Real Estate Expertise & the Anelo Project: Insights with Jim Coyne

An exclusive CI Mavericks podcast conversation on achieving success in real estate investing and emerging market opportunities. Jim Coyne brings invaluable insights from a career that spans office buildings, apartment complexes, master-planned communities, and more recently, groundbreaking opportunities in Argentina. While Charli takes a well-deserved Easter break, Mots leads a compelling discussion on the principles that drive successful real estate investing and the strategic vision behind CI Mavericks' involvement in the Anelo project—a transformational workforce housing initiative in Neuquén Province.

A Lifetime in Real Estate: From Arizona to the World

Jim's career trajectory illustrates the depth of knowledge required to thrive in real estate. After business school, he began as a leasing manager for a master-planned commercial development in Arizona, where he also prepared financial projections and pro forma models for lenders and investors. Over the decades, he has:

• Brokered commercial real estate, apartment buildings, and office properties
• Developed and marketed high-end residential condominium conversions
• Restructured distressed assets with lenders, including the Lake Las Vegas project
• Bought and sold vacant land, office buildings, and commercial properties across the Southwest

A candid observation from Jim: he's not particularly skilled at buying his own residential home. But when it comes to commercial real estate strategy, his licensing as a broker in Arizona and Nevada, combined with two decades of hands-on experience, speaks for itself.

For those in technical roles, Mots and Jim offer a wry piece of advice: "never volunteer to let anyone know that you're good at Excel." When he started in development, mastery of Excel was rare, making him invaluable—and perpetually buried in spreadsheet work.

The Philosophy Behind Success

Bad Deal with Good People vs. Good Deal with Bad People

One of the most memorable moments in our conversation came when Jim recounted a piece of wisdom passed down by a senior partner from a Philadelphia private equity firm. After they had earned the trust of this firm through their work on an Arizona apartment conversion project, the partner shared a principle that has guided Jim's career ever since:

"I would rather do a bad deal with good people than a good deal with bad people. If there's a problem with a real estate development—and there's always a problem—good people will help you work it out. Bad people will cut and run and do things for themselves, not what's best for the project and particularly not what's best for their capital investors."

This philosophy transcends real estate. It underscores the importance of character, trust, and shared incentives in any business venture. At CI Mavericks, we operate from this same conviction—our advisory value flows directly from our ownership stake. We don't just advise; we invest alongside our partners.

Keys to Real Estate Success

When asked what separates successful investors from the rest, Jim highlighted several principles:

Know Your Why Before You Act

"Understand what you're getting into and why you're getting into it before you decide to purchase real estate." The best deals are those where timing aligns with strategy. Sometimes buying today is right; sometimes waiting six months for better pricing makes sense. The discipline is in knowing which.

Act Decisively Once Committed

Once you've done your research and committed to a deal, move quickly. The perfect moment rarely arrives twice. Jim notes: "Once you've decided to do it, act like a buyer and move forward. The perfect time never works because someone else will come in and scoop up this opportunity."

Master the Capital Stack

Beyond the property itself, understand the people involved and the capital structure. A great project with a weak capital stack—too much debt coming due too soon—can fail. Conversely, the right capital partners and debt terms allow a good project to mature properly.

Learning from Mistakes

Jim's willingness to discuss his missteps speaks to his credibility. Some of the most impactful lessons came from failures:

Overconfidence Costs Tenants

Early in his career, Jim owned a shopping center with a major anchor tenant. When the lease came up for renewal, he assumed they'd renew without much effort. He didn't ask what they actually needed. A competitor came in with a better offer, and the tenant left. The lesson: stay attentive to tenant needs, not just rent checks.

Personal Guarantees: A Trap to Avoid

Lenders often demand personal guarantees. Jim learned (and has seen others learn painfully) that this is a dangerous path. If the project defaults, they don't just foreclose—they pursue the borrower personally. Jim recounted a story: "There's nothing worse than having a lender getting a notice from a courier at your door on some Sunday afternoon... your wife answers the door and she wants to know: Why is she being sued along with you?"

With the right capital structure, many of these risks can be mitigated—a principle highly relevant to how CI Mavericks structures its investments.

Timing the Exit

"There's a time to buy and a time to sell, and that time can pass you by." Successful investors recognize market signals. Jim emphasizes: "The first offer is usually the best offer." Waiting for a higher price often means watching that buyer walk away to someone else's deal.

The Anelo Project: A Global Opportunity with Local Roots

Jim's involvement with the Anelo project began when CI Mavericks organized a site visit during its Buenos Aires conference. Around 15-20 Mavericks members traveled to Neuquén Province to tour the property and meet the local partners. What they discovered is extraordinary.

Location: The Heart of the Opportunity

The project site sits in the center of Anelo, Argentina, directly across the main highway from the town square. The property—nearly 100 hectares—has been owned by the same family for generations. What makes this location extraordinary is its proximity to the oil and gas operations in the Vaca Muerta region.

Workers commuting from the town of Anelo to the Vaca Muerta rigs must travel a heavily congested 65-kilometer, two-lane road. When on that road, oil workers are being paid—but producing nothing. Oil companies, facing productivity losses due to commute times, naturally prefer workers to live closer. This creates explosive demand for workforce housing.

Competitive Advantage: Quality in an Underserved Market

Current workforce housing in the area ranges from poor-quality apartments to shipping containers welded together. The Anelo project proposes professional, quality housing in a stunning location—nestled next to a lazy river and surrounded by trees. This is not just a property; it's a sanctuary in an industrial landscape.

The Revenue Model: Corporate Tenants, Not Individual Workers

A critical insight: the tenants paying rent are the oil companies themselves, not individual workers. This eliminates credit risk and ensures stable, predictable cash flows. The contracts are dollar-denominated or adjusted for inflation, providing further protection against Argentina's volatile currency.

Market Tailwinds

Argentina is experiencing a pro-business shift under the Milei administration. The government at both national and provincial levels is actively supporting oil and gas development. A crucial recent development: Argentina has rerouted its gas exports from Bolivia to international markets via the Atlantic. This infrastructure shift signals long-term commitment and investment in the Vaca Muerta region.

Why CI Mavericks Is Positioned to Succeed in This Space

Our conversation with Jim crystallizes the core strength of CI Mavericks' model: we bring real-world, ground-level expertise combined with active investment. We don't offer textbook answers from junior analysts. We bring decades of hands-on experience from people who have bought, sold, restructured, and built in real markets.

When you work with CI Mavericks on real estate investing—or any domain where we have active positions—you benefit from:

• Skin in the game: We invest alongside our clients, not just for advisory fees
• Proven principles tested over decades, across markets and economic cycles
• Direct access to operating partners on the ground
• Alignment: What's good for our investors is good for us

Looking Ahead

The Anelo funding round is closing at month's end. For those interested in real estate exposure diversified away from U.S. markets, this represents a compelling opportunity to participate in a high-growth region benefiting from structural tailwinds.

Thanks to Jim Coyne for a masterclass in real estate thinking, and for his partnership in bringing this exceptional opportunity to the CI Mavericks community.