The Bisnow Weekender: Here’s Why StripMallGuy Finally Unmasked Himself

Thanks for reading the Bisnow Weekender, my personally curated roundup of the most impactful news, notable quotes, binge-worthy show recommendations and other colorful highlights from the Bisnow world of commercial real estate and beyond. 

Most of you already know who StripMallGuy is.

He’s the strip mall-obsessed real estate guru whose social media brand collectively commands hundreds of thousands of followers across Instagram, X and LinkedIn. His hot takes and penetrating insights have earned him a dedicated following that has swept the industry and inspired a new crop of real estate pros to weaponize social media.

Up until a few weeks ago, most people didn’t know who was behind StripMallGuy aka @realEstateTrent, but he recently decided to reveal his true identity. His name is Don Tepman, and he is the president and founder at TownCentre Capital, a company that focuses exclusively on acquiring — you guessed it — strip malls across the U.S.

His meteoric social media trajectory spurred him to produce a live event in New York City later this year, the RealEstate X Gala, with famed New York broker Bob Knakal, who has also built a popular social media presence in recent years. Tepman's announcement of the event has 1.3 million views on X, and he said he can’t keep up with the intense demand for the 200 available spots.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Tepman is a 44-year-old soon-to-be father of two who now calls New York City home with his wife. He proudly doesn’t wear a watch, he told me this week, but he shared why he thought the time was right to tell the world who he really is. 

— Mark F. Bonner, Bisnow Editor-in-Chief

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Bisnow: Your presence on social media has exploded over the last couple of years. And for a while, guessing who you were was a parlor game of sorts throughout the real estate industry. And then, all of a sudden, you revealed yourself to the world. Why now?

Tepman: The account happened by accident. I was on an airplane in June of 2021, 20 years into my career. And sometimes you read stuff that's not true in real estate, and I was like, you know what, I want to set the record straight on some things that people say. And so I started an account and responded to a couple of people, and my plan was to close the account afterward, not thinking that it would take off. But it did take off, and it really scared me. I had no game plan. It was an accident.

I took the anonymous thing really seriously in the beginning. My wife knew, but that was kind of it. But then what changed, and really to go back to your question, I started asking myself, can this help the business? And the answer was, heck yes. This is a time where finding deals has never been harder for anybody, and there's never been more capital out there chasing different asset classes nationally. You know, what's going to give you an advantage? 

And it really is the brokers community and knowing who you are. And what started happening is brokers would — you know, rather than us calling them every day or every week — they would start following the account. Thousands of them. And it was like I was cold-calling them daily. And it became a top-of-mind hack nationally that I didn’t think was possible in this niche whatsoever. So the last two deals we did would not have happened without this account. 

I spoke to Kyle Matthews, who runs Matthews Real Estate [Investment Services] in Nashville, a couple months ago. And he was like, “You know, every week or two, somebody reaches out to me and says, ‘Hey, I have a deal for the StripMallGuy. I don't know who he is. Can you point me to him?’” And Kyle said to me, “If I'm getting those calls every couple weeks, how many people have deals for StripMallGuy that you aren’t hearing about?” He questioned why I wasn’t going public, and I started to think about it every single day.

And then, as my name started coming out there, I had extortion threats start coming up and people saying, “I'm going to reveal you.” And then people in my life started to reveal me and it started to come out, and I thought maybe this won’t be as bad as I fear, and I wanted to control the narrative as well.

Bisnow: Extortion threats?

Tepman: “If you don't pay me money, I will reveal who you are — to everybody.” And these sorts of attacks were happening in the last couple of months. That's not fun. That scared me a little bit. I just don't want the fear of that. So I'm not saying that was the factor, but as far as timing goes, enough people were getting wind of who was behind the account, and as that started happening, I knew there was potential for it all to get worse.

Bisnow: Have you actually grown your business because of this?

Tepman: Absolutely. And that's only starting to accelerate because I've only in the last six months to a year really started telling brokers who we are. And none of this would have been possible if I stayed anonymous because if they can't link it back to a real company that's really doing deals, then it's just a cartoon character online. We’ve done almost 40 deals, and the last two have happened because of the StripMallGuy brand. I had a call last week with 250 brokers from a national company. I would have paid a lot of money for that five years ago. So, that was a couple hundred people on that call that are doing retail deals nationwide. And that's going to lead to more deals for us.

Bisnow: You said a couple of weeks ago something to the effect of, “Sad but true, but a broker needs to have a nice car.” You have to dress a certain way. Presentation matters. Is having a strong social media presence like yours the new “nice car?” Is it the new equivalent of a nice suit?

