In your opinion, what is important for clients with syndication

[William Costello]

In your opinion, what do you think the most important thing clients look for when looking at the syndication route when investing in multifamily? 

[Paul Shannon]

As an active investor who also invests passively, I like to find someone who's invested with the sponsor already and ask them about their experience.  Making sure they follow-through with what they say they will - do they pay distributions on time, K-1s in a timely manner, good communication, what type of deals have they done, have they taken any deals full cycle, have they been through economic cycles, are they investing in their own deals, what was their background before real estate (did they manage a P&L), do their fees align with the performance of the asset, background check, etc.  Let's face it, passive investing in syndications has unique risks for the LP.

The sponsor is the most important factor.  Closely followed by the deal.  The deal has to align with my modeling, but even a good deal can be blown up by a bad sponsor.