Help Me Get Started with Commercial REI

[Kristin McPherson]

Hi! My husband and I have a couple of flips under our belt and own one LTR, but we have the opportunity to purchase a big block of duplexes, and I'm not sure where to even begin getting financing for such a large deal. I'm speaking with my agent this afternoon and have an inquiry in to my lender, but I thought I would check here for advice, too. 

There are 9 duplexes/18 doors total.  14 of them are 2/2, 100% occupied, bringing in $1200 monthly each. 4 are 2/1 getting $1000, also completely occupied.  They are 1-4 years old so in great condition. My agent did get the financials from the seller's agent, but I'm running all the numbers I can but feel like a novice when it comes to a transaction this big. Cap rate is 6.5%. 

Current owner uses a PM @ 10%. We wouldn't mind managing them ourselves but don't want to make expensive rookie errors, so I may leave PM in place unless seller is having trouble with them. That's something on my radar to get agent to check on. We live locally though so could manage them whereas if seller is elsewhere, they wouldn't have been able to. 

I don't have the funds for the down payment, so I'm thinking I'll have to find a hard money lender for that. I do have a bit of it from a flip we closed on last month, and I'm not sure whether that money needs more time to cure before I can utilize it for this type of transaction. 

What are your favorite lenders?

All advice is welcome! What do I need to think about? 

[Mark Langdon]

Better to find 1 apartment building vs. all of the duplex's with a property manager. You can get lending much easier on an apartment building as long as its occupied and cash flows.