NEW YORK CITY—If there was only one takeaway from Thursday morning's “Town Hall Panel” at the 13th annual RealShare Net Lease conference—and in fact, there were many such insights—it would be that although the net lease sector is attracting many more investors these days, it's not a turnkey business. “Putting money out the door is easy,” said Paul McDowell, president of the office and industrial group at American Realty Capital Properties. “Getting the money back is the challenge.”

Part of the RealShare Conference Series, the all-day conference was held at Convene in Midtown Manhattan and drew more than 300 industry professionals. Wayne D'Amico, president and principal of Wayne D'Amico & Co. Inc., moderated the Town Hall discussion.

Gino Sabatani, managing director with W. P. Carey, emphasized that “active asset management is very important.” Figuring out what to do with a property post-acquisition, and how to do it, “can really enhance your returns.” To that point, Richard Rouse, vice chairman and CIO at Lexington Realty Trust, observed that his REIT is “very aggressive” about finding properties that have expansion potential as the tenant's requirements grow over time.

To Richard Ader, founder and managing director of US Realty Advisors, the key is to focus not so much on whether the tenant might vacate the lease but rather on emphasize why the tenant would want to stay. Ader cited the 20% IRRs his company's properties frequently achieve and attributed it to the fact that the properties are places the tenants want to be in.

It's also important to look at whether the going-in basis on a potential acquisition makes economic sense, especially when a tenant is less than investment grade, said managing director Gordon Whiting of Angelo, Gordon & Co. The company's single-tenant triple-net lease platform, which Whiting founded, focuses on such higher-risk tenants, and Whiting advised careful consideration of whether a property can be quickly re-leased should the tenant go out. “At the end of the day, you need to be able to replicate that cash flow,” he said.

Panelists agreed that buying and selling opportunities alike are plentiful, in keeping with a much larger investor pool. “You're always looking at exits” when buyers are willing to pay attractive prices, McDowell said. In 2014, for example, ARCP acquired $4 billion in “granular,” non-portfolio assets but also sold $1 billion worth. This year, the company is likely to generate similar disposition volume, said McDowell.

Conference attendees also had the opportunity to hear industry experts hold forth on topics ranging from the transaction environment to the market for build-to-suits. GlobeSt.com will have more coverage from RealShare Net Lease beginning on Friday.