Solving Complex Real Estate Problems from the Start

Overview

Back in 1960, my family owned a property that was zoned for multifamily development and suddenly worth more than the purchase price. A good problem to have, right? But they didn’t have the cash to pay the taxes. Instead of selling it like most people would, my family decided to bring in a partner and develop it themselves. In other words, they zigged instead of zagged. The result: 40 years of positive cash flow.

That focus on long-term investing in solid assets hasn’t changed for six decades and neither has the Dunton family’s ability to take the road less traveled. In 2000, that joint venture partner had become a large developer who viewed the original multifamily building, our family’s crown jewel, as a Class C asset in a Class C location that needed millions of dollars of renovation – and managed it accordingly. We saw it differently. Once again, when the market told us to go left, we went right. We found the capital we needed and bought the asset so we could position it for long-term value.

While we may zig and zag, our values and our strategy are consistent. When a problem needs solving, we develop the capability to take care of it ourselves. Our vertically integrated solutions now include our own construction company and in-house property management.

We know that if you want something done right, you do it yourself. We developed our own capabilities, which turned into departments. Now some of those departments are similar in scale to an entire business.

When the world serves a curveball to our business plan, we’re ready to catch it, to react and still accomplish our goals. We look far beyond the outfield when we make our plans, but we also keep our eye on the ball.

Back when the housing market was on fire in 2006, everyone was building condos and you couldn’t buy a piece of land to build an apartment complex. We realized that at some point the music stops and then buying land and developing apartments would make economic sense again. So, what did we do to prep for that new tune? We created our own development company to be ready when the laws of economics kicked in as we anticipated.

Our investment management business offers one more way to continue the 60-year history of the Dunton family’s approach. We’re taking our decades of experience, our long-term approach and our insight into when to zig and when to zag and sharing them with investors to help them meet their long-term needs. Our family traits – taking the long view and the road less traveled – ensure that we manage risk and accomplish our objectives no matter what happens with the economic landscape.