Getting into Multifamily Investing - Buyer's Agents and General Tips

[Sam Freed]

Hey Everyone,

I've done a fair amount of research in books and going to seminars and have decided that I want to get into multifamily investing, of apartment complexes likely in the 8-24 unit range. There are several great deals that I have found on places like LoopNet. I am located in Austin TX but likely going to invest in someplace else with a lot higher cap rates than we have here.

My two questions that I would love your input on are as follows:

1. I've purchased my house and found it useful to have a buyer's agent. Presumably there are commercial buyer's agents as well, right? If I don't necessarily know which part of the country I want to purchase a property in yet, how do I go about finding a solid buyer's agent to help shepherd me through the process of submitting an offer, negotiations, due diligence, ensuring good property mgmt is in place, etc? Are there commercial buyer's that operate at a National Level? 

2. For people who have been there/ done that, how did you get started in multifamily? Did you have someone to bounce questions off of, lead you through the process? Or did you just figure things out after having some experience in smaller residential properties? 

Bottom line, I'm excited about getting into this, determined to make it happen, and know that it would be very valuable to have people more senior to help me through this.

Thanks!

Sam