Syndication, How Did You Begin?

Question

If there is one thing I have learned from the Bigger Pockets Real Estate Podcast, it is that you must focus on what you are good at and stop spreading yourself thin. I like and am good at building personal connections with others. I am quick to earn someone's trust and are good at communicating ideas affectively. It seems like syndicating is something I would enjoy and hopefully be good at. I do not have any sales experience and asking someone for money is a little daunting but at some point you have to take action.

So, how did you start syndicating and what sort of mistakes and or good decisions did you make in the process?

Alina Trigub · Answer

@Jacob Frison

I started as an equity partner in someone else's syndications. This helped learn the process from the investor's perspective and get paid simultaneously.

My recommendation is to start by

1) reading books: "its a whole new business" and "best ever syndication book"

2) listen to podcasts "Best ever syndication show" by Joe Fearless and "Syndication" podcast by @Whitney Sewell

3) Network, network, network

Surround yourself with like-minded investors and learn from them. Pick a skill within syndication business that you think will suit you best and excel in it. Based on what you said, it sounds like you'd enjoy working with investors. So look into that.

Best of luck!

Ivan Barratt · Answer

Started house hacking a duplex. 2010 I Founded a property management company while doing small deals mostly on my own or with private debt. A few years later I started syndicating projects. Today we have 80 FTE's and nearly 300m in AUM (220m+ via my own syndications). There's a lot more to the story but I want to drive home the point that there are no shortcuts. Start small, make small mistakes (big mistakes on big deals will kill you) and fail forward. Rinse and repeat. All the best!

Taylor L. · Answer

I started by hiring a coach and passively investing to learn the process. The biggest thing early on is to shift your mindset. You're not asking anyone for money. You're offering them an opportunity to grow their money. They're only shorting themselves if they don't take it. You need to know that at the deepest part of your soul.

My biggest mistakes are all related to waiting to take action. I wasn't much more prepared by waiting, and I learned so much more by doing than by studying. That said, you're not going to go from zero to a billion dollar portfolio overnight. Daily actions and improvements. Start building your email list. Keep building relationships with more and more people and build systems so you can maintain those relationships at scale.

You can start with Syndication School by Joe Fairless, any of the various syndication books and podcasts out there, and by networking. Your other post says you're from the Portland area, look up syndicators who are based in Portland and go take them to coffee!

Emily Houser · Answer

Hey @Jacob Frison!

It looks like we are both from the Portland, OR area.  My husband, Josh and I would love to meet up with you sometime! Always fun to meet other like-minded people in our area interested in the world of apartment investing!  We have been investing in and syndicating larger 100+ unit apartment complexes for about 2 years now.  We have previous experience with single family rentals and we own a few single family rentals, a 4-plex and one smaller 20 unit apartment complex here in Oregon.  We wanted to grow our business faster, so in 2017 we found a group based out of Dallas, TX called Think Multifamily.  We joined their group and since then have been able to participate in 8 deals (3 passively and 5 on the GP side helping with several aspects of the syndication)!  Definitely sped up our business success in a big way!! It's been a great experience and we'd be happy to share with you if you are interested.  Mark and @Tamiel Kenney are the founders of Think Multifamily and their 1:1 mentorship has been the key to growing our multifamily portfolio.  They attract awesome people into their group as well, and we've gotten to know so many people in the group and do deals with them as well!  To be able to leverage the experience of Think Multifamily and learn from their successes and mistakes has been awesome.  I would definitely recommend finding a mentor if you are interested in being a part of apartment syndication.

If you would have any interest in meeting up sometime in Portland, we would love that!  We can share our experiences and hear about your experiences and goals in real estate :)

We are heading to Dallas again in less than 2 weeks for the Think Multifamily FIRE Summit.  It's coming up quickly (September 7th-8th), but might be something you'd want to check out!  There are codes available for discounted tickets too.

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Portland weather!Emily

Jacob Frison · Answer

Actionable steps are something I need to do more of. I do small ones every day like analyze deals and seek more knowledge. But none of my steps really take me anywhere. I get I won't blow up over night and that this is a long process that takes a lot of work. But I feel like the little things I do have become procrastination to the big stuff.

I will never stop learning and I took down all the books and podcasts you all recommended and will take them to heart but while doing so I need to get out there and build my network like you all suggested. I found some local meet-ups that encompass Oregon and Washington and found an investor who will let me give him my pitch over some coffee @Taylor L.

Thank you all for taking the time to hand out advice like this. It is very helpful and means a lot.

Suzanne Player · Answer

Jacob I just saw this post from last year & was wondering if you are still looking to do a syndication - or already did, & how it's going.  (Covid 19 has certainly slowed down everyone's plans.)

Account Closed · Answer

I am new, and these old forum dialogues are just as valuable as new ones. Thank you everyone for your answers!

Syndication, How Did You Begin?

Most Popular Reply