Sean O'Dowd built Scholastic Capital in order to buy SFR homes in elite school districts.

On this episode, Jake and Sean discuss:

• Building Scholastic Capital
• Raising a fund for the business
• How Scholastic picks the right markets and their asset criteria
• Fundraising, leasing, financing, technology and more!

Links:

Sean on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SeanODowd15

Sean's content and Scholastic Capital - https://linktr.ee/seanodowd

Get in touch: Sean@ScholasticCapital.com

Connect & Invest with Jake:

Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak

Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/

Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo

Topics:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:46) Sean’s career background

(00:04:11) Lessons learned from Wharton and consulting

(00:11:38) Applying these lessons to starting your own company

(00:13:18) PE firms finding value streams

(00:15:23) Building a team of A and B players

(00:16:46) The decision to go into the RE business

(00:19:46) Sourcing the first deal

(00:23:12) The mission of Scholastic Capital

(00:25:06) How to find a “good” school district

(00:28:07) Supply

(00:29:22) Value-add decisions

(00:31:26) Requirements for a home in the right market

(00:33:01) Fundraising

(00:34:51) The SFR fund phenomenon

(00:37:07) Future capital strategies

(00:38:58) Picking a partner

(00:42:04) Biggest surprises in starting the business

(00:43:45) Structuring the fund

(00:48:52) Facilitating monthly distributions

(00:49:42) Building a team

(00:52:48) Property management

(00:55:10) Leasing & technology

(00:59:17) The importance of the home’s age

(01:00:29) Underwriting deals & what happens post close

(01:06:15) Biggest challenges going forward

(01:07:54) Financing

(01:10:30) Target returns

(01:12:44) What is your favorite hotel?

(01:14:21) Twitter’s role in raising capital