Partnering with passive investors

[Talal El Danaf]

Hello, I am a real estate investor in Buffalo, NY that currently own 5 rental units and looking to expand my portfolio. I have 13 years experience in residential construction and currently working for an engineering firm dealing with large multi-family buildings. Because my knowledge and experience in construction and real estate I’m always approached by passive investors to partner up to buy and manage income generating real estate. I am just unsure what are the best ways of partnering with others. Do you recommend doing it on a deal by deal basis through a limited partnership, creating a real estate fund or if there’s any other simpler ways of structuring that kind of partnership? I would like to turn this into a business where I can attract investors and potentially charge 2% on their initial investment and 20% on profits, similar to what a typical real estate fund would charge. I’m just trying to start up with minimal cost and legal complexity. Any recommendations are much appreciated.