Real Estate Syndicate Fund

[Bryan Stevens]

Hello,

Newbie to this forum. 

I own rental properties. My friend (who also owns rental properties) and I are thinking about starting a real estate syndicate fund and I'm reaching out to the community for some basic pointers. I searched this forum and found some details. I'm listing our backgrounds and our questions below. I would really appreciate any helpful pointers from the community. 

Backgrounds: I have a strong business background (raised my own fund in the lower mid-market PE space, wrote my own PPM for business acquisition, business background with top tier MBA, sales outreach experience for dealflow, etc). My friend has a strong real estate background (owns multiple rental units, experience with tenant management, rental unit management, hiring property managers, etc). 

Questions

1. Do syndicate investors expect the managers (my friend and I in this case) do this full time or are investors open to it if we hold a job on the side?
2. Many syndicate funds seem to be commercial properties (class A/B/C) but we have no prior experience with commercial properties (residential or office space). Will this be a hurdle for us?
3. What is the typical preferred return for a new fund? I understand that the typical range is between 8%-12% but is it more realistic to offer at the higher end to attract investors as a new fund?
4. Similar question as above for the carry. Is it market now to offer 50%-50% or is it more realistic for us to offer a 60-40 or 75-25 as a brand new syndicate?
5. Do syndicate funds typically find deals through brokers or avenues like loopNet or do they seek off-market deals?
6. Tied to the above question - I'm guessing a unique deal flow is the biggest secret sauce/UVP (unique value proposition) for a syndicate fund based on my experience in the PE business acquisition space. Is this the case? There seems to be so much dry powder sitting on the sidelines that sourcing capital may not be a challenge here but finding a good deal is the actual challenge.
7. Not looking for any secret sauce but are there good general pointers out there for deal flow strategies?
8. Any book or resource that we can follow with good step by step pointers (looked but could not find any)?
9. Any references for a good syndication attorney?