STARTING APARTMENT SYNDICATION

[Jordan Santiago]

Hello BP,

So to try to make it short, I am a 24 year old real estate investor located in NYC. I already own 23+ rental units but I have always always always been fascinated and interested with apartment syndication. I have always wanted to own 100+ million dollars worth of good buy value add apartment buildings.

I own a high level wholesaling operation that brings in great cash, and a couple of other businesses, but I am looking to finally start my large multifamily business. I am trying to find the best way to start it.

Should I compile and form a rolodex of passive investors first? Should I just start pulling off market lists and DTS market to get leads? Should I hire a securities attorney before any of this to form everything?

I would appreciate any guidance from anyone on first steps to get started and the best way to grow, because I hate sitting on ideas for too long

Thanks, BP!

[Christine Bellish]

Hey Jordan! Congrats on your early real estate investing success - wish I had 23 units by 24!! That is very impressive! It's great that you have this hands-on experience owning some rentals yourself, but if you haven't participated in any syndications before, I think the best way to break into the syndication space is to invest passively yourself.  A couple of reasons why: 1) you can learn from more experienced syndicators and build relationships with them (maybe they will be your future partners) 2) it will help you gain credibility with vendors (lenders, brokers, etc) 3) it will help you gain credibility with people who may invest with you passively in the future - if you've never invested passively before you can't relate to their experience, and I think this relatability is especially key when you're starting out - when you go to raise money from people for the first time it'll go a long way when you say, "Hey, I understand how you feel, the questions you are asking, and the concerns you're raising. I've been in your shoes before." Like @Josh Edwards said, finding these larger deals is challenging - the best deals are getting looked at by more experienced syndicators first, so it may be your best bet to team up with someone who's already syndicating deals - work on building rapport with them in the hopes of teaming up with them on the GP side of things one day - that's what my husband and I did!