In a fast-changing real estate investment climate with a notable absence of dull days, the story of Cores Real Estate stands out. Founded by the Cohen family and led by Dr. Hart Cohen, this firm has transformed from a modest family office into a sophisticated multifamily investment company, now managing over 1,000 units across multiple states.
This journey, marked by strategic decisions, hands-on management, and a commitment to excellence, is a story of new beginnings, growth, and one family’s American dream.

How Cores Real Estate Started
At Cores, our journey into real estate investment began with a vision that blends medical expertise with business acumen.
Our founder, Dr. Hart Cohen, a practicing physician, chose to focus on multifamily properties, driven by the fundamental principle that no matter what happens in the world with technology and working remotely and all the innovations and changes in lifestyle, everyone is always going to need a place to live. This approach aligns with our belief that shelter is a basic human necessity, providing a stable foundation for our investment strategy.
Our decision to concentrate on residential multifamily assets, rather than medical office buildings or other commercial properties, stems from the conviction that there is a lot less risk with multifamily real estate. We recognize that no technology or change in lifestyle is ever going to replace the need for someone to have a home.
This strategy offers distinct advantages over other investment options. Unlike investing in healthcare companies where we have made considerable investments but where there is a lot of risk and investors are not typically getting recurring cash distributions, real estate provides a predictable stream of cash flows and other intangible benefits such as depreciation and other tax benefits.
By leveraging our unique background and insights, we have created an investment approach that aims to provide our investor partners with consistent returns while addressing an essential market need. Our focus remains on creating value through careful asset selection and management, always mindful of the enduring demand for quality housing.
Join the waitlist for our next investment opportunity and learn more about our unique approach to multifamily investing.
Our History in Real Estate
Our path to real estate was far from conventional. With a background in healthcare and, through our second generation, Evan Cohen’s background in biotechnology and biopharmaceutical engineering, we never imagined we would become multifamily real estate investors. However, a series of fortunate events led our family on this unexpected path.
Family Properties: The Catalyst for Change
The Cores Real Estate story begins with the Cohen family's entry into the real estate market during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Recognizing potential in distressed multifamily properties, Hart Cohen made the family's first multifamily acquisition in 2010. However, like many new entrants to the real estate market, the Cohens soon faced significant challenges with third-party property management.
We were really struggling with managing the property. While there was so much potential with the asset itself, executing the business plan was very challenging with a third-party manager.
Our experience with these initial properties in Los Angeles highlighted a critical issue plaguing many real estate investors: the misalignment of interests between property owners and third-party management companies. From below-market rents to subpar renovations and excessive fees, we found ourselves battling to realize the true potential of their investments.
Taking Control of Property Management
As our family properties continued to face challenges, we realized that continuing with the same system was not viable. We saw a good time to acquire properties after the Great Recession, but we needed a better management solution. That is when we made the decision to take over the management of our properties in-house and form our own management company.
This transition was not without its challenges. We had to quickly learn how to run our properties ourselves. We focused on executing the business plan a lot more effectively and quickly, which involved:
- Renovating the units.
- Getting them to market rent.
- Improving the common areas of the property.
- Improving the exterior.
By taking control of the management process, we were able to stabilize the property value much more efficiently. This hands-on approach allowed us to extract most of the asset's value in a way that was not possible with third-party management.
Our experience in science and business development proved unexpectedly valuable as it taught us to approach property management with a systematic, data-driven mindset. We learned that to manage effectively, we needed a professional management structure - a lesson that would become more apparent as we grew our portfolio.
Our Growth Strategy
Value-Add Approach
Our growth strategy centered on what we call a "value-add business plan." This approach involves acquiring properties with potential for improvement and implementing strategic upgrades to increase their value.
We focused on:
- Cosmetic upgrades such as new flooring, new countertops, new appliances.
- New lighting package.
- New electrical fixtures.
By executing these improvements, we were able to stabilize the property value and achieve greater than year-over-year market growth.
1031 Exchanges and Portfolio Expansion
A key component of our growth strategy has been the use of 1031 exchanges. This approach allowed us to sell these properties and utilize a 1031 exchange to acquire replacement properties that were significantly larger, with a significantly larger unit count.
This strategy enabled us to grow our portfolio organically, through buying and selling. For example, we were able to transition from smaller properties to larger ones, such as a 206-unit property in the Inland Empire.
We also leveraged refinancing to fuel our growth. As we executed our value-add plan, we were able to do refinances and pull out large amounts of cash that we then used to acquire more properties.
This approach allowed us to steadily increase our portfolio size, moving from managing a handful of smaller properties to overseeing hundreds of units across multiple locations.
It has been a journey of continuous learning and adaptation, always striving to bring the property value to where it needed to be to support our next phase of growth.

