Common questions and answers surrounding commercial real estate investments.
American Landmark Properties is a real estate investment group with a more than 30-year track record of delivering consistently strong returns to its investors. Since its formation in 1986, it has acquired $1.5 billion in commercial real estate properties. Over the past 20 years we have purchased more than 15 million square feet of commercial real estate and raised more than $213 million in real estate capital. What separates us from other firms is our strategic acquisition, development and management capabilities which leverage our combined 100-plus years of commercial real estate experience.
Our skills and expertise include syndication, financing, leasing, sales and marketing, repositioning, renovation property/asset management, and disposition.
The company was founded in 1986 in Skokie, Illinois, by Yisroel Gluck, the firm’s president. Yisroel Gluck’s real estate career began in 1972. He has more than 40 years of experience specializing in real estate syndication, acquisition, development, rehabilitation, and financing. As a real estate entrepreneur, Yisroel Gluck has concentrated primarily on the conception and implementation of rehabilitation and renovation programs for office and industrial properties.
We have a team of professionals with experience in real estate, finance, construction, and marketing located in Skokie and our properties in the United States.
Our strategic acquisition philosophy is to seek and acquire value-add and opportunistic mid-cap office, industrial, and multifamily properties in the Midwest and East Coast. Our management structure is streamlined to allow timely decision-making. When unique opportunities are presented, we act!
To date, more than $213 million has been raised and invested in properties valued at over $1.4 billion.
Currently, any accredited investor can invest with American Landmark Properties. An accredited investor is a term defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Regulation D, Rule 501. An investor must accomplish at least one of the following in order to qualify as accredited:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires that investors in commercial real estate investments be accredited. To verify their accreditation status, investors will fill out a simple questionnaire, make a few certifications and upload supporting documentation. Most investors spend less than five minutes using our online platform to complete this process using a third-party company—VerifyInvestor.com.VerifyInvestor.com securely manages investor confidential information with all verification reviews conducted by licensed attorneys who are bound by professional ethical codes and duties of confidentiality. Investors have the option to hide their personally identifiable information so that even the reviewers will not see it.
Minimums may be as low as $50,000 per investment, depending on the size of the capital raise. There is no standard minimum across all investments. Minimums will be clearly disclosed on the individual offering page.
A preferred return is a return paid to investors before a sponsor receives any share of the cash flow. The preferred return can be paid out on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis depending on the specific terms of a deal.
American Landmark Properties real estate investments typically pay a regular 8% disbursement annually. There is a 70/30 gains split at the time of the asset sale, with investors receiving the 70% share according to their ownership stakes.
The investment period varies widely depending on the type of investment. American Landmark Properties equity investments typically average five years. Please review the expected hold period for each investment before making an investment.
In a passive real estate investment, the investor makes an upfront capital investment as an equity-based vehicle and then receives an ownership stake in that investment, from which the investor is paid dividends or other types of regular income that is somewhat automated. American Landmark Properties real estate investments are typically structured to pay a monthly 8% preferred distribution and then split gains at the time of the asset sale typically 70/30 with investors receiving the 70% share according to their ownership stakes.
When investing in a REIT, most investors have little to no information regarding actual properties the REIT invests in and cannot select their own investments. With American Landmark Properties, investors can invest in individual properties, giving added transparency and control over the investment process. In addition, REITs are such large entities that they can rarely participate in many of the opportunistic mid-market investments that American Landmark Properties typically finds — both on- and off-market.
Although no investment is guaranteed, one benefit of investing with American Landmark Properties is that you are investing in a company that holds physical assets in select markets. This is important because even if the project does not perform as expected, the real property that is acquired holds intrinsic value and can be sold to mitigate losses.
Similar to investing in the stock market, there is no guarantee when you are investing in real estate. The real estate market has economic cycles and it is difficult to know how and when the economy will change.
You can buy real estate in your IRA, Roth IRA, or other retirement account as a means for asset diversification outside of traditional stocks, bonds and mutual funds. However, you must establish a self-directed IRA (Roth or regular), which may mean setting up a limited liability company or other entity to hold the assets.
Self-directed IRAs that focus on real estate investments are often referred to as "Real Estate IRAs." With a Real Estate IRA, your retirement funds can invest in all kinds of real estate and real estate-related assets.
