Our company is seeking an experienced Fractional Real Estate Controller/Director of Finance & Capital Planning to provide financial oversight, forecasting, reporting, and capital planning across our real estate investment portfolio.
This is a fractional, independent consultant position that is ideal for an experienced real estate finance professional who enjoys working hands-on with management and wants to play a meaningful role in financial planning and decision-making.
This is not a traditional bookkeeping-focused Controller position. We are looking for someone who can take financial and accounting information and turn it into actionable reporting, forecasts, and forward-looking capital plans.
About the Role
The primary objective of this role is to help management anticipate financial and capital needs well in advance. You will oversee recurring financial reporting while developing and maintaining forecasts that allow management to understand upcoming cash requirements, debt maturities, construction funding needs, and potential equity requirements.
You will work closely with the CEO, CFO, internal accounting team, property managers, and outside accounting and financing professionals.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Reporting & Oversight
- Prepare and/or review monthly, quarterly, and annual property financial statements.
- Prepare and/or review fund-level and consolidated management financial reporting.
- Review accounting information for accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
- Coordinate with the internal accountant/bookkeeper and outside accounting professionals.
- Review balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, AP, AR, and intercompany balances.
Budget vs. Actual & Investment Performance
- Prepare monthly Budget vs. Actual reporting by property and entity.
- Identify and explain significant revenue and expense variances.
- Compare actual investment performance against original acquisition and development underwriting.
- Track revenue, occupancy, rental rates, operating expenses, NOI, construction costs, interest expense, debt balances, capital expenditures, equity contributions, and cash flow.
- Update forecasts when actual performance materially differs from expectations.
Cash Flow & Capital Planning
- Maintain a rolling 24-month cash forecast across funds, properties, and corporate entities.
- Develop and maintain a portfolio-wide Capital Needs Report.
- Identify upcoming capital requirements early enough for management to arrange financing or investor capital.
- Forecast operating cash flow, construction expenditures, debt service, loan proceeds, maturities, refinancings, equity contributions, capital calls, distributions, and acquisitions/development activity.
- Proactively identify potential liquidity constraints.
Debt & Refinancing
- Maintain a centralized debt schedule covering loan balances, interest rates, debt service, maturities, extension options, covenants, guaranties, prepayment restrictions, and reserves.
- Monitor compliance with loan agreements, including financial covenants, reporting requirements, reserve requirements, and other lender obligations.
- Proactively identify potential covenant or compliance issues and coordinate with management and lenders as appropriate.
- Maintain a refinancing calendar and identify when refinancing processes should begin.
- Assist with lender and debt-broker financial packages.
- Provide historical financials, forecasts, operating statistics, construction budgets, and debt information for financing processes.
- Track financing processes and assist management in comparing financing proposals and term sheets.
Capital Planning & Equity Requirements
- Maintain a forward-looking schedule of expected equity requirements across the portfolio.
- Track the purpose, timing, amount, and status of anticipated capital requirements.
- Forecast future equity needs based on property performance, construction requirements, debt obligations, acquisitions, and other planned investments.
- Provide management with timely visibility into anticipated capital requirements to support effective planning and execution.
- Assist with the preparation of capital call materials and supporting financial analyses as needed.
Construction Financial Management
- Maintain construction budgets, committed costs, costs incurred, remaining costs to complete, draw schedules, and contingencies.
- Compare actual construction costs against underwriting.
- Identify potential cost overruns and funding requirements.
- Incorporate construction requirements into overall cash flow forecasts.
Tax Compliance & Planning
- Oversee the annual tax return process for the company, funds, and applicable investment entities.
- Coordinate with outside tax advisors and accounting professionals to ensure timely and accurate preparation and filing of federal, state, and local tax returns.
- Coordinate the collection and review of information required for tax filings, including financial statements, capital accounts, debt information, property-level information, and other supporting schedules.
- Review tax returns and tax workpapers with outside tax advisors and communicate significant tax matters to management.
- Assist with annual tax planning and evaluate opportunities to improve tax efficiency across the company and its real estate investments.
- Monitor tax deadlines and ensure required filings, payments, and estimated tax obligations are completed timely.
- Coordinate the tax planning process with management, the CFO, and outside tax advisors.
Management Reporting & KPIs
- Maintain a concise portfolio-level financial dashboard.
- Track key metrics including occupancy, revenue growth, rental rates, operating expenses, NOI, budget/pro forma variance, cash, debt, DSCR, debt yield, construction variance, and remaining capital requirements.
- Develop a standardized monthly financial package for the CEO and CFO.
Ideal Candidate
We are looking for someone who naturally thinks beyond historical financial statements and asks:
- Where will cash be needed over the next 3, 6, 12, and 24 months?
- Which investments are underperforming original underwriting?
- Which construction projects may exceed budget?
- Which loans need to be refinanced and when should the process begin?
- Which investments may require additional equity?
- Are potential financial issues being identified early enough to preserve multiple solutions?
Qualifications
- 8+ years of accounting, Controller, finance, or FP&A experience.
- Significant commercial real estate experience.
- Experience with real estate investment funds and property-level accounting.
- Strong understanding of real estate financial statements.
- Experience with development and/or redevelopment projects.
- Strong budgeting and rolling cash-forecasting experience.
- Experience comparing actual investment performance against acquisition or development underwriting.
- Understanding of commercial real estate debt, loan maturities, extensions, and covenants.
- Construction draw and construction accounting experience.
- Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills.
- Ability to consolidate financial information across multiple properties, funds, and entities.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
- Self-storage, value-add real estate, adaptive reuse, or private real estate investment fund experience is preferred.
- CPA is beneficial but not required; practical real estate finance, forecasting, and modeling experience is more important.
- Ability and willingness to work in person at our Carlsbad corporate office at least one day per week.
Position Details
Position: Fractional / Independent Consultant
Location: Must be able to work from our corporate office in Carlsbad, CA at least one day per week. Additional in-office time may be requested as needed for meetings and collaboration.
Hours: Approximately 15–20 hours per week initially, transitioning to approximately 12–16 hours per week
Initial Engagement: First 90–120 days with potential for ongoing engagement
Compensation: Approximately $125–$175 per hour, depending on experience
Reporting To: CEO, with close collaboration with CFO
Pay: $125.00 - $175.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
- Do you have at least 8 years of experience in accounting, controllership, finance, or FP&A?
- Do you have commercial real estate experience, including experience with real estate investment funds, property-level accounting, and/or development or redevelopment projects?
- Are you able to work in our Carlsbad, CA corporate office at least one day per week?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Carlsbad, CA 92008