Expanding Beyond California
The Decision to Invest Out-of-State
As we continued to grow, we faced a significant decision point. Southern California prices were getting expensive, and cap rates were trending down.
We realized that it did not make financial sense to sell a property in LA and then buy another property in Southern California, even if the new property was significantly larger.
This realization led us to take another leap forward in our business and look beyond our home state.
We decided to acquire a larger property out of state in a market where the cap rates are a little higher and there was a more attractive growth story.
Embracing New Markets: Raleigh and Orlando
Our expansion strategy focused on secondary markets; areas where growth was happening at a more rapid pace than the more established markets like Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. We began exploring markets such as Raleigh, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando.
This decision was not made lightly. We worked with a very experienced multifamily real estate broker who had strong knowledge of all the major markets in the country, and we toured dozens of assets throughout the Southeast before making our first out-of-state investment.
First Out of State Asset
Our first major out-of-state acquisition was in Raleigh, North Carolina. We found a great deal in Raleigh in a very desirable part of Raleigh that had a great potential growth story, a value-add deal.
Managing properties from across the country presented new challenges. We had to create systems to take care of those items that were more challenging due to the distance. This included implementing sophisticated automations using software and making relationships with local consultants in the area to help support some of the areas where we were lacking.
This included implementing sophisticated automations using software and making relationships with local consultants in the area to help support some of the areas where we were lacking.
As we gained confidence in our ability to manage out-of-state properties, we expanded further, acquiring a property in Orlando, Florida. This property was more of a core deal in a phenomenal location that offered residents a luxury living experience.
This expansion beyond California marked a significant milestone in our growth, demonstrating our ability to adapt our strategies to new markets and manage properties effectively from a distance.

Our Investment Philosophy
Focus on Multifamily Properties
We have chosen to focus on multifamily properties because we feel that multifamily is the safest asset class.
Our reasoning is simple: everyone needs a place to live. Unlike other commercial real estate sectors that face challenges from changing work and consumer habits, with multifamily, there is always going to be a strong need.
Balancing Cash Flow and Equity Growth
Our investment approach aims to achieve a balance between immediate returns and long-term growth. We look for properties where we can achieve a nice cash on cash return day one while simultaneously being able to build equity in the project.
Typically, we aim for about a 2x multiple on the equity invested over a five-year period, including cash flow. This approach allows us to provide our investors with both ongoing returns and significant appreciation over time.
Target Markets and Property Characteristics
When selecting markets and properties, we look for several key factors:
- Good supply-demand balance.
- Strong growth story.
- Strong demand drivers from the standpoint of companies that are based in the area or companies moving into the area.
- Good population growth.
In terms of specific properties, we prefer those that are in good condition, that have good bones, that do not have too much deferred maintenance. We also ensure that the average target rents at the property correlate with the incomes in the area.
Our sweet spot in the market is to compete with the upper end of the market but be a little less expensive. We aim to be the less expensive alternative to the newer properties, believing that is a safe position to be in.
This investment philosophy has guided our growth from a small family operation to a significant player in multiple markets, always with an eye on balancing opportunity with prudent risk management.
Core Values and Corporate Culture
Transparency, Creativity, and Integrity
Our core values are central to how we operate and make decisions. We place a high emphasis on transparency in everything we do. Everything we do is recorded in our systems and everything is notated. This commitment to transparency ensures that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of our operations and decision-making processes.
Creativity is another key value for us. We constantly try to think of different ways where we can create value. This involves looking at other properties, hotels in the area, and considering what activities local residents like to do, in order to tailor our properties to meet local needs and preferences.
Integrity is fundamental to our operations. As a family office, it is very important to us that everyone is always honest. We expect our team members to own their mistakes, if they make them, and we are very careful to make sure that all the people that work at our company have a strong moral sense.
Balancing Family Office Dynamics with Institutional Processes
Our corporate culture is unique in that it blends the informal nature of a family office with the rigorous processes of an institutional operation. As a family office, there is a certain element of casualness and camaraderie. Everyone is interacting with everyone. Everyone is wearing multiple hats.
However, we recognize that as we have grown, we need more structured systems. From a systems and execution standpoint, our processes are very institutional. This balance is necessary for us to be able to carry out the business plan because of the scope of our operations in different locations.
We utilize advanced property management software, advanced marketing tools, and advanced HR platforms to ensure consistency and efficiency across our operations. We are constantly transforming processes that are manual into processes that are automated, thereby maximizing efficiency and increasing productivity.
This blend of family office values and institutional processes allows us to maintain our core principles while operating at a scale that requires more sophisticated systems.
It is a balance we continually strive to maintain as we grow and evolve.