In a Real Estate IRA, the property becomes an asset of your IRA. This means your IRA owns it. You do not own it, personally.
The American Landmark Properties business strategy is to own and operate a portfolio of high-profit, commercial real estate investments in the United States. We seek to acquire high-quality value-add and opportunistic office, industrial, and multifamily assets. We then improve our properties through hands-on management and targeted capital improvement initiatives.
Our mission is the creation of maximum returns and growth for our investors. These goals are accomplished through an experienced and streamlined management team and their entrepreneurial approach, superior real estate knowledge, hard work and resourcefulness. Investing our own capital alongside our investors ensures our interests are aligned. Our investments typically outperform the competition because we are directly and proactively involved in the acquisition, financing, operation and marketing of all of our properties.
Over our 30-year history, American Landmark Properties has delivered an average IRR of 26.4%. Investors are typically entitled to a share of the cash flow from rents as their preferred return as well as a share of the proceeds when the property is eventually refinanced or sold. The hold period for an historical American Landmark Properties investment has ranged from 5–10 years. However, past performance does not guarantee future results.
Investors who invest in equity typically receive monthly preferred distributions. We will send distributions to investors either via direct deposit to their preferred bank or the mail—whichever is the investor’s preference. Distributions are never guaranteed in amount or timing and you should carefully read the offering documents on the specific deal you are interested in to fully understand projected distributions and what risks are involved.
American Landmark Properties does not charge its investors any initial one-time or account maintenance fees. Operating costs of the company are recouped through acquisition, refinance, property management and disposition fees, which vary slightly with deal type and size. There are no fees to set up an account with American Landmark Properties.
No. Our real estate investments are private transactions in physical properties around the United States. These passive investments are not traded on public stock exchanges and cannot be easily sold or traded. In a passive real estate investment, the investor makes an upfront capital investment as an equity-based vehicle and then receives an ownership stake in that investment, from which the investor is paid dividends or other types of regular income that is somewhat automated. When the property is sold, a final distribution of the sale’s profits is made.
Different properties have different expected hold periods. A hold period is the anticipated time that investors will be involved with the investment until the underlying property is re-sold. It is important to read the offering documents for each investment opportunity for a deeper understanding of the hold period for each investment. Hold periods are always subject to change based on current market conditions.
Investors are typically purchasing shares in an American Landmark Properties Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) that in turn invests into an LLC or Limited Partnership (“LP”) that holds title to the real property.
Similar to a 1099, a K-1 form is an accounting of the tax income from a real estate investment for the year. Each investor receives one K-1 form per investment. K-1 forms are most commonly used with real estate partnerships and real estate LLCs. When you invest in membership shares of an LLC you are generally taxed as a partner in a partnership. Although the partnership generally is not subject to income tax, you may be liable for tax on your share of the partnership income, whether or not distributed. Form K-1 is used by a partnership to report your share of the partnership's income, deductions, credits, etc. Include your share(s) on your tax return if a return is required. The partnership files a copy of Form K-1 with the IRS.
We anticipate that your K-1 package will be available in your dashboard on our site on or around April 1st. Once your K-1 package is available you will receive a notification on your dashboard and via email. Please realize that because of the structure of our investments, we often are waiting for tax information from other parties. This may result in unanticipated delays and, accordingly, we cannot guarantee that you will receive your K-1 package before April 15th. Please be assured that every effort on our part will be made to ensure that we generate K-1s as timely as possible.
Your Form K-1 may show income that relates to (among other things): (1) interest income; (2) net rental real estate; or (3) gains from the sale of real estate. Interest income is considered portfolio income and will typically be taxed at your marginal tax rate. Net income from rental real estate is also taxed at your marginal tax rate, but is subject typically to passive activity rules. Capital gains will be taxed at rates of 15% to 20% depending on your tax situation. The taxation of different categories of income is an important issue to taxpayers. Make sure that you discuss these classifications with your tax advisor.
