New to investing. Commercial midsize multi family

[Justin Lewis]

I've always been the most interested in commercial midsize multifamily investing. Want to get into the game in the very near future. Is it possible to start with small to midsize commercial multifamily properties? Pros cons, if it is even possible at all? Recommendations? Thanks!

[Douglass Benson]

Originally posted by @Justin Lewis:

I've always been the most interested in commercial midsize multifamily investing. Want to get into the game in the very near future. Is it possible to start with small to midsize commercial multifamily properties? Pros cons, if it is even possible at all? Recommendations? Thanks!

We are probably typical.  We purchased a four unit, like the business, liked the promise of a larger unit so two years later we purchased a 16 unit.  That was 10 years ago and we are at 81 units now.  

You can start at mid-size but you might run into finance issues as your lenders might not be comfortable if you don't have experience in the business.  If you run a duplex, tri or quad for a year or two you can show off your chops and comfort the lender.  At least that is what worked best for us.  Once we reached 32 units, we were viewed as savvy multi-family operators.   We financed two deals last year and had banks calling us to give us loans!