Best place to learn MF investing?

Question

My goal is owning multi family properties. I'm in the education phase of this journey with the plan to invest in the spring. I'd like to be pointed in the right direction to learn more whether it is books, people, courses, etc. Here is a little about where I'm starting:

• I currently run a 93 unit assisted living and have been very successful in turning it around and making the leader boards in the company for $.

• I learned a lot about construction and rehab. My ex-husband was a custom home builder.

• I have an MBA

• I have $130,000 to play with.

• I've read 4 books on real estate investing and property management in the last 2 weeks.

None of this is to say I have any clue as to what I'm doing in real estate investing. I just want to give a little background in hopes of getting some guidance.

Questions:

• I'm not sure how much to hold back for Capital improvement. I know the need will vary based on the property, but some general ideas would be great.

• I'd like to jump straight into a $1.5 million apartment, but I'm thinking of doing a fourplex or a property of tiny homes and RVs. Any recommendations?

• What are your favorite real estate books, courses or people to learn from?

• Any Houston area groups worth joining?

• I think I can handle the due diligence, but I'm not sure I have the time given how fast things are selling. Is there anyone you trust to handle that part?

Thanks in advance!

David Ginn · Answer

Hi @Steffany KluttzWe are also in Houston. We have a full team. We have real estate brokers, attorneys, lenders we have, buyers, sub-to negotiators. You name it we have it in Houston, we are a full boat system. I highly recommend you to get in our meetup calls.Your First question was, how much backing for capital improvement? I'd say you want to keep at least 20% in reserves. So if you have a hundred grand, you want to at least have 20 on hand, spend the 80, but don't put it into buying and holding investments. In the Houston market it's right at the top and starting to come over and head down, so get rid of that inventory. Any asset you have, don't buy. I know you love it, multifamily living, right? I need you to stay away from that. That's not your best return on investment. Things are going to change, the market's going to collapse, as it collapses it's gonna fall and equities are going to be given back.So in your case right now in the market here are two things you can do;1. Lend and make 12% at 3.75 points or2. FLIP, and you make 30 to 40% returns over the year on your money if you're actively involved.Sounds like you got a good head on your shoulders, you've turned around the assisted living and it's now profitable, which to me seems like you'd be a great client to have. If you have more questions, let us know how we can help.We would be happy to connect with you.

Brian Pownall · Answer

My two cents below:- Favorite RE books = Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book (Fairless) and the recent release here by BiggerPockets, Multifamily Millionare.- Capex - reach out to a GC and walk through some example renovation projects to get a rough idea on $/unit. Heritage had an online tool earlier this year which was pretty neat. Heritage- Several Houston area meetups, like Kaleyn mentioned search on this site, Eventbrite, or Meetup.com- Many groups use their PM for DD who may be willing to handle it as part of managing the deal going forward.

Matt B. · Answer

Appreciate the info!

Jeffrey Donis · Answer

@Steffany Kluttz, I'm happy to hear that you're looking to get into Multifamily. It seems like you're headed in the right direction. My tips would be to look into different groups and pick one that fits your needs 1. As @Brian Pownall mentioned above, Dax over at Heritage Construction has a great tool to help with Cap Ex items during the underwriting stage. Our acquisition manager uses it to get a ballpark figure for certain repair items. See the link below. https://www.capxact.com/#/logi... 2. I'd say that with the right network and mentor, going bigger is very doable.3. I'm a member of the Think Multifamily group which is based out of Dallas, Tx. When I was first looking to get into Multifamily, I knew that investing in a mentor would significantly cut my learning curve. I did a lot of research into various groups, and found that with Think Multifamily, I could go bigger faster. They offer education, access to the members of the group who are very collaborative and helpful, and direct access to Mark Kenney himself. 4. For the DD aspect, your local PM can usually help by doing lease audits, and physical DD. Personally, we've used Heritage Construction for our Physical DD process. We usually engage a PM company during the underwriting stages to get their thoughts/feedback on the property, area, market, and financials. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, or if I can help out with anything! Best of luck!-Jeffrey

Account Closed · Answer

@Steffany Kluttz Way to go on the 93 unit you're running! My biggest piece of advice - don't start small and work your way up. Start BIG - 100+ units...learn large multifamily syndication. Shoot me a message - I have a webinar series that I found really helpful. It'll introduce the concept and probably help you pick a direction. Best of luck!

Bruce Lynn · Answer

@Steffany Kluttz Were you able to make it to Greek fest this last weekend? Awesome event, great speakers, better networking, tasty lunch and beverages.

Steffany Kluttz · Answer

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I truly appreciate your help! An update . . . I'm working directly with Steve Davis, got my CAM certification, and am reading the above books.

Bernadeau C. · Answer

@Steffany Kluttz when you start looking at potential deals, if you ever need help with underwriting a deal, let me know! let connect!

Bruce Lynn · Answer

@Steffany Kluttz Check out the Disrupt Equity Meetup in Houston. I think they meet once of month. Some of their leaders like Ben Suttles and Feras Moussa and his brother Tarak are probably here on BP. You've also got a monthly meetup normally with Robert Martinez at Rockstar Capital. Just attended a full day training with Steve Davis at Total Wealth Academy. This is called Wealth Mastery Workshop. Probably the best class I've ever attended....more mindset than execution, but great mix of both. They're based out of Houston, so you are lucky you have some great resources right in your own back yard....some of the BEST resources.Don't do tiny homes. Sexy yes, but difficult to finance, difficult to resale, difficult to find a place to put them likely.If you want to get into bigger multifamily I would attend one of the syndication courses...lots of good resources there. Normally a 2-3 day conference will give you a good basis to decide if you want to invest and some knowledge of what to look for....these are Brad Sumrok, Rod Khaleif, Michael Blank, Joe Fairless Best Ever, and there are probably a few others. All these are fairly well know and reasonable in cost to give you an introduction. There is also MFM coming up in Houston in February....different than these 4 above, but perhaps still valuable.

Brian Garlington · Answer

Right here............do a google search and put in Biggerpockets MF investing You will see the links you need.