New Accredited RE Investor Advice/Info

[David VanWert]

Hello all, 

New to BP and REI in general and I am hoping to find some good resources and info so I can hopefully begin passive investing in apartments. Based on some initial research I think passively investing in a syndication opportunity or two is the direction I would like to go. I would be considered an accredited investor located in Los Angeles, I would think I would be looking for opportunities OOS just due to the cost of apartment buildings in California but open to options.

My question is how do I go about finding these types of opportunities and vetting previous performance of similar investments so I can see real numbers of say what investments of 100k, 200k, 300k etc... generated over the term of the deal? 

I was also looking at options like RealtyMogul or similar, how do these crowdfunding sites differ from a "standard" syndication deal? 

I'm sure many of these questions are pretty typical of a new investor but much of the information I can find about syndication are toward the GP and not the LP. Any information, tips, or resources so I can better educate myself about the process, previous returns on deals, how to find sponsors, etc... would be greatly appreciated so that I can educated myself better before making my first investment.

Thanks in advance!!

[Brian Burke]

@David VanWert for what it's worth I agree that there are better ways than crowdfunding.  The idea of point-and-click investing doesn't strike me as the best approach.  Not to mention that whenever there is a middleman there is a cost.  You can invest directly with syndicators and bypass the crowdfunding platforms--the trick is not only finding them but finding the best ones.  

You are on the right track--talking with them, asking the tough questions, and even visiting their offices goes a long way toward doing your due diligence.  I and also agree that you need someone that has been through cycles.  But not just that, they need to have a very strong team.  One that knows the ropes and can navigate through the challenges presented by an adverse market cycle.

And yes there are millions of posts on BP to sort through to get a jumpstart on your syndication investing education.  I'll do some of that work for you.  Here are a few threads you should check out.  I'm sure you'll find each of them interesting for their own reason.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/58...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/52...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/61...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/21...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/42...

Good luck!