own their space. Anyone have any good ideas why there seems to be such a disconnect across product types? #retail #realestate

Get home to Glenwood South! We're thrilled to reintroduce 615 Peace, Downtown Raleigh's most-anticipated, now move-in-ready collection. And if you think the views inside our fully-staged model are impressive? Just wait until you see the skyline from your rooftop(s)... With only six residences remaining in this 75% sold-out collection, the clock is ticking for you to come home. Our first homeowners have already moved in, and we're here to make sure you're not the last one to the block party! Schedule your visit soon. // #SeeYouAt615 x #ChooseChappell x #Compass REMAINING PLANS: https://bit.ly/3RL7Pul Developer: Lock7 Development Brokers: Laura Guld x Maggie Sparling Builders: Metrocon, Inc.

Solid framing progress at Lock7 Development's The Massey project in Cary, NC. Nicholas Brett and Tom Holden are doing a great job pushing the schedule and keeping these first 11 townhomes on budget. A couple townhomes still remain in the first phase- reach out to Emma Douglass or Emily Elliott for info! #raleighnewconstruction #newtownhomes #infilldevelopment #woodframing

It takes a full roster to bring a piece of raw land to a finished condition where a builder can start vertical construction.  Here are the 5 key team members we need for every project: 1.  A broker to source the opportunity.  Finding off-market leads is always ideal but the reality is most land deals still come through broker leads.  Many still never hit the market, but sellers are represented with a broker. 2.  An engineer to navigate the approval process and design an efficient, marketable layout.  Engineers are all currently short-staffed and overworked, so finding someone with knowledge of the particular jurisdiction and the ability to dedicate staff to your project is critical. 3.  A project manager to keep everyone organized.  This is where Lock7 Development really excels over our competition.  The amount of deadlines, applications, fees, forms and inspections can be overwhelming without an experienced PM to guide the process. 4.  A site contractor to actually move dirt, bring utilities to the site and pour concrete.  Especially a nimble one that can solve problems as they come up but still stay on budget. 5.  Another broker to source a buyer for the finished lots or sell the completed townhomes. Sometimes we do this ourselves, but more often than not we rely on an outside broker to tackle this piece. Even missing one or two of these partners will doom your deal to delays, cost overruns and disappointing returns. #landdevelopment #realestatedevelopment #finishedlots #townhomedevelopment

Twelve lucky new buyers closed in the last two weeks at Lock7 Development's 615 Peace condo building in downtown Raleigh. Five more closings in the next week. Many thanks to Maggie Sparling for so many sales! Only a few units remain so reach out to Maggie if you'd like more info. Photo- Ian C. Dunne Architecture- New City Design Group #raleighrealestate #raleighnewhomes #urbaninfill #mixeduse

Amazing progress from our Massey townhome project in downtown Cary. The first 11 townhomes are really taking shape. We are using panelized wall systems to speed up the framing and ensure high quality. The panels are assembled in a factory and shipped to the site. We still have a few units left for sale, please reach out to Emily Elliott or Emma Douglass with any questions!

Lock7 Development built the Gracie Condominium at 1470 Chapin St NW in DC all the way back in 2012. It's the only building I've ever purchased at an auction. Here's how it happened: -The building was previously a 3-unit apartment building -The seller went bankrupt and the court ordered a sale -I went to the auction mostly because it was near our office and I was bored -I showed up and there were maybe 60 people already gathered -I was willing to pay around $800K for the property The auctioneer started the bidding and of the 60 people, only 4 (including me) had actually come with a certified deposit check to bid. The bidding started fast but quickly started to stall out at $660K. In my first and only bid, I offered $670K and everyone else dropped out. Just like that, I became the new owner. I learned that day that just because a lot of tire kickers are looking at a site doesn't mean they are actually capable competitors. We re-developed the building and quickly sold the four luxury condos. We named the building after my golden retriever (RIP Gracie!). #realestatedevelopment #dcrealestate #realestateauctions

Better a fast nickel than a slow dime. I heard this saying last week and it perfectly sums up our current investing strategy at Lock7 Development. Pre-pandemic, we looked for larger, longer-term projects. Then Covid hit and it changed: where people wanted to live (suburbs were cool again), the amount of space they required (home entertaining!), where they worked (at home) and the cost of borrowing (2X). As a result, we've sold several entitled land deals to larger builders. We've started to look again for boutique, infill deals with shorter project durations and more stable outsale values. Interested to hear how other people are changing their businesses to adapt to new market factors and conditions. #entrepreneurship #infilldevelopment #postpandemicstrategies #adapttochange