FUTURE FIRST INVESTMENTS
Building the Future of University & Community Housing
Strategic Real Estate. Purpose-Built Communities. Scalable Opportunities.
Future First Investments is a real estate investment and development firm focused on acquiring existing multifamily assets near major university campuses and growing communities repositioning them as purpose-built lifestyle communities.
Our strategy is built around identifying underserved housing demand, acquiring well-positioned existing real estate, improving the resident experience, and creating value through strategic repositioning and stronger property operations.
Build Demand. Acquire. Reposition. Build Community. Create Value. Scale.
THE FUTURE FIRST STRATEGY
Real Estate Designed Around the Communities We Serve
Future First Investments looks beyond traditional multifamily housing. We identify communities with concentrated housing demand and seek existing multifamily properties that can be repositioned around the needs, identity and lifestyle of those residents. Our approach is designed around:
IDENTIFY DEMAND
Understand the community and the housing need.
TARGET THE RIGHT ASSET
Acquire existing multifamily properties in strategic locations.
REPOSITION
Upgrade the property, amenities, branding and resident experience.
BUILD COMMUNITY
Create purpose-built environments designed around the people who live there.
DRIVE PERFORMANCE
Seek stronger occupancy, resident retention, rental performance and NOI.
SCALE
Replicate successful concepts across additional markets.
We Build Demand Before We Buy Real Estate
Traditional apartment investors acquire buildings, then search for tenants. Future First Investments builds resident communities first, then acquires the real estate best positioned to serve them.
1
Identify Resident Groups
Understand the community and the housing need.
2
Secure Pre-Lease Commitments
Groups commit to terms before we acquire
3
Acquire Asset
Purchase with confidence knowing demand is secured
4
Move Groups In
Entire groups move in together for high initial occupancy
5
Premium Rents & Lower Costs
Stronger pricing power and lower turnover drive higher NOI
6
Higher Asset Value
Better income and lower risk support a higher valuation multiple
OUR PROJECTS
Tempe Cottages
Tempe, Arizona
0.4 miles from ASU campus
Purchase Price: $4.0 Million
Purchase Year: 2026
18 Units
Rent Upside: $250/unit
The Vintage
Tempe, Arizona
1 mile from ASU campus
Purchase Price: TBD
Purchase Year: TBD
30 Units
Tempe Horizons
Tempe, Arizona
1 mile from ASU campus
Year Renovated: 2024
Purchase Price: TBD
Purchase Year: TBD
24 Units
coming soon
coming soon
Disclosure: Properties shown are prospective acquisition opportunities currently under evaluation. Future First Investments does not currently own these properties unless expressly stated otherwise. Pricing, operating assumptions, projected rent upside, and other information are preliminary, may be based on third-party information, and are subject to change following due diligence. Inclusion on this page does not represent a commitment or guarantee that an acquisition will occur.
EXPANDING THE FUTURE FIRST PIPELINE
From Arizona to California and Beyond
Future First Investments is building a pipeline of additional opportunities utilizing the same core philosophy: Acquire existing multifamily real estate. Identify an underserved community. Reposition the property around that community. Create a differentiated resident experience.
ACTIVE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
The Arizona project represents the current Future First investment opportunity and is intended to serve as the initial proof of concept for the company’s broader university and community housing platform.
ONE COMPANY. MULTIPLE COMMUNITY HOUSING CONCEPTS.
FUTURE FIRST INVESTMENTS
PHASE 1
Establish Platform & Track Record
Arizona State University (Tempe)
PHASE 2
Regional Arizona Expansion
Tucson · Flagstaff · Phoenix
PHASE 3
Texas Market Entry
Austin · Dallas · San Antonio
PHASE 4
National Scale
Big Ten & SEC university markets
WHY FUTURE FIRST INVESTMENTS?
Future First Investments is not being built around a single property or a single type of resident. It is being built as a scalable university and community housing company.
The Arizona Greek Life project provides the initial opportunity to demonstrate the model. Future First can then evaluate additional properties and community concepts based on local demand, location and the characteristics of each market.
Our Vision
• Build Resident Groups
• Acquire existing real estate
• Build housing around real communities
• Create stronger resident experiences
• Improve property-level performance
• Scale successful concepts into new markets
KARLON DAWSON
Founder & Managing Partner | Future First Investments
Karlon Dawson is the Founder and Managing Partner of Future First Investments, where he leads the firm’s investment strategy, acquisitions, underwriting, capital formation, and growth.
A California DRE-licensed real estate professional, Karlon has built experience across multiple sides of the investment lifecycle—from brokerage and market intelligence to acquisitions, structured finance, and private capital markets. This cross-functional background gives him a unique ability to identify opportunity, understand demand at the ground level, structure transactions, and position assets for long-term value creation.
He founded Future First Investments around a demand-first approach to real estate: understand who wants to live there before acquiring the property. The firm’s initial strategy targets Greek Life and university housing in Tempe, Arizona, with a growing pipeline across California and additional university markets.
Karlon’s approach is simple: find opportunities others overlook, structure them intelligently, and execute with discipline.
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF UNIVERSITY & COMMUNITY HOUSING.
Investor & Property Disclosure
The properties and opportunities presented on this website may include a combination of current investment opportunities, properties under evaluation, and prospective pipeline opportunities. Unless expressly stated in applicable offering materials, the inclusion of any property or project on this website should not be interpreted to mean that Future First Investments LLC or its affiliates own, control, have acquired, have placed under contract, have secured financing for, or are currently offering an investment in such property. Prospective opportunities may be modified, replaced, or removed at any time.
All property information, financial data, market information, acquisition assumptions, business plans, and projections presented on this website are provided for general informational and illustrative purposes only. Information may be based on preliminary underwriting, management estimates, market research, broker or seller materials, and other third-party sources and may change materially as additional due diligence is completed. Future First Investments makes no representation that any prospective acquisition will ultimately be completed.
This website does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any security or investment product. Any offering of securities will be made only to eligible investors pursuant to the applicable definitive offering documents, subscription agreements, disclosures, and applicable federal and state securities laws. In the event of any inconsistency between information presented on this website and the applicable offering documents, the offering documents shall control.
Investments in private real estate and private securities involve substantial risk, including the potential loss of some or all invested capital, illiquidity, limited transferability, market and economic risk, financing risk, operating risk, and other risks described in the applicable offering documents. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Any targeted or projected rents, occupancy levels, NOI, cash flow, capitalization rates, property values, appreciation, distributions, returns, IRR, equity multiples, refinancing proceeds, exit values, timelines, or other financial or operating results are forward-looking, illustrative, and based on assumptions that may not occur. No projection, target, or estimate should be considered a guarantee or assurance of future performance.
Prospective investors should review all applicable offering materials in their entirety and consult their own legal, tax, financial, and investment advisors before making any investment decision.