Tepman: Look, it helps with credibility, right? If someone has multiple offers and they don't really know who the first two are but then there is an offer that comes from us, that's a brand that they know and are familiar with. Brands give all of us comfort. That's why there's value in brands. So, you know, for me, if I get into contract with someone and screw around and do something I shouldn't be doing, that's going to go on social media tomorrow — and it should, right? I think there's human psychology behind wearing a nice suit or a watch. And the car, I think a lot of that is just subconscious. I'm actually blown away by how people don't take the social media thing seriously when it comes to business. It's such a low-hanging fruit. There's so much value here. I think that social media is a big differentiator. But I think we're in the first inning, but what I don't understand is this: If you're going out to buy deals, how do you not have a social media plan?

Bisnow: So many of your posts could be classified as “gentle wisdoms” that I think most anyone can agree with. And then you've got other posts which I will classify as “harsh truths.” All of it seems to have resonated with your followers. You’ve clearly touched a nerve and now command hundreds of thousands of followers, but what makes you the authority? Why should people listen to you?

Tepman: I don't think this account makes me the authority at all. I have raised about $150M in equity in my career, and that is not a lot, especially if you look at it relative to other funds in this country. I'm just sharing my thoughts. I'm not expecting to be a thought leader or an authority on anything. That's up to the audience. I've always been entrepreneurial. I spent basically my entire life in Silicon Valley — you know, meeting really interesting people and hearing a lot of different interesting perspectives. A lot of what I say comes from that and what I've seen in the world. I didn't set out to have this following. For me, all I can do is just share what I think, and people are not going to agree with all of it. And that's totally fine. So, you're certainly not going to hear me saying that I'm an authority. I'm just someone who's been focused on one niche going on 22 years, and I’m just sharing my opinions. I'm not even going to say that it's advice. It’s just what pops in my head, and that is what I share.

Bisnow: What's next for StripMallGuy?

Tepman: The most important thing for me is continuing to buy strip centers — kind of forever. That's what I love to do. It's my passion. It's my No. 1 hobby. And if that stops, all this goes away. So for me, the goal is to keep buying these deals around the country, keep buying these strip centers nationally and making them nicer and nicer and leaving the community better than how we found it. And so social media allows me to keep doing that, and that is what this is all about for me. And beyond that, I have no idea what other doors this might keep opening for me. In the last two and a half years that I've been on Twitter, I have met more people and made more connections than I did in 20 years networking in Silicon Valley. I hope those doors keep opening.

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The Best Of Bisnow News: Jan. 29-Feb. 2

With Capital And Patience Dwindling, Short Sales Begin To Hit The Office Market — South Florida Reporter Matt Wasielewski

Investors raised billions of dollars last year as they awaited distressed real estate assets to come to market at steep discounts. However, they found few opportunities, as office owners largely found ways to hold on to their properties. That’s now starting to change.

Office buildings across the country are starting to trade at significant markdowns, in many cases selling for less than the value of their loan. Those types of transactions, executed in concert with the buildings' lenders, are known as short sales. 

“We're definitely seeing owners want to give up the properties, especially ones that were recently purchased, where their equity has likely been wiped out,” said Holly MacDonald-Korth, CEO of Miami-based investment firm KDM Financial. 

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TikTok, Tight Wallets And Tenets: How Gen Z Is Changing Restaurant Retail — Chicago Reporter Ryan Wangman

As the oldest Gen Zers head into their mid-20s, enter the workforce and increasingly become economic drivers, the restaurant world is on the clock to figure out how to cater concepts to a new generation. The age group is more persuaded by social media, has a more acute social conscience and is less willing to open their wallets than any generation before it.

“We have to keep evolving. The people that don't are the people that are a little bit behind the curve now where they're trying to catch up and see how can we attract this new generation,” said Stephany Ruiz, ​​vice president of portfolio marketing and experience for Trademark Property Co. 

“Gen Z has this reputation of being a short attention span type of group,” she added. “But I do think that they have brand loyalty [and] brand equity. Similar to post-Covid, we need to adapt or die.”

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'Extend-And-Pretend Ideology Is Gone': Major Banks Prepare For More CRE Losses — National Reporter Dees Stribling

Fresh off a stressful 2023, due in large part to turmoil in CRE, the nation’s biggest banks are bracing for more trouble, ratcheting up the amount of money they hold in reserve to protect against commercial loans going bad. 

Loan loss provisions by the four largest banks, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, were up 40.7% compared to a year ago, Trepp reports.

A year ago, these banks allotted 8% of their total loan loss allowances to CRE. Now they are reserving 12%, according to data compiled by Trepp. 

