On the show today we talk… Co-living & apartments with Amalia Paliobeis of Common!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify
Show Links:
– Common website
Show notes for Co-living & apartments with Amalia Paliobeis of Common!
The Vantastic Life is…
– is in Monterey CA
Joe is in Monterey CA, Amalia is in LA, and Julie is in Seattle.
The COVID stuff is getting back to crazy in WA state!
Julie
I’ve been looking forward to this podcast for SOME time now! With Amalia Paliobeis of Common!
Common is into co-living and working with tons of real estate professionals! They are getting 20,000 applications a month!
Joe
We’d love to hear your whole back story!
Amalia
Yeah, I actually was born in Greece and grew up in Orange County. I ended up becoming a CPA even though I wasn’t expecting it.
Julie
We are sole sisters, I get an accounting degree and ended up in real estate.
Amalia
I was put on Killroy real estate and I worked on their audits, but I wanted to dig deeper into real estate. Then I was able to move to NY and work on accounting side of Deloit. I was in NY for a couple years, where I moved to Barkley’s and I real liked real estate but didn’t want to be on the consulting side. So I applied to get my NBA at Wharten.
Then I got a full time offer to work back in CA to work in acquisitions and a little in development.
My husband at the time got a job with Snap Chat, and I was jealous of the start up scene. I had a connection that was working at Common, so I reached out. They were hiring a director of real estate in LA, I applied, and got the job.
We’ve been working on co-living projects. And I’ve been working across of the west coast to build partnerships.
Julie
What sub markets are you in?
Amalia
Let me outline what we are working on now. We were founded in 2015 with co-living only. Then got into hybrid buildings. The traditional tenants wanted the same things. Traditional building are great as well. We have 3500 units open right now across the US. We have 17000 units that are in development or delivering soon.
Julie
Has COVID impacted any of the 17000 units that are coming online soon?
Amalia
You know, early on it did, but at the end of May we saw a return to our normal levels, and actually PR’d in June.
What we’ve found is we are big believers that cities are going to be places that people want to live, period.
At its core, we are about housing attainability and affordability. We want to give tenants what they want and need.
Julie
Whats the history of Common?
Amalia
Founded in 2015 by Brad Harbrigs, who also founded General Assembly. He found that people were trying to figure out how to live together. And I had this experience when I moved to NYC. Brad knew that there was a better way. Common started by renting out rooms in brownstones in NY, which turned out to be a great success.
This caught on and we’ve transitioned to a lot of different brands as well. We have Common. We have Studio which can design with our interior design team (co-living or not).
There is no direct to consumer brand for residential. So our next brand is KIN that’s designed to make city living easier for young parents. Stroller parking, nanny sharing, etc.
Then we have NOA which is workforce housing. Class B and C garden style apartments. We want to bring our best in class impact to this space.
We use Abligo…
Julie
Have you heard of Pinnacle? That’s where I grew up in real estate.
Amalia
I have, yep.
Julie
It’s interesting how you guys are the modern version of these larger companies.
What is the biggest grow capability out of the sectors that you’re in?
Amalia
Traditional units because that’s the most that’s being built right now. And that’s why we are pushing on traditional units as well. Co-living and micro units will always be there. This is why we like the mixed buildings. If I get a job, or relationship, I can upgrade from co-living to having my own unit.
Julie
Is this similar to student housing?
Amalia
You know, it’s different because there isn’t as much of this in and out of units. Our average age is 30. What Common allows is that you can move in with people already living there. You don’t have to worry about linking up on the lease.
We have a community app where people can connect, get discounts, create events yourself…. There’s that aspect and the advertising that you don’t need as a student housing operator.
Julie
What’s being built these day?
Amalia
It depends on the developer and the money they have behind them, and it depends on the location as well. We are signing up all co-living, mixed, and even hotel to micro units.
Julie
I have a fund that’s trying to repurpose hotels to other things. Are you seeing that?
Amalia
Yes, we are definitely seeing that. There are ways you can do this, and we have actually operated these in San Francisco area. We are seeing several of these come to us.
Julie
And you aren’t competing with the operators because you are leasing up. Let’s say you’re under contract due to….
Amalia
We have a technical services agreement where we can help people out and we can work on test fits. What comes with that is a performa where we do a deep dive into what rents will be and what’s included. That will give them all the info they need to get approval for funding.
Julie
Oh boy! Fun stuff guys! What is the unique experience a user will have from Common?
Amalia
One of our core values is convince. We have about 40% of our leads organically. We get to people early and often, and make this frictionless.
We have an inside sales team that puts leads into different tears. This matches people up with what will work best.
Julie
Does the tenant pay a fee?
Amalia
No. We simply make it easy and convenient. Everything is virtual and paperless, you can even add renters insurance through your home.
Julie
How about on existing building?
Amalia
Before COVID about 30% were virtual. When COVID hit we went 100% virtual. And now we are getting back into in-person tours.
We also have an onsite team on the ground.
Julie
I imagine that your managers have real estate licenses? Is Common a broker?
Amalia
Yes they do.
We don’t broker any sales or transactions. I’d have to check. I don’t have the background on that, but we don’t have plans to be a brokerage firm. We want to be the brand for everyone that people know… hey, I’m moving and want to live in a Common building.
We want to do that very efficiently.
Julie
I hear that!
Let’s say there are owners of companies that have their own brand, how does that work with Common?
Amalia
We can partner with other companies, like Edge by Common. Are marketing capabilities are really able to boost the demand in our partnerships. We have a great team that puts together unique content.
Julie
How does Commons property unit fees and structure work?
Amalia
It’s very similar in most cases. We have a faster write up and are on par with other property managers.
Julie
I don’t think any of the big old schoolers can compete with your marketing.
Amalia
To add to that, we lease up a building here in LA and we leased about 20+ a month here in Oct, and a lot of it was our marketing.
Julie
Do you ever get hired for just the marketing?
Amalia
No, because we are offering the whole package of our brand, app, etc.
Julie
In 2008-9 I had a startup called Shared Business Space.
Anything else that you want to share with us today?
Amalia
We are looking to expand pretty much anywhere with our brands. We are super excited to grow! You can email partners@common.com and we will take a look at what you are trying to do.
Julie
A lot of people like to do a lot of large buildings out of state.
What’s the minimum building size?
Amalia
It depends on the area. The best thing to do is reach out and see if there’s a fit?
Go to Common.com and you can pick your city, there are chatbots on there and that’s the best way to get the process started?
Julie
What are the lease terms?
Amalia
We have flexible lease terms. Most are 1 year terms, but we do have 3 and 6 month terms on select buildings.
Julie
If I’m putting my real estate broker hat on… we have a lot of people in transition, and in order to compete you have to sell your home before buying a new home. Is there a match with residential real estate as a gap transitional housing?
Amalia
Yeah, it could be. It’s not necessarily transitional. We want to be careful of not becoming a community where people move in and out all the time.
Julie
I myself have buyers that need a place to stay because they can’t find a place to buy right now.
Is there any type of communal move in / move out type thing?
Amalia
We do have wait lists.
Julie
You guys are way ahead on tech!
What apps do you use personally?
Amalia
Because I have a 3 month old… I have the Snoo app for rocking my child to sleep. The Peloton app, and Twitter. I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters… The NY Times. I listen to the Pivot podcast, or new cool stuff that comes out.
Julie
We are excited to spread the good word about Common!
Let us know that you listened to this and are working with Common, hit us up!
Checkout our sponsor Certain Lending! They are looking out for YOU and are very service minded, that’s why we love them! They are fantastic! !
Leave a Reply