I want to invest in multifamily apartment buildings

[Bellman Tumasang]

For those who invest in multifamily apartment buildings was your first ever deal an apartment building big or small or did you start with a single family property?

I want to invest in multifamily apartment buildings and eventually form a real estate private equity firm to raise firms to invest with others but I’ll start with my own money to build a track record.

Should my first deal be a small apartment building such as 10+ units. Obviously I’ll start reading book, networking and doing extensive research before diving out.

Financing? Could I close in a single property LLC with no personal guarantee and a property backed loan if I avoid traditional banks and use commercial lenders? If so any examples, have you done this before?

I have some may questions I can’t even think of all of them could you please tell me your experiences when starting out like learning, networking, structuring your business entities and bank accounts, your first deal and how you financed it etc?

[Taylor L.]

I started as a passive investor in a multifamily syndication, because I knew I wanted to get into the active side of syndication. It worked out!

Whether you can get a non-recourse loan is going to largely depend on the loan size. Either way you will have to have someone who can sign on the loan and meet net worth and liquidity requirements. There's a nice summary of options here.

The best course of action is to get out and network in your local market. Meet with potential investors and partners as frequently as you can until you form solid relationships with people you can help who have similar goals. Read books on the topic so you get a good background in the whole process of closing on a deal.