Here are very simple examples of how the team used AI in the lending business over the past few days.= Building automated tools to aggregate and analyze foreclosure data= Research tool to guide legal discussions on unique bankruptcy situation= Quickly summarizing market data= Takeoffs from a drawing to estimate the electrical budget for a 8,000 sq ft home= Cross-checking loan documents versus termsheets and due diligence materials for accuracy= Identifying proper resources for a towns permit data on specific properties = Creating a budget from pictures to decorate the officeThose are the simple items. There are huge opportunities to integrate it across the business however it's complicated and has to be done properly. Mikhail, my business partner and techie, is speaking at SuperReturn in two weeks on how RD Advisors is integrating robust tools across our process for validation and checks and automation throughout the closing, due diligence, servicing, and asset management process - it's a task!Here is where we haven't used AI and don't plan to: - Auto-generating content for LinkedIn - Relying on AI without double checking results (no auto AI valuations or underwriting)- Auto outreach/commenting on LinkedIn spammy sales tactics (can't be that guy)By no means, tech or investment advice, just my quick observations from the past few days.Follow Sean Kelly-Rand on LinkedIn. 

PropTech Is Growing Up—And Getting Tougher.That was one of the messages that came across clearly at the Boston PropTech event we hosted at our office last night.Real estate operators are now adopting technology. And in a perverse way, it’s making it harder for PropTech start-ups. Here’s why:Real estate firms and operators/investors are building their own tech infrastructure, customized to their specific business needs. So if you’re a PropTech start-up offering a solution, it’s much harder when a well-capitalized firm is also competing with its in-house system.Real estate is a multi-trillion-dollar market with massive fees, volumes of transactions, and huge inefficiencies, creating a market ripe for disruption.There’s huge opportunity to build and create new products; however, it’s a more competitive landscape than it was previously, imho.RD Advisors is a prime example: we built our own tech platform to analyze, close, asset-manage, and service loans, and we’re now building AI tools into the process. We are also utilizing and integrating a variety of best-in-class tech platforms (and looking for more) in our workflow.Even so, my own personal frustrations led Colin and me to create ReoRei, to streamline our investment process from analysis to offer to bank financing. Another example of building in-house and then offering it to other investors (feel free to check it out and DM me with feedback).The next few years will see massive changes in PropTech and BuildTech, imho, but it’s going to be tougher and tougher to compete.What is everyone else seeing?Follow Sean Kelly-Rand on LinkedIn

Vacation is misunderstood.Vacation is not just a break from work. It’s work taking a break from you.It’s a common practice on Trading Floors and I argue it should be encouraged in other industries as well: A complete 100% break from the work for at least one week or more. At RD Advisors we encourage vacation of employees and our executives (often climbing mountains or traveling internationally).Here is why: On the trading floor it's to make sure someone is not hiding losses. In other businesses it is to ensure that there is a back-up / work around for every team member, including the partners. If the business doesn’t work without the partners/senior executives involved then they are not working on the business, they are working in it, imho.It’s also a way to allow team members to take on new challenges and rise to the occasion.So no, I did not take a vacation; RD Advisors took a vacation from me. And it did just fine.Enjoy the summer holiday’s folks as a public and private service. Follow Sean Kelly-Rand on LinkedIn

Entrepreneur to Investor: How To Build Wealth Without Working More/ The Power of passive Investing.

New trustees bring backgrounds in finance, technology, media and entertainment, healthcare, religion, and science. 

Home prices in Austin are falling after a boom, in part because a surge in new construction and rising mortgage rates are cooling the once-red-hot market.

On this episode of Design Development, Sean Kelly-Rand, Managing Partner at RD Advisors, breaks down the evolution of private real estate lending, sharing lessons from his career and insights into how private credit funds are reshaping developer financing today.

Once-booming real estate crowdfunding platforms are now teetering on the edge, with deal flow drying up, capital calls rising, and many earlier backers facing heavy losses.

McPherson Development LLC is developing the St. Louis Schoolhouse Condominiums at a former elementary school property.

A new real-estate debt fund is being launched to capitalize on distressed opportunities in the property sector amid growing credit stress — positioning itself as a bridge financier in turbulent markets.