Success in "smaller" unit count multifamily?

[Alain Perez-Majul]

Hey guys!!

Would love to hear opinions on this topic from those with experience in multifamily investments. As I've spoken to many investors in regards to the size of multifamily one should pursue, I keep running into the following sentiment, from both smaller individual investors to larger syndicators alike: it is not worth it to pursue multifamily investments under [let's call it] 75-ish units that allow you to make sense of on-site property management and other economies of scale. 

Of course, this generalizes to a large degree, as well as takes a subjective stance as to what "success" is, and also makes assumptions regarding investors' personal preferences on how they want to run their investment, what they're willing to tolerate, and what they're looking to accomplish. Assuming the aim is to not self-manage as an owner and have third party management in place and be as "passive" as possible, how realistic is it to be in the 20, 30, 40, 50ish unit range without investing yourself into a job or a headache? It would be ludicrous to think that it is impossible to do well in the space of smaller-unit-count apartments, but does it require significantly more hassle than if you simply went "big" from the get-go? From conversations with large experienced syndicators who started "small" and progressed the multiple-hundred-unit apartments, to individual investors that currently own on the smaller end, it has been my experience that they say it's not worth it to start "small."

To be clear, I'm not saying what I've heard is always the case- I'm just curious given that it's a sticking point that has repeated itself many times over when talking to experience investors and I'm looking to hear from those who manage/have managed smaller or larger multifamily and can speak from personal experience to the validity of such a view.

Would love to hear thoughts, push-back, personal experiences, etc! :)

Cheers