Why buy SFRs or small Multis if Syndications have more upside?

[Johnny Lau]

I was wondering why an investor would continue buying houses and small apartments, building up their portfolio to dozens of doors or more. They keep brrrr-ing and brrr-ing and then get to 10 loans, then I guess they get private money or portfolio loans to continue acquiring more doors. At that point, they are probably an accredited investor and can buy into syndications which give very favorable returns. The General Partners do all the work and the Limited Partner goes for the ride and gets good cash flow and shares in the profits while being totally passive. The syndicators have the track record (easy to check with a little research) and do all the work,  vetting properties, etc. 

So, why buy SFRs and small multis when you can just buy into syndications and kick back and let the pros do all the heavy lifting? After acquiring 10+ doors, instead of adding more doors, why not instead of buying 10 more doors, buy into 10 different syndications? I've done some research and partnering with the pros just seems like a better choice. I've just started investing into them and am looking to scale. What would you do?

[Mike Dymski]

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. These opportunities carry a lot more execution and market risk than advertised; hence, the high returns.

I invest both actively and passively and they both have their pros and cons. This question is more nuanced than just an investor's goals and control preferences.  It's about the properties...and the operators...there are good, average, and bad ones for both.  And about the commercial real estate market.