Helping You Build the Right Investment Strategy in Student Housing NB Private Capital

NB Private Capital was built to respond to a need in the market for a real estate investment that seeks to combine growth, stability, income, and appreciation. Further, the firm was founded to address the ability to diversify investments while taking advantage of tax efficiency through depreciation; all within a product that historically has less correlation to traditional securities markets. In sum, NBPC believes in building an investment tool for generations of real estate investors.

NB Private Capital (NBPC) was born from humble beginnings, with the founder working out of his garage on a folding desk he bought from Costco. The firm keeps that desk around to remind them and visitors of the hard work it takes to grow. The company’s predecessor, Nelson Brothers Professional Real Estate, grew slowly, starting during the great recession. Deals were difficult to get done with debt being scarce and equity only coming in a few thousand dollars at a time.

Growth came slowly until 2015, when a new infusion of talent and fertile economic grounds lead to a meteoric rise of over 850% for the company’s sales in a three-year period. The combination of lower interest rates, a surging economy, and a robust and thriving student population provided the backdrop for growth. NBPC took advantage by growing its sales team and investor relations while staying disciplined in underwriting and acquisitions. The result is a company that stands today as one of the country’s largest owners of student housing, and one of the country’s single largest raisers of 1031 capital.

The Initial Challenges and the First Success

Debt and equity were both extremely tough to come by in the late part of the last decade. Plus, NBPC simply didn’t have the back office staff needed to handle the volume of deal flow after the first couple of years. But the company was patient and listened to what the market wanted and learned from the industry leaders every chance it got. NB Private Capital’s philosophy was to avoid “reinventing the wheel” while simultaneously adding its own personalized brand of ingenuity and innovation.

NB Private Capital’s first project was relatively successful, a small student housing project in Eugene, Oregon. While the property itself has done fair enough, despite unprecedented growth in the Eugene student housing market, raising capital proved challenging. 2008 was a difficult time to raise capital. With the help of a variety of bridge loans, the firm got there. “It’s entertaining looking back on the issues that faced us then and compare them to today, especially when considering the sizable growth of our fund raising,” added Brian Nelson, NBPC Founder and President.

The Five Factors that Have Been the Company’s Biggest Assets

• Marketing – NB Private Capital’s creative marketing and sales team is second to none, and despite the company’s young age, it is already an industry leader in terms of dollars raised
• Investor Relations – The company takes pride in how responsive it is, and how easy the process is for clients to invest and stay updated
• Underwriting – Ultimately, if your property doesn’t perform well, you don’t have much of a company. Hence, the firm underwrites the structure of the deal very thoroughly to attempt to mitigate risks to successful acquisitions
• Acquisitions – NBPC is known in its industry for doing what it says it can/will do
• Construction – A lot of money can be made in upgrading and rehabbing real estate projects. NB Private Capital’s special, in-house rehab and development team is a secret sauce that is difficult to duplicate

The Ongoing Quest for Cultural Sustainability

NBPC has five essential elements in its ongoing quest for cultural sustainability. First, it involves every employee in defining the company’s culture, and how to sustain it. Second, the firm promotes cross-functionality among its employees, asking them to act as generalists than specialists, which leads to greater cooperation. Third, it learns from outside: it takes time to learn how other, more experienced people do it. Fourth, NBPC talks to its competitors, to share common goals and solutions to problems.

Fifth, the firm believes in positivity and shuns negativity.

NB Private Capital believes that the difference between good and great is in the details. The finished product is satisfaction enough. Beyond that, it finds great joy in knowing that with quality and sustainable off-campus housing for students, it is participating in preparing the next generation for life as a prosperous adult. Being in student housing means you are providing the home away from home for thousands of young students, and it’s a duty the firm doesn’t take lightly.

Ultimately, the response to the company’s offerings has been overwhelmingly positive. NBPC’s projects, by and large, have done exactly what they seek to do. NB Private Capital has, however, had negative feedback relating to its reporting and investor relations. When you hear the same complaints multiple times in a short time period, you know it’s more than a fluke. So NB Private Capital addresses it. It implemented a series of new initiatives, invested in more staff, more training and better technology. Today, the company and its employees believes it is the top of the class in the market, largely because of the feedback of its investors.

The Two Main Powers Leading the Company to Further Success

Brian Nelson, Founder, and President: Brian Nelson has extensive real estate experience and has been directly involved in acquiring real estate projects valued at over $1 billion. Additionally, he has a proven track record of identifying and syndicating properties that historically have proved a distinct competitive advantage of maintaining value from business and macro-economic cycles. He has a B.A. from the University of Utah, an MBA from BYU and holds series 7 and 63 registrations.

Blake Wettengel, CEO: Blake Wettengel is Chief Executive Officer of NB Private Capital, LLC and its related entities. After beginning his career as an attorney, Orange County native Blake Wettengel turned to real estate investment as Chief Operating Officer of Nelson Brothers Professional Real Estate. Under his leadership, the investment company acquired nearly $1 billion of real estate holdings, and the company was ranked in the Inc. 500 as one of the fastest growing companies in the country. Wettengel has a B.A. from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctorate (JD) from the UCLA School of Law.

“We believe well-positioned student housing has the potential to offer a variety of benefits that matter to investors: monthly cash flow, stable performance, inflation-friendly value, appreciation, and tax efficiency through depreciation, all from a brick-and-mortar asset anchored by the historical stability of a university.”

– Brian Nelson

Disclaimer: Securities offered through Emerson Equity, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC only in states where Emerson is registered or exempt from registration. Emerson is not affiliated with NBPC. All investing includes risk of loss of some or all of the principal invested.