I was fortunate enough to be contacted by James and Dave through a mutual connection, Ben Lapidis.

These weren't ordinary developers. Between them, they had built a $500 million net worth with almost no leverage—an almost unheard-of achievement in real estate. Their risk aversion and market foresight had allowed them to predict the great financial crisis, the tech crash, and even the changing business climate in New York in 2018.

What they presented was audacious: they were effectively creating "the Aspen of the Southwest"—a comprehensive development that would transform an entire New Mexico community. What appealed to me about them was that before ever approaching outside investors, they had committed $50 million of their own capital, bought water rights, acquired thousands of acres of land, purchased retail properties, and built relationships with everyone from city council members to governors. These kinds of efforts revealed that PreReal operated in the long-term and took material steps to mitigate risk.

‍Another aspect that drew me to them was that there is zero ego. During one site visit, I watched one of them call maintenance about weeds he spotted while driving past a recently acquired property. I have seen these men personally pick up trash on their properties. They are personally committed to every project, and no detail is overlooked.

When structuring their offering, I initially suggested using low-ratio debt as it would improve their returns. After consideration, they rejected this approach, simply because they don't like debt and wanted the most conservative structure possible, even at personal cost. This decision fundamentally benefits investors, who get equity-level returns with debt-level safety.

After this partnership development, I can say with confidence that these are operators who would be physically pained at the thought of losing investor capital. That rare trait is what allows me to trust them with my own.