Real estate syndications

[Matthew Edmondson]

I've listened to a few podcast episodes on syndications but am curious if anyone has any recommendations for good resources for learning more of seeing available syndications. I know there's passive pockets here but I'm not sure it's worth it?

[Jonathan Greene]

Read The Hands-Off Investor by Brian Burke to learn about what to look for when you start to invest. For resources about available syndications, podcasts are a good way to hear the operators talk about their company and mission. There is no portal like Zillow for syndication opportunities.

[Chris Seveney]

Quote from @Matthew Edmondson:

I've listened to a few podcast episodes on syndications but am curious if anyone has any recommendations for good resources for learning more of seeing available syndications. I know there's passive pockets here but I'm not sure it's worth it?

 First determine what type of syndication you want to invest in. Do you understand that asset class and market? Every aspect of real estate is syndicated from ATM machines, farms, to multifamily to debt funds. 

While I read reviews, I typically use it to remove those that I would not invest in, meaning does the sponsor have a bad reputation. There was a post the other day someone posted about and invested in and the sponsor had a very shady past which should have been an immediate red flag. 

Also you need to understand your risk return profile. Are you willing to lose it all for a 20% return or take lower risk for an 8-12% return (but always have risk of losing it all). 

Lastly you want to ask lots of questions. There is passive pockets, there is Aleksey C. on linkedin and others who talk  more about syndications as well. 

Take your time and evaluate and do a lot of due diligence. 

[Evan Polaski]

@Matthew Edmondson, the power of google key word searches.  

There are a few things about syndications that I would consider.  First, as Jonathan noted, the Hands off investor is a great resource to start thinking about what you are getting into and the basic diligence that is needed.

You noted Passive Pockets. I do think it is worth it, but I am not sure how much it has changed since it was Left Field Investors.  The forums have some information, but the bigger value is in their various member meetups, since it seems the forums are not "super" active with sponsor conversations.  

Listening to podcasts: this is the primary avenue that you see a lot of sponsors getting their name out there, even if they can't market their offerings.  There are all sorts of podcasts out there, and many of the guests/hosts run their own syndications.  The people appear as guests and will tell their story, then you google that person and you find they are partner in XYZ syndication.

Linkedin: Look for anyone that has a headline of "I help business professionals create passive income through real estate".

This will get you a lot of sponsors and/or capital raisers for other sponsors.  While you will likely discover some good ones, in my experience you will find people more invested in marketing and gathering fees from your investment then mastering real estate operations. 

But a vast majority do not market at all.  They focus on operations, and if they have 15+ yr track records, they have all the investors they need when they find good deals.  For these, you have to talk to your friends and family.  You can look at who owns properties of interest in your market through google searches.  Who is developing properties around you.

[Ian Ippolito]

Quote from @Matthew Edmondson:

I've listened to a few podcast episodes on syndications but am curious if anyone has any recommendations for good resources for learning more of seeing available syndications. I know there's passive pockets here but I'm not sure it's worth it?

 Matthew, there are lots of good way to learn about syndications (and CrowdFunding...which are syndications that can be marketed over the internet).

This is the book I wish I'd read when I started...and I think it should be required reading for every beginner and pro.

It's called "Investing in Real Estate Private Equity: An Insider’s Guide to Real Estate Partnerships, Funds, Joint Ventures & Crowdfunding". And it's written under the pseudonym of Sean Cook by Paul Kaseburg.

Paul’s sat on both sides of the table on over $2 billion of real estate deals. And in my opinion, his book covers everything a newbie needs to understand: from asset selection, to evaluating sponsors, to capital structures. For pros, he challenges conventional wisdom and explodes sacred cows by exposing hidden conflicts of interests and mis-alignments that many in the industry won’t admit to.

And I feel this book took my personal due diligence (and how I look at syndication deals) to the next level.

[Matthew Edmondson]

Really appreciate all the info here! Thank you all!!

[Eric Gerakos]

Matthew, if you’re considering investing in syndications, just be sure you really understand the risk involved. You will find many recent posts from investors who have lost all of their syndication investment, and then talk about bringing legal action against the syndicator. This is because they didn’t understand that the paperwork they signed, but didn’t read stated that there was the very real possibility of losing their entire investment. Like every investment, just be sure you understand the level of risk.

[Todd Dexheimer]

Get to know the sponsors first. I am a sponsor and many others are on BP as well. A lot of us are on podcasts (many of us have their own) and most have LinkedIn presence. You can certainly look on the crowdfunding sites and sites like Passive Pockets. The key is to not trust those sites as gospel. Do your own research!

[Ian Ippolito]

Quote from @Matthew Edmondson:

I've listened to a few podcast episodes on syndications but am curious if anyone has any recommendations for good resources for learning more of seeing available syndications. I know there's passive pockets here but I'm not sure it's worth it?

 Matthew, if you are an accredited investor, there are literally thousands of syndications and crowdfunding deals (which are essentially syndications that are allowed to market over the Internet) available. A good way for a newbie to understand the variety is to visit a website like Crowd Street, ShareSFR, FinResi etc.