Our Story

REMI Companies was founded in 1994 by Erik A. Kaiser, a first generation real estate entrepreneur. Considered one of the most talented industry professionals, Kaiser built and operated four separate companies in the past 16 years.

The genesis of the REMI Companies has caught the attention of local and national media hailing Kaiser as an innovator and a visionary. He has appeared on television, radio, and in local and national periodicals to discuss his ideas and his success. He has been awarded three “40 under 40” awards, and chosen as one of six people to watch in 2006. (See Press and Video)

The story starts in 1992 after having received his college degree in Economics. It was near the end of the Savings and Loan debacle, and the involvement of the Resolution Trust Corporation. In 1994, Kaiser made his entrance into real estate with the purchase of two distressed condominiums after observing and learning the markets in the New York metropolitan region. That same year he purchased an apartment building to reposition.

By 1995 at the age of 25, Kaiser founded REMI Development, purchased his first development parcel and began construction of a nine-unit condominium building. He acted as the General Contractor and Construction Manager learning the business of construction on the job. The development sold out prior to the Certificate of Occupancy and was delivered on budget and on schedule.

In 1997 Kaiser felt confident enough to begin purchasing parcels of land and taking them through the zoning and planning process. He also began to buy pools of multifamily assets which needed construction work to reposition. But as the market picked up, Kaiser found himself having difficulty getting contractors to return to the job quickly. His response was to assemble his own crews to do the work as REMI Construction.

REMI Development and REMI Construction grew considerably over the following years. REMI Construction grew to employ approximately 80 tradesmen solely dedicated to building, renovating, rehabilitating, and restoring the properties that REMI Development acquired. Kaiser managed the day to day operations and sought to increase efficiency of construction by becoming responsible for all rough and finish carpentry. He even designed a full wood shop to fabricate kitchen cabinets, stairs, moldings, and other custom carpentry items.

Through his hands on experience and personal relationships with the employees at REMI Construction, Kaiser noticed a dislocation in the mortgage market. REMI Construction employed about 90% Hispanic workforce, all of whom were paid market wages. Kaiser is fluent in Spanish, and it was through his interaction with his Hispanic employees that he identified the discrimination against Hispanics in the lending universe.

In 2002 Kaiser founded a mortgage bank named REMI Capital with the distinct objective of lending to Hispanic borrowers to purchase or refinance a home. By 2007, REMI Capital operated in five states, employed approximately 160 people, and was the largest direct lender to the Hispanic market in NJ. REMI Capital was listed as the 33rd fastest growing company in NJ having lent $600 million to the Hispanic community within five years.

REMI Development and REMI Construction continued to grow to develop and construct institutional grade multifamily buildings averaging 100 units per building. He developed his brand of multifamily housing, Velocity, and in 2007 completed a $60 million 128 unit building in Hoboken, NJ. His international relationships with prominent architects and engineers taught him other methods to build better buildings, and he began to think about developing in other countries.

In 2006 Kaiser founded REMI Realty to assist the Hispanic homebuyers with finding and assisting in the purchase of a new home. By 2007 REMI Realty employed approximately 20 individuals, all Hispanic.

By early 2007 at age 36, Kaiser had already mastered construction, development, and lending. He oversaw four companies, managed 200 employees, had lent $600 million, and earned a position of prominence in the real estate industry.

In August of 2007, the first credit seizures in the financial markets occurred. It was at this time that Kaiser witnessed a material change in the ability of his companies to combat the rapidly changing economic climate. Mortgages owned by REMI Capital became more difficult to sell, and the condominium sales market began to evaporate for REMI Development. The reversal of business caught the industry by surprise, and with the market deterioration, Kaiser recognized he needed to change with change.

Having started his company in the wake of the financial crisis of the early 1990’s, Kaiser knew how to respond to the new impending financial crisis. He created closure plans for his mortgage bank and realty company with the help of his top management, and wound down operations on the last day of the year in 2007.

Sales at his biggest condominium development to date began to suffer, and Kaiser developed a strategy to convert the building into a rental property. He was successful and executed a joint venture with Milestone/Invesco. It was at his own company, and on his own deals, that Kaiser created workout strategies.

As the markets continued to erode in unison, REMI’s lenders on other developments in construction began to default on commitments thereby stalling construction at critical stages. REMI continues to workout resolutions with the lenders.

By 2008, because of his interdisciplinary skills, Kaiser had become a person to whom other professionals in the industry turned for advice. Lenders, investors, and developers had become unclear about the values of their assets, what to do in special situations, and the ability to recover capital. Lenders holding residential loans for sale could not target values, and did not have a method to best recover the highest price for their assets. Other property developers called on Kaiser to assist in creating workout strategies with their lenders while hard money lenders retained Kaiser to develop marketing plans to accurately value and dispossess their assets.

Having expert and professional knowledge in all areas of lending, development, and construction, Kaiser is able to better restructure situations. He brings true hands-on experience providing solutions to decrease downside risk while increasing capital recovery to begin building new business.