A breakdown on building a portfolio

[Keisha D Dobney-Boykin]

Hey everyone, my ultimate goal is to own apartments. I keep hearing that folks go to the bank with a "portfolio".

My current plan is to buy and hold small multi- family homes for the next two years before looking for larger units. This seems like a logic plan ... to me.

So my question: Is there any combination of properties to be seen as "experienced" in the eyes of creditors when the time comes to get larger properties?

[Todd Dexheimer]

If you chose to start small, I would work your way up to larger properties as quickly as possible. You could buy a few duplexes and then buy a 10 unit, then 20, then 40, then 60 and so on. Having 20 duplexes won't give you much more experience in the eyes of a lender than having 3 duplexes and certainly you would look better if you owned a few 10-40 unit properties.