More Big News From The Week …

— Federal Reserve Says Economy In ‘Better Balance,’ But No Cuts Yet

— Bank Of England Holds Rates But Opens Door To Cuts

— 'Enough Is Enough': Chinese Development Giant Evergrande Ordered To Liquidate

— NYCB Shares Plummet After CRE Loan Issues Prompt Dividend Cut

— Sternlicht Predicts $1T Loss, ‘Existential Crisis’ For Office Values

— 'I'm The Brand': CRE Compensation Angst Fueling Job Searches And Even Spinoffs

— Apartment Defaults To Double This Year, Fitch Predicts

My Slightly On/Off-Topic Media Diet

A $560B Property Warning Hits Banks From N.Y. To Tokyo (Bloomberg): “New York Community Bancorp’s decisions to slash its dividend and stockpile reserves sent its stock down a record 38% and dragged the KBW Regional Banking Index to its worst day since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last March. Tokyo-based Aozora Bank plunged more than 20% after warning of a loss tied to investments in US commercial property. In Europe, Deutsche Bank AG more than quadrupled its US real estate loss provisions to €123 million ($133 million) in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. The concern reflects the ongoing slide in commercial property values coupled with the difficulty predicting which specific loans might unravel.”

New York Is Lapping San Francisco In The Return-To-Office Race (Quartz): “If New York City is the hare, San Francisco is the tortoise. But unlike the children’s story—where the tortoise uses its wits to outsmart the hare to win the race—victory is nowhere in sight for the Golden Gate City. As of December, employee visits to San Francisco offices were still 53% lower than they were during the same time in 2019.”

IMF Anticipates Boost In Russia's Economy (The Kyiv Independent): “These predictions raise new questions about the effectiveness of Western sanctions in undermining Russia's economic revenues and financing of the war in Ukraine.”

Today’s Teenagers: Anxious About Their Futures And Disillusioned By Politicians (NYT): “Although it has never been easy to be a teenager, the current generation of young Americans feels particularly apprehensive, new polling shows — anxious about their lives, disillusioned about the direction of the country and pessimistic about their futures.”

Think Twice Before Taking The Top Job (The Atlantic): “​​Even if the average newly minted boss doesn’t have loneliness or anger-management concerns, they can face two years of happiness below their old level. This is baffling if they expected to be happier, but completely normal and generally temporary. Still, two years is a long time. Perhaps you are willing to make this sacrifice for the good of others or for your own long-term gain. But you may have plenty of good reasons not to make this sacrifice.”

Bisnow Weekend Interview Preview

The depths of the pandemic might have seemed like a strange time to launch a new office brokerage business, but that didn't deter Lindsay Ornstein, the founder of Open Impact Real Estate, from taking the plunge.

In this week's Weekend Interview, Bisnow New York City Reporter Ciara Long spoke with Ornstein about building a real estate company from scratch in a time of unprecedented upheaval, navigating the choppy waters of NYC's market and what will happen to all those unwanted old office buildings.

Bisnow: Do you think we’ll ever get to the point where Class-B office space is fully occupied again?

Ornstein: I don't. Candidly, I don't want them to. It's not what's in the best interest of our industry in the long term. For quite some time, we have needed more new product in the New York City marketplace. We are the oldest major city in the world, and we have the oldest office stock in the world. We need more office products, and we need to take some of that older product offline and repurpose it — either knock it down and rebuild it or repurpose it into resi.

The Weekend Interview goes live every Friday evening — head to www.bisnow.com over the weekend to check it out!

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Here are this week’s top jobs over at Bisnow's careers platform, SelectLeaders. Reach out to SelectLeaders Managing Director Ryan Neale to learn more. You can email him at ryan.neale@bisnow.com. 

Director of Asset Management — Oversee a prominent West Coast affordable housing portfolio. 

Head of Property Management — Lead property management for a $7B portfolio.

Vice President of Acquisitions and Asset Management — Lead acquisitions and asset management for a premier Southeast owner-operator.

Hey, Olivia, What Are You Going To Binge This Weekend?

As a mom of two, choosing which media to consume is often a crisis of “too many choices, too little time.” Earlier this week, Vanderpump Rules returned for its 11th season — 10 months after a cheating scandal involving three of the show’s main characters rocked the pop culture universe. Watching Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix navigate the fallout of Scandoval and listening to Sandoval try to defend his affair with Raquel Leviss on The Viall Files podcast has inspired me to rewatch the latest season. Also on the docket is the latest installment of Ryan Murphy’s Feud anthology series, which chronicles the true story of the complicated relationship between Truman Capote and an elite group of New York socialites he referred to as his “Swans.” It’s giving real-life Real Housewives of New York, which is reason enough for me to tune in. Other than that, I’ll be finishing Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry’s 1985 novel about two Texas Rangers who embark on a cattle drive to Montana. Once I finish the book, I’ll be running to watch the 1989 miniseries.

— Olivia Lueckemeyer, Bisnow Dallas-Fort Worth Reporter

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How did I do? You can send all love letters and dissents directly to me at mark.bonner@bisnow.com.