Steps to acquiring our first multi-family/larger commercial site?

[Diego Briceno]

Hi all - my wife and I currently have 7 doors. Mix of condos, townhome, and a duplex. We have also completed with a partner at least 3 flips. In the process of putting together a website to better advertise ourselves and our experiences, ideals and goals. 

We would like to try and get a larger apartment building as our next investment. We have found a few that peak our interest but we aren't sure if we should first aim small - like a 6unit, or if we should push harder for something like a 32 unit in my wife's hometown. We have at least $100K available in cash right now as well.

What are some first steps we should be doing to reach this goal? Looking for partners or syndicators to help with initial down-payments? 

When owning larger buildings with more units, what are the biggest things we need to keep in mind/expect ahead of time? 

Lastly, what's the time frame for these larger deals to happen, once financials are organized, from offer to ownership?

Thank you!

[Erik W.]

How much money are you needing?  If $100,000 - $250,000, stick with friends, family and acquaintances. If more, then consider filing with SEC to have the ability to advertise to accredited investors with whom you do not already have a relationship.

I was looking into this about a year ago, and what I found is the big boys who look for these kinds of opportunities aren't interested in anything under $3 million.  So start thinking about the scope of what it is you want to do and see what sorts of people might have that kind of cash to invest.

Also, you want to limit your number of investors so you don't have to try to communicate with 50-100 people, each of whom has a $5,000 - $10,000 slice of a massive pie.  That means you need people who can put up a sizeable chunk of money, and considering that will only be a portion of their available cash, my guess is you're needing people who have a investible assets of $1 million or more.  That is your target market for finding money.  Such a person might consider making a $50,000, well-secured investment with a first timer, which means you'd only need 10 people like that to collect a $500,000 down payment that allows you to hit the $2.5-$3 M deal mark.