Recommendations for an Apartment Syndication Mentorship Program

[Jaren Barnes]

I've been looking closely at the Think Multifamily group with Mark Kenney, and though I fully see the value there (I think Mark is a great guy), $35,000 for a buy-in (plus a $10,000 yearly fee) is a lot to swallow.

Are there any solid, less well-known groups, with a ton of value for around the $10,000 mark?

[Abel Curiel]

Originally posted by @Jaren Barnes:

I've been looking closely at the Think Multifamily group with Mark Kenney, and though I fully see the value there (I think Mark is a great guy), $35,000 for a buy-in (plus a $10,000 yearly fee) is a lot to swallow.

Are there any solid, less well-known groups, with a ton of value for around the $10,000 mark?

Hello Jaren,

I'm not too familiar with the price points for various mentorship programs but with something like this I'd like to assume "you get what you pay for".

That being said, I know a few folks who have have tons of success after joining these programs. One person that comes to mind is Chris Salerno. You can find him right here on BP. 

[Bryan Hancock]

Find a syndicator in Chicago and figure out how you can provide value for this person.  Offer to help scour for investors and provide the leads for free to this person in trade for listening to the conversations for anyone you find.  Offer to do the grunt work they don't want to do.  You'll learn 10X as much doing this than you will doing any bootcamp.  

Joel Block's Dealmaking Symposium is a much better value than what you have above IMO even though it isn't specifically aimed at apartment.  If you learn to raise and organize capital well you can fill in the formalities of the syndication a lot easier by working with experienced syndicators in your chosen product type and offering them value in trade for knowledge.  Hustle and make it happen.  

ULI and the CCIM networks are good places to hang out at locally to find folks.  There are likely local apartment meetups too that you should work to find through networking.  John Dessauer used to have a local apartment splitting strategy that you may consider looking into that apparently works well in Chicago to transform multifamily units into 4-plexes that make use of FNMA financing to bump pricing during resale.  

[Jaren Barnes]

@Bryan Hancock thanks man, this is gold!

[Taylor L.]

You get out of any program what you put into it. I have not done Mark's program but I did invest in two of his properties in the past. If you're looking for a lower price point, I think Jonathan Twombly's program is quite a bit lower of a price point. I'm in Joe Fairless's coaching program. As his students we get a lot of access to Joe, which is not the case with many other programs. I don't know where the price point is right now, but it's not cheap.

@Bryan Hancock's concept is a great way to hack the system. You'll have to put in a lot of work either way, but his method will require fewer dollars out of your pocket up front.

[Bryan Hancock]

Think about a "guru" program for a moment and how it is from the person who is the star:

-Even if they're well-meaning.  There are only 168 hours in a week to spread among N people wishing to access their time

-Their "helpers" are generally not as sophisticated or experienced.  Those who are suffer from the same problem as the first bullet

-Any sort of residual effort invested in "old" clients offers little value to the person who is the guru unless you can deliver ongoing value.  This generally manifests and some cleverly-guised form of unlicensed broker-dealer activities or something that would require a securities registration and the inherent oversight

If you simply skip all of their filtration system and frame set up to turn you into a robot for their system by approaching those in the real world investing more time doing deals than pyramiding unlicensed broker-dealer systems you'll find better and more sophisticated syndicators.  They're not very hard to find if your approach is one where you offer tangible value net of the risks they take associating with you.  Start small, offer value, listen more than you speak, and work your way up; slowly.  Syndicators value:

-Their time - It is very limited so don't waste it

-GREAT deal flow.  If you can find great projects and actually underwrite them properly you can allow them to leverage their time more

-Tangible value in a project PLUS investor introductions so as not to run afoul of the securities laws.  Being able to work investor leads properly and not stain their business with unreasonable expectations offered to investors

Think about what you can provide/give 100X for what you receive and you're off to a good start.  

[Ivan Barratt]

@Jaren Barnes recommend attending a couple/few weekend bootcamps first. Read books by the guys putting them on. From there I think you're gut will lead you in a better direction.  Check out Rod Khleif, Joe Fairless and Michael Blank. They're all at the top of the food chain and also doing lots of there own deals.

REMEMBER: For every one teacher there's 999 peeps you shouldn't give a dime! :)

[Jaren Barnes]

@Ivan Barratt Thanks man! They're all on my radar - out of the ones you mentioned, Joe is probably the guy I resonate with most, I LOVE his book on Syndications, was one of the best resources I've found. 

We recently had him on the REtipster podcast: https://retipster.com/056-joe-fairless/

I'm going to the Best Ever Conference in February... but his mentorship program is $50,000 lol 

[Roni E.]

Originally posted by @Jaren Barnes:

I've been looking closely at the Think Multifamily group with Mark Kenney, and though I fully see the value there (I think Mark is a great guy), $35,000 for a buy-in (plus a $10,000 yearly fee) is a lot to swallow.

Are there any solid, less well-known groups, with a ton of value for around the $10,000 mark?

I would learn from folks like Joe Fairless, Michael Blank, Jake & Gino, and the Brad Sumrok. I would focus on trying to make connections in the area you want to invest and trying to do some Joint Venture. I understand that these folks have a value and assist. I would just see what other ways could you achieve what you want and use that money as capital to invest into a deal. 

[Account Closed]

@Abel Curiel Hey Abel! Thought I may be able to help if you ever need feedback from someone in one of the higher-end Masterminds. I'm a member of Mark Kenney's group - just wanted to clarify that it's $35K but then your 2nd year renewal drops down to $10K. And you're right- it's not pocket change...and you'd want to be at a place where you're ready to dive in when you do commit at that level.  We were close to having our first large multifamily under contract and knew that we couldn't do it without the right mentor which is why it made sense for us to jump in. Good luck in your search- congrats on starting the journey! If I can be of ever be of any help please reach out. Cheers! 

[Jaren Barnes]

@Taylor L. Man I have no idea how Missed this. I’ll check Jonathan out!

[Nathaniel Green]

@Jaren Barnes How has your search gone so far? I’m apart of a group on the Chicagoland area and it’s been excellent for me. I’ve been able to master real estate. In the midst of doing a seller financed deal with a carry back mortgage. Would’ve never learned that anywhere else. Would love to invite you down. Hate to see people being taken advantage of by gurus.

[Jaren Barnes]

@Nathaniel Green once I'm back in Chicago we should connect! I live in NW Indiana. 

After speaking to a lot of people I'm connecting with on LinkedIn (by the way, if you want to connect with me there 👉https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarenb/) I came to the conclusion, that I'm probably not going to pursue a high-level coaching program after all. 

I'm going to learn how to analyze deals.

I'm going to then find a deal. 

Then I'm going to bring it to someone much more experienced and give them enough equity to justify them taking lead on the project and bringing me along so I can learn the process. 

I plan just to start networking by going to conferences and being active on LinkedIn.