Ambitions to Invest / Syndicate

[Trevor Woodlief]

Hello BP Patrons,

This is my first post on BiggerPockets; which might lead one to think I lack the motivation to be a better businessman.  I swear to you that's not the case.  Although I might be the last person to arrive at the party, I'm bringing the goods.  By "the goods," I mean THE PASSION.

I'm 34 and I love real estate.  I love looking at financials and performing due diligence.  I changed majors twice in college in pursuit of something I enjoyed.  Finally, I landed a professor in real estate finance that got me all fired up.  We were studying cash flow analysis and the time value of money and it just clicked.  I said, "This is me.  So me."

I got my real estate license immediately that semester and took an internship with a local Century 21 commercial division.  This was 2009 and I don't think I need to explain to this crowd what the state of affairs was. Deals for "the new guy" were few and far between.  I stubbornly ignored the naysayers and just tried to learn.

After about a year I had a stroke of luck and snagged a nice 10 property (500 unit) Project-Based Section 8 (HAP) portfolio listing from one of the brokers with the firm.  He was the GP of the properties and I think he was throwing me a bone.  I had worked really hard to build relationships during that first year.

This was my opportunity.  I cold-called every day for months just asking people if they were interested in Section 8.  Meanwhile, I had to learn all about Section 8, so I studied - a lot.  Those of you that know Section 8 know that it is a unique niche due to the complexities of compliance with the government.  Not hard, just different.  Low and behold, I was able to find a buyer for most of the portfolio about a year and a half into learning the lingo.

Fast forward 10 years. The part of the portfolio that didn't sell, I now property-manage along with some other Class-C affordable housing I've picked up along the way.  I built my entire real estate career on cold-calling on multifamily properties to sell, as a broker, to buyers that I have grown close with all over the country.  I've done quite a few transactions in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

I've reached a point now where I don't want to get left behind in this world and want to become an investor/syndicator who's not afraid to put skin in the game; at least initially.  I am confident in my ability and want to use my experiences as a broker and property manager to raise capital within my network to buy and sell multifamily properties.

All that said, I'm here for recommendations on books, podcasts, papers, and case studies that will help me to become a multifamily property syndicator.  I'm currently studying Reg D and other SEC regs.  I know multifamily pretty well as a manager and a broker but I desire to take the leap of faith to investor/syndicator.  

Any motivation or resources is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Trevor W.

Broker/Manager

Columbia, South Carolina

[Evan Loader]

Be careful when you say 'skin in the game' regarding a syndication. Maybe I am just very cautious but when I hear those words in a syndication presentation my 'careful' radar immediately goes up. If a sponsor is putting his own money in the deal, great. But if he puts it in the deal only to window dress or legitimize his otherwise mediocre deal, that makes me very suspicious. If they have skin in the game ensure there is language in the PPM that keeps that 'skin in the game' there until a refi occurs, or that the PPM does not contain language to allow the sponsor to pull his money out as soon as the deal closes before LPs can. If and when I see a maneuver like that, I move on.