Hillside Advisors

I like the idea of a guide shop for people to think through converting or managing property, especially leveraging the sharing economy sites.

For example, there are so many family farms and ranches out there that could be converted into great little hospitality operations - cabin-filled retreats and/or event venues. There's also a little (5.1m properties) market for people that need a trusted advisor when thinking through and planning to rent out their vacation home. A lot of folks don't immediately consider the tricky but opportunity-filled tax implications. Show them the numbers, help select a management company that's a good fit or help them be their own manager, and be on the lookout for new deals for them. There are a lot of property management sharks in this industry and setting up shop as a loyal advisor, not manager, could unlock a ton of value sitting out there.

There's another interesting piece to this. With the drawdown of necessary office space per employee, I think we're seeing an opportunity to alleviate some of the housing market friction with conversion of office space into residential. There are empty floors in prime locations all over America begging for utilization. My understanding is that most downtown municipal codes are generally quite friendly to office-to-residential or office-to-mixed-use conversions and it's usually not even necessary to change zoning - but certainly a step a trusted advisor would be able to help people think through.