Forum Radio: James Ryan

James Ryan (New York) is the founder and CEO of RYCO Capital, a vertically-integrated real estate investment firm, which acquires, renovates and operates multifamily, mixed-use and office properties in NY and Rochester. In this conversation with Jessica Fellowes, James talks about the human side of real estate: managing hundreds of tenants means understanding their different perspectives and resolving conflicts. There's also the constant challenge that comes with operations, whether construction cost inflation or the weather. As a company, they know and understand NY and its laws extremely well – rent regulations, for example, require very close attention. 

Having been initially funded by a single family office, RYCO Capital is now planning to open co-investment opportunities. James particularly enjoys seeing how developing a mixed-use property sensitively can lead to greater benefits for the community around it. James says: 'We have a lot of capabilities for the type of construction and renovation and repositioning work that we do that requires a decent size team. We have a decent overhead and we're able to sustain that overhead, even during periods where we're not buying and selling and earning fees, earning profits.'

But if you want to know the hip new place to move to (and invest in) then ask yourself: Where's the nightlife? Where are the artists? Bushwick is the place that is like Williamsburg fifteen years ago... 

This episode was edited by Vanessa Heaney.

Music by Alex Vickers