Louis Rogers competes at Virginia Horse Center aboard One Plan. Photo by Swita Photography.
When Louis Rogers saddles up, you’d never guess that less than a year ago, he had a fall that left him unconscious, with thirteen broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a fractured collar bone and a cervical fracture. The placement of his injuries suggested the twelve-hundred-pound horse he’d been riding had also stepped on him.
“It’s a terrible thing to know that I heal well,” says Louis today. “I’m like the real estate industry that way. There are crashes. There are struggles. But over the decades, we keep trending better and better.”
Louis is founder and co-CEO of Capital Square, a vertically integrated real estate firm, specializing in tax-advantaged real estate investments as well as real estate development and property management. He is also an avid equestrian. As the son of a veterinarian, Louis grew up around countless animals. They were always in the house, in the barn and in the yard, and the same remains true for him today.
“Sometimes they growl. Sometimes they purr. Sometimes they stomp on your chest, making you question your sanity,” Louis laughs, putting a hand to his ribcage. “But the partnerships are also real, and they remind us that resilience is a skill always worth practicing, especially when the course isn’t always clear.”
In the past year, the real estate industry has had its own struggles. Skyrocketing insurance premiums, inflation and high interest rates created economic headwinds even experienced professionals found daunting. With forethought, Louis’ firm focused its resources into bolstering the company and controlling the controllable. By seizing intentional opportunities in a slower time period, Capital Square expanded the ways it could create its own exceptional product, including qualified opportunity zone (OZ) funds, Delaware statutory trusts (DSTs) and Capital Square’s growing real estate investment trust (REIT).
“We just get back up and keep riding, like Phillip Dutton at the Kentucky Three Day,” Louis continues. “One fall means nothing. That’s not the end of the story.”
Recovered from his injuries, Louis Rogers is back in the saddle, and he’s confident that the real estate industry will soon be there too. He’s quick to point out that Capital Square’s 28th DST offering recently went full cycle, resulting in an average 170.24% total return for investors. He often slides into the conversation that Capital Square’s tax-advantaged OZ investments elevated their sales in 2023, despite an industry decline.
Falls happen. Sometimes we can feel physically or metaphorically stomped on. The real estate industry has felt it, for sure.
Louis Rogers knows he was lucky, but he also knows that getting back into the saddle can pay dividends in the barn, at the office and for the quality of life we all aspire to.
To view more about the upcoming Horse Trials at Virginia Horse Center (May 23-26), click here.
