A Conversation with Viet Ha Do on the Future of Multi-Family Real Estate

Viet Ha Thu is CEO and Chairman of a Tennessee-based real estate investment and advisory firm, Habringer Group, Inc. She is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo with honors and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.

She began her career at Merrill Lynch and worked for several investment firms on Wall Street before moving into the real estate sector. In 2009 she dealt with real estate investments and the management of apartment buildings.

In November 2013, Viet Ha Do teamed up with veteran real estate investor Paul Folkes to form Habringer Group, Inc. Since its inception, the Habringer Group has focused on identifying and investing in underperforming multi-family and commercial real estate assets located in the mid-south region of the United States.

The company was initially headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. In 2016, the headquarters relocated to Memphis while maintaining the NYC presence through March 2020. Although the company primarily operates in the mid-south real estate market, the company has strong connections with its NYC roots and international investor partners.

Throughout her career, Viet Ha Do has played a central role in value creation processes by bringing in superior organizational skills, attention to detail and a positive attitude towards day-to-day work. It does not rest when the goals of a real estate project are achieved. Instead, she is looking for new and innovative ways to continuously improve the day-to-day management of multi-family and commercial properties.

Viet Ha Do is constantly looking for new real estate projects to bring in their experience in the financial sector and 12 years of extensive experience in multi-family property investment, management and development.

We had the chance to sit down with Viet Ha Thu to discuss how she got there and what she sees for the future of multi-family homes.

How did you start

I started my career in finance at Merrill Lynch while completing my undergraduate studies at SUNY Geneseo. I applied, interviewed, and was admitted to my first internship program at Merrill Lynch. I held various positions on Wall Street for six years before transitioning my career path to multi-family and commercial real estate investment and management.

My adventure in real estate started quite by accident. I had my first encounter with the multi-family real estate industry in 2009 when I was studying for an MBA. I was hired to clean up a distressed multi-family portfolio in Memphis, Tennessee. This was an exciting, but also challenging project that had to be mastered. In the end, it turned out to be remarkably successful and made me want to take on more projects of this kind, preferably as an investor / owner.

What inspired you to start this business?

After gaining a lot of firsthand experience on the turnaround multi-family home project in Memphis, I realized that this is an exciting market segment. I started to see significant business opportunities in this sector.

After careful planning and analysis, I decided that this is what I want to focus on in my professional career. I partnered with a group of very experienced real estate investors and co-founded the Habringer Group to focus on multi-family niche investments in the greater Memphis Metro area. I was confident that with my experience in the financial sector, an MBA from NYU, and a relatively good understanding of the multi-family sector in Memphis, I could make a significant long-term impact in the industry.

Aside from the obvious profit motive, there is another essential aspect of this business. We mainly invest in C-Level properties that provide much needed, affordable housing to a broad segment of the population.

It gives me personally and my entire team a great pleasure to see the effects our hard work has on community communities and entire districts. To see the appreciation in the eyes of our residents when they finally enjoy a safe, clean, and peaceful community is truly priceless.

When you first began to have doubts, was there ever any doubt that it would work? If so, how did you deal with it?

I had no doubt that the deal would work, mainly because we acquired very attractively priced assets. I was convinced that my team and I have sufficient knowledge and experience to lead our projects to success.

At the same time, of course, I was afraid of taking out millions in debt financing to buy and renovate our first projects. Given the initial lack of track record, I had to personally sponsor these loans which was the ultimate test of my confidence and commitment to what we were up to.

What do you think makes you successful?

I am very committed to everything I do, both in my personal and business life. I always give everything and leave no stone unturned.

What was your best moment in business?

When considering putting one of our apartment complexes up for sale, I had to get the information requested by the agent. In taking stock of the renovation work during our ownership, noting a significant increase in sales when we owned the property, described how much we had accomplished the improved quality of life the property offered to both long-term and new residents.

Residents were proud to call this property their home and often prevented me from expressing their appreciation for our efforts over the years and our ability to create high quality residential communities for them and their families. It was gratifying to see that my work had so many positive long-term effects, not just financially but also in purely human terms.

What does the future hold for your company?

The multi-family sector is currently experiencing a boom. Real estate prices are rising due to low interest rates and rising rental prices on the market. Long term trends remain intact for the sector with very healthy underlying fundamentals and supportive trends.

However, I am worried in the medium term. There is a significant risk that interest rates will rise and lending will become significantly tighter than it is now. The prices of assets, including apartment buildings, are likely to fall when this happens.

The economy as a whole is also experiencing enormous growth, mainly due to the overall impetus of the last 18 months. Rising employee wages and direct consumer premiums contributed to the unprecedented rise in rental prices over the past 18 months.

I am concerned about the sustainability of this trend now that the stimulus payments and various subsidies are running out. How long economic expansion will last before inevitably a recession remains to be seen.

For all of the above reasons, I am very cautious with our strategy and currently focus on selling assets rather than acquiring new projects. We’d rather wait for opportunities to arise than rush to buy in a very emerging market.

Published on December 24, 2021