By Kenneth J. Abner | I am often asked to help conceptualize deal structures for real estate projects that bring together the expertise of a developer with the capital of investors. Over the last 22 years, I have seen it from all sides – not merely as an attorney. I have been a real estate developer and I have also invested money in the real estate deals of others. Real estate deals can be as complex as someone is willing to make them. And I intend to explore some of those complexities in subsequent articles. Here, I want to lay the foundation for what a typical economic ownership structure looks like. An economic structure must address a couple of fundamental issues: (1) when and how much cash will each or the parties receive and (2) does the anticipated cash flow supply all parties with an acceptable return.