As a general rule, if an entity has an equitable interest in real property in a specific state, that state will subject the partners to taxation (assuming that state imposes income tax). Accordingly, when you invest in an American Landmark Properties equity investment opportunity, that state will typically tax you and it does not matter what state you reside in. If a state imposes a state income tax, withholding and filing requirements are typically done under the following scenarios:
According to the Chambers Global Practice Guides: Real Estate 2017, The United States imposes federal income and withholding tax on income derived by non-US persons from real estate located within the United States. State and local jurisdictions frequently impose income or franchise tax on such income as well. In addition, a variety of other state and local taxes can apply to real estate transactions in the United States, including transfer taxes, mortgage recording taxes, and rent taxes (or sales taxes on rental income), as well as property taxes. Depending upon the ownership structure, estate and inheritance taxes - at the federal as well as at the state level - can also apply following the death of a non-US owner of US real property.
The specific income tax treatment of US real estate depends upon a number of considerations, including:
Make sure that you discuss these classifications with your tax advisor.
The tax consequences related to an investment in commercial real estate, even a passive investment, is complex and may involve the application of U.S. federal state and local taxes. It is impractical to comment on all aspects of federal, state and local, and foreign tax laws that may affect the tax consequences of an investment in one or more of the investment opportunities presented on this site. As such you are encouraged to consult your own tax (or other) advisor as to the associated tax consequences prior to making an investment. In any instance, the information presented on this site should in no way be taken as tax advice or a formal tax opinion.
The term “self-directed” simply refers to the way the account is administrated and the greater choice of investment options available to the account owner. More conventional retirement accounts involve a third party, such as a broker or other account administrator, who assists in the purchase of various publicly traded assets. Self-directed IRAs are invested solely at the discretion of the owner of that account, who directs the account administrator (such as Midland IRA) to purchase assets that are outside of the typical options when it comes to retirement plans. Investment accounts that can be self-directed include: traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) IRA and SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) IRAs, as well as educational and health savings plans.
Note: American Landmark Properties is not a tax professional, and therefore is not qualified to give tax advice on real estate investments. Investors should consult their tax professional regarding specific questions about real estate investments.
Anyone who wants to take control of his/her retirement investments, or who is unhappy with their current retirement plan returns, should consider a self-directed account. Most typical IRA custodians (like banks and brokerage firms) only allow you to invest in the products they sell. These include more “traditional” investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Non-traditional or alternative investments such as real estate commonly acquired with self-directed IRAs are not widely known because the majority of IRA custodians do not offer these assets as investment options, so they do not promote them. The IRS permits investments into a wide variety of assets including real estate, but each custodian decides which assets it is willing to hold.
An IRA custodian is usually a financial institution, such as a bank or a brokerage, entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding the assets of a client's Individual Retirement Account (IRA). According to the rules set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an IRA custodian must be an approved financial institution; an individual may not act as an IRA custodian. The IRA custodian executes transactions on behalf of the client, keeps all necessary and appropriate records of all actions undertaken in the custodial capacity, and files any reports, such as statements and tax notices, required either by the custodial agreement or the law. It may also be responsible for distributing the IRA's assets in accordance with the client's instructions, and filing the appropriate paperwork. An IRA custodian is not required to give investment or legal advice.
You may be able to roll over money from your current IRA into a “self-directed” IRA with typically no early withdrawal tax penalty. While major investment firms such as Vanguard and Fidelity Investments do not generally offer self-directed IRAs themselves, they will allow the transfer of your IRA funds to an established self-directed IRA custodian. Contact your IRA custodian for complete details.
Midland IRA has been servicing self-directed IRAs since 2004 with over $1 billion in client assets and has a dedicated team of associates providing excellent account service.
Transfers typically take approximately two weeks to be completed. Depending on the custodian and how the transfer is submitted and funds are requested, they may take more or less time to complete.
The Midland IRA full fee disclosure is included in its application kit, which can be viewed here.
Midland IRA ensures all elements of the facilitation of your account are performed properly and in compliance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules and regulations. They file reports on behalf of the investor, issue statements, and help the investor follow contribution limits and permissible transaction guidelines leaving the investor to focus on the more important task of identifying promising investments to add to their portfolio.
NOTE: American Landmark Properties is not a tax professional, and therefore is not qualified to give tax advice on real estate investments. Investors should consult their tax professional regarding specific questions about real estate investments.