Forty years in rental housing.
Derek Lobo has spent his whole working life in the apartment business: as a consultant, a broker, an author, a conference founder and an advisor to the developers, REITs and families who own Canada's rental housing. He remains Chief Executive Officer of Rock Advisors and is the founder and Growth and Revenue Officer of the National Apartment Council. This page sets out that record, year by year, because it is the foundation Lobo Capital & Partners is built on.
“Always stay in traffic.”Derek’s working motto
- In the business since
- 1986
- Books written
- 21
- Rock Advisors founded
- 1988
- Today
- CEO, Rock Advisors
1986 to today.
Every entry below can be checked against the public record: Rock Advisors, RENX, the conference programmes and the books themselves.
- 1986
Enters the apartment business
Begins consulting to apartment owners and developers, the start of a career spent entirely in rental housing.
- 1987
First book
How to Take a Building to Rent Review, the first of more than twenty books on apartment ownership, leasing and development.
- 1988
Founds the firm that becomes Rock Advisors
Derek A. Lobo & Associates opens in Burlington, Ontario, and grows into Rock Advisors Inc., Brokerage, Canada's specialist advisor and brokerage for purpose-built rental and student housing.
- 1993
How to Rent Apartments Fast!
A 500-page leasing manual with two training videos, used by owners and managers across the country.
- 2005
CAPREIT
Takes a six-month sabbatical from Rock to serve as Vice-President, Sales and Marketing at CAPREIT, Canada's largest apartment REIT.
- 2010s
Starlight
Works with Starlight on its US multi-family platform, extending four decades of Canadian apartment experience into the American market.
- 2012
Founds the New Apartment Construction Symposium
Launches the North American New Apartment Construction and Mixed-Use Symposium and Expo in Toronto, which runs annually and draws developers, lenders and REITs from across the continent.
- 2021
The Apartment Development Series
Publishes the thirteen-volume Apartment Development Series with MPS-Dala, from The Future Apartment Developer and Finding Money to Build Apartments to Finding and Acquiring Land for Apartment Development, together with the white paper Control & Ownership for Multigenerational Family Real Estate.
- 2022
Apartment University and The Intentional Apartment Developer
Launches Apartment University, an online learning platform for apartment developers, and publishes The Intentional Apartment Developer, with forewords by the presidents of three Canadian REITs, and A Private Developer's Roadmap for Affordable Housing.
- 2023
The Self Funding House
Publishes The Self Funding House: Rebuilding the Dream of Home Ownership, drawn from his own experience as a young immigrant who converted a house into a triplex to pay off the mortgage.
- 2025
National Apartment Council
Founds the National Apartment Council, giving Canada's private apartment developers a unified voice with government, and serves as its Growth and Revenue Officer. Rock Advisors returns to its own name after a period under the SVN banner.
- 2026
Lobo Capital & Partners
Co-founds Lobo Capital & Partners with Joshua Hoo to place private capital from families, family offices and institutions into purpose-built rental housing in Canada and the United States.
Twenty-one books on one subject.
From a 1987 manual on rent review to a thirteen-volume series on apartment development, Derek has written down what he learned at each stage, most recently under his own imprint, Dala.
Titles
The Apartment Development Series, thirteen volumes published with MPS-Dala in 2021
- The Future Apartment Developer: The Blueprint for Building Rental Apartments and Intergenerational Wealth2021 · MPS-Dala
- A Field Guide to Rental Apartment Development by the Numbers: Building and Testing a Detailed Financial Feasibility Model2021 · MPS-Dala
- The Feasibility Study Determines the Apartment You Build: How to Build the Right Apartment Building in the Right Location for the Right Resident2021 · MPS-Dala
- Finding Money to Build Apartments: Make Better Deals by Finding Cheaper Capital2021 · MPS-Dala
- A Field Guide to Municipal Taxes and Operating Costs: Decreasing Your Operating Costs to Maximize Value2021 · MPS-Dala
- The Four Factors That Drive Rent: Why $100 More in Rent = $24,000 in Increased Value2021 · MPS-Dala
- Intensifying Existing Developments with Apartments: Apartments Are the Most Profitable Additions When Intensifying Land2021 · MPS-Dala
- Building Apartments With a Joint Venture Partner: Structuring a Deal so That the Lender, Developer, and Partner Win2021 · MPS-Dala
- Writing and Executing the Marketing Plan: Strategies to Get Your Building Full at the Highest Rent2021 · MPS-Dala
- Writing and Executing a Sales and Leasing Plan: Hiring, Training, Managing, and Compensating Your Leasing Staff for Maximum Results2021 · MPS-Dala
- Designing Apartments for the Future: Meeting Modern Expectations With Innovative Design2021 · MPS-Dala
- Becoming a Successful Merchant Apartment Builder: Developing a Business Plan and Growing Your Wealth2021 · MPS-Dala
- Finding and Acquiring Land for Apartment Development: Processes for Site Selection Through Closing2021 · MPS-Dala
Other titles
- The Self Funding House: Rebuilding the Dream of Home Ownership2023 · with Rod Schulhauser · Dala
- The Blueprint for Your Self Funding House: Everything Needed for Transforming Your Home Into a Business2023 · Dala
- The Intentional Apartment Developer: A Programmatic Guide for Planning, Designing, Building, Leasing, Managing, and Selling2022 · Apartment University
- A Private Developer's Roadmap for Affordable Housing: Profitable Rental Apartment Solutions in Canada2022 · Dala
- Control & Ownership for Multigenerational Family Real Estate2021 · white paper
- How to Rent Apartments Fast!1993 · 500 pages, with two training videos
- How to Take a Building to Rent Review1987
The institutions he built, and the rooms he is asked into.
- Rock Advisors Inc., BrokerageFounder and, today, Chief Executive Officer and Broker of Record. Brokerage, research, leasing and advisory for purpose-built rental and student housing, Burlington, Ontario. Derek continues to lead the firm alongside his role at Lobo Capital & Partners.
- National Apartment CouncilFounder and Growth and Revenue Officer. The representative body for Canada's private apartment developers in its dealings with government.
- North American New Apartment Construction and Mixed-Use SymposiumFounder. Annual Toronto conference for apartment developers, lenders and investors.
- Apartment UniversityFounder. Online education for apartment developers, launched 2022.
- The Self Funding HouseCo-founder of the concept and author of the book series.
- Speaking and pressRegular speaker at the Toronto Real Estate Forum and the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference; columnist for RENX, Real Estate News Exchange; guest on industry podcasts in Canada and the United States.
- Capital placedHas arranged private Canadian capital for apartment developers in the United States, including Milhaus and Denton Floyd Real Estate Group.