OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following success in the single family rental and residential bridge loan businesses, 1Sharpe Capital is growing its investment team, property management platform, and proprietary technology investments to acquire & operate workforce housing nationally. The investment firm has already purchased nearly 1,000 units in Oklahoma City, Louisville and Birmingham. Their target is to acquire over 2,000 units in each of these and similar cities across central and southern states. Most recently, the firm finalized deals to buy 274 units across two properties in Louisville on January 31, 2020.
1Sharpe’s acquisitions business operates alongside 1Sharpe’s credit business in California while 1Sharpe’s vertically integrated property manager, Brick & Vine, operates in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1Sharpe’s co-founders, Rob Bloemker and Gregor Watson, are uniquely positioned to scale quickly in the workforce housing space. They previously built platforms that owned, managed and operated 10,000+ homes nationally.
“Rental housing in the United States is older than it has ever been. The median age of occupied rental units in the US is 43 years old while the median age of an owner-occupied residence is 37 years old. Adding to a renter’s challenge, rental units are often managed by one of the 10 million+ individual landlords who may not be motivated to make prudent repairs and renovations for residents. 1Sharpe can meaningfully impact communities for the better by bringing professional management and responsible restoration to the sites,” says Rob Bloemker, co-founder and CIO at 1Sharpe.
“Through my experience at Roofstock, I have seen an acute shortage of housing communities that are both affordable and professionally managed. At 1Sharpe we are using our technology solution to efficiently purchase and manage smaller apartment communities throughout the US. In addition, our technology allows us the added benefit of providing scalable social mobility programs and education for our residents,” says Gregor Watson, co-founder of 1Sharpe.
About the Founders
Rob Bloemker is the co-founder and CIO of 1Sharpe. Before co-founding 1Sharpe, Bloemker was a Portfolio Manager at Cerberus Capital Management within its $5 billion mortgage hedge fund. He co-founded Dwell Finance, which originated over $500 million in loans and was sold to a unit of the Blackstone Group. Bloemker also co-founded Five Ten Capital where he raised, invested, and successfully liquidated three private equity funds. In addition, he managed more than $60 billion at Putnam Investments, and previously worked at Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers.
Gregor Watson is the co-founder of 1Sharpe. He also co-founded and serves as Chairman of Roofstock, an online marketplace for buying and selling single-family rental homes. A true entrepreneur, Watson is the founder of 643 Capital, a real estate private equity firm, and co-founder of Dwell Finance. He spent the early part of his career purchasing and developing land and apartments throughout California.
About 1Sharpe Capital
Founded in 2016, 1Sharpe Capital is a Bay Area-based investment manager offering institutions and qualified investors access to a broad range of investment opportunities. 1Sharpe applies decades of institutional knowledge and operational experience on its team to identify superior, risk-adjusted income-generating assets.
For more information, please visit https://www.1sharpe.com/
