Purpose-built student housing sits on supply-constrained land in the pedestrian zone around a campus — valuable dirt that rarely trades. In-place bed rents cover the ground rent comfortably. We buy the land; you keep operating the property and 100% of the upside.
| With a Valor ground lease | The usual path | |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition equity | Land value funds the down payment — bid the dirt under the buyer and close the walk-to-campus deal on a thinner check. | A larger LP equity raise or a more expensive bridge to win the asset. |
| Development equity | Land value funds the equity for the next building or phase — you build on a smaller check. | A larger common-equity raise or a pricier construction loan for the new beds. |
| Recap / refinance | Permanent, non-amortizing capital retires a maturing or over-levered senior to a refinanceable level. | Cash-in refinance, a mezzanine layer, or a partial sale to plug the gap. |
| Pref takeout | Buy out the partner — land proceeds replace expensive preferred or LP equity, so you keep the promote. | Carry a 9–15% pref, or surrender promote and control to a new equity partner. |
| Operations | Stay the operator — you keep leasing, management, and the day-to-day of the property. | A full sale or sale-leaseback can hand operating control to a new owner. |
| Your upside | 100% kept — you own the building, the cash flow, and the appreciation. | Shared with whatever pref or JV equity you brought in to fill the gap. |
And: stabilized or pre-leased properties fit best — in-place bed income covers the ground rent · the land comes out as permanent capital with no balloon and no maturity wall · one note: fee ownership has to be yours to sell — a property on a university-owned or public-authority parcel, where the institution holds title, can’t be ground-leased the same way.
Purpose-built student housing sits on supply-constrained land in the pedestrian zone around campus, where parcels rarely trade and carry a meaningful share of value in the dirt. Pre-leased, by-the-bed income is durable and resets each academic year, so the ground rent, roughly a quarter of NOI, is covered three to four times over. That makes the land monetizable without straining operations.
Yes. For a deal under contract, the buyer needs money and the buyer is the sponsor, so we can bid the land under the buyer. The land value, typically 30 to 40% of basis, funds the down payment and lets you close the walk-to-campus asset on a thinner equity check while you keep the building and the upside.
Development equity for the next building or phase, recaps and refinances, buying out preferred or JV equity, and filling an equity gap. The land value comes out as permanent, non-amortizing capital at roughly 6 to 6.75%, so it can replace the most expensive money in your stack while you keep the promote and 100% of the upside.
Often it does not. A ground lease requires that you actually own the fee, so it can be sold and leased back. Where a university or public development authority holds title, the land is locked and a private ground lease generally cannot coexist. We check the recorded title and any bond or PILOT documents before quoting a land value.
Land-heavy student-housing assets — walk-to-campus, purpose-built, pedestrian zone — especially where you’re funding an acquisition, a next phase, a recap, or a pref takeout. Send the address, the as-complete stabilized NOI, and total project cost — we return an indicative land value in 48 hours, as principal or arranged capital.
Email us the deal