Market Veterans Launch Redeavor, Targeting Distressed Real Estate Opportunities

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

19 Mar 2025

Share

Share via Facebook

Share via Linkedin

Share via X

Copy to clipboard

Mike Leipart and Andrew Wachtfogel have assembled a powerhouse team at Redeavor, a development sales and advisory firm designed to capitalize on current market weaknesses with a comprehensive approach not found elsewhere in the industry.

The firm combines development advisory, sales and marketing, operational oversight, and capital investment capabilities—a strategic consolidation that positions them to address distressed assets and market inefficiencies, particularly in the overbuilt multifamily sector.

“There had never been a company before that put all those pieces together,” says Wachtfogel, who brings 15 years of specialized experience in pre-development advisory. “It’s really the only group like ours that exists where clients can turn to us to answer pretty much any question and run any part of the project.”

Alongside Leipart and Wachtfogel, Wade Hundley and Shane Farkas serve as Redeavor’s cofounders. Also joining Redeavor at launch are Violet Tudas, Maranda Blanton, Katherine Demakos, Kristin Corsetti and Jenna Marks.

Targeting Market Weakness

Redeavor launches at a strategic moment when rising interest rates have created substantial distress in real estate markets, particularly affecting multifamily properties financed with variable-rate debt.

“Apartments are the ones that are currently, because of variable interest rates, the most clearly in trouble today,” notes Leipart, who previously led new development sales at The Agency. “If you’ve leased up an apartment building and you’re 94% occupied and it doesn’t pencil, you’re done.”

Leipart brings critical experience from the last major market correction, having managed the sellout of 53 condominium towers nationwide during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. As national sales director for a portfolio controlled by Starwood Capital and TPG, he developed expertise in identifying which distressed assets failed due to market conditions versus poor execution.

“Some developments get wiped out because of market conditions, and there it’s of no fault of their own. And some projects get wiped out from user error,” Leipart explains. “In doing that 50-something times, you get real good at determining between the two.”

Focus on Conversions

The firm sees particular opportunity in conversions—both repurposing struggling apartment buildings into condominiums and adapting obsolete office buildings into residential spaces.

“We are really at a crossroads in this city as far as building use for building life cycle,” says Wachtfogel, speaking about the New York market. “There’s a lot of discussion of how many of these office buildings that are not desirable anymore as even Class C space can be converted.”

Overbuilding in the multifamily sector has created additional opportunities. As Leipart explains, “For the last 12-15 years, if you were a developer and you had a piece of dirt and you were trying to debate, ‘Should I build apartments, or should I build condos?’ 99.9% of the time you built an apartment. It was much easier to get a loan.”

This imbalance has produced assets that may be better positioned as condominiums, especially as apartments struggle with debt service in the current interest rate environment.

Talent-Driven Strategy

Where many firms chase projects first, Redeavor has taken a different approach—focusing on assembling elite talent before pursuing deals.

“I didn’t do this because I thought I could run out and get 20 projects really fast. I did this because I thought I can run out and get 10 amazing people, and then I can get all the projects,” Leipart states bluntly. “Every developer is looking at options, they’re all unhappy. Every lender is looking at options, they’re all unhappy. But as fast as I can run into that market, I would get dismissed immediately if I don’t have top-tier experts on my team.”

This talent-first strategy responds to a significant challenge in the development sales business model. As Leipart explains, the business is “a cash flow nightmare” for publicly-traded companies because it requires substantial upfront investment of high-caliber expertise with limited immediate return.

“We are profitable, but you have to wait till the end to get it,” he points out. “When we engage in a project, the level of expertise that we provide and effort is this much, and we get a tiny little retainer. We make this much and high-power, expensive people spend this much time on it.”

This structural challenge has weakened competitors’ commitment to the sector, creating an opening for a specialized firm with the right expertise and flexibility.

National Expansion Strategy

While many real estate firms remain regionally focused, Redeavor has positioned itself to operate nationally, responding to how capital and development expertise increasingly flow between major markets.

“Developers and those who finance those projects are putting their tentacles out and working all over the place,” Wachtfogel notes. “Our people are and will be across the country in strategic locations, so we can be that advisory group for clients who go where the opportunities lie.”

The company has already established offices in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Nashville, with plans to expand into other key markets as opportunities arise.

Hard-Nosed Market Assessment

Looking ahead, Redeavor’s leadership team isn’t counting on interest rate relief in 2025, which informs both their acquisition strategy and sales approach.

“At this point, everyone in the market, kind of nationwide, expects that we’re not going to see the interest rate erosion that we expected before,” says Wachtfogel. “Knowing that it’s probably at least 12 more months in that current state, I think actually lets some people—lenders and developers—decide that maybe this is the year to make a decision on some of this stuff.”

This pragmatic assessment positions Redeavor to capitalize on forthcoming market shifts, particularly as construction loans approach their extension limits and variable rate debt continues to pressure cash flows.

With billions in real estate already under management and a team responsible for over $40 billion in historical sales, Redeavor enters the market as a formidable player with the expertise, capital connections, and strategic timing to navigate current market conditions. The firm is actively pursuing opportunities across key metropolitan markets nationwide.

“If we have the right people,” Leipart concludes, “we don’t need to be good at marketing ourselves. The business follows the people.”