5 Lessons from Legendary Syndication Investor Jeremy Roll

Legendary syndication investor Jeremy Roll and I caught up for a one on one conversation to discuss experience and 2018 real estate goals. It was an amazing opportunity to hear about Jeremy’s focus and what he’s thinking about for the year ahead. Jeremy has been an active real estate and business investor for more than 16 years. He left the corporate world in 2007 to become a full-time passive cash flow investor with more than 70 opportunities across over $500 Million worth of real estate and business assets. As Founder and President of Roll Investment Group, Jeremy manages a group of over 1,000 investors in the US and Canada who seek passive/managed cash flowing investments in real estate and businesses. Jeremy also co-founded a non-profit organization called For Investors By Investors (FIBI) in 2007 with the goal of networking with, learning from, and helping other investors. FIBI is now the largest group of public real estate investor meetings in California with over 25,000 members. Jeremy is originally from Montreal, is a licensed California Real Estate Broker (for investing purposes only), has an MBA from The Wharton School, and is an Advisor for Realty Mogul, the largest real estate crowdfunding website in the US. Without further ado, lets get to the five:

Lesson 1: As an experienced investor, Jeremy isn’t thinking about the year ahead. He’s thinking about what’s going to disrupt the real estate market in ten years and how to prepare and invest today. For example, purchasing an abandon mall today to rent to retailers or repurpose has a lot of risk because technology/robotics automation/logistics improvement/amazon could disrupt that market easily. On the other hand, if you invest in senior living or mobile home park, none of the afore mentioned disruptors can easily impact your business.

Lesson 2: As prices continue to appreciate and cap rates compress in most markets, you must be strict with your purchase criteria. Jeremy evaluates deals and will (only) invest if the valuation at the day of purchase is 100 basis points above market cap rates. Basically, find a good property and buy at a discount!

Lesson 3: Jeremy reviews a lot of deal opportunities and syndication operators regularly. As an operator, you need to spend your time preparing your investment offering material. The details and analysis in your investor deck presentation are critical. It’s an opportunity to set yourself apart from other syndicators. If you have little to no experience it’s a chance to prove yourself and share other experiences. For example, if you have a background managing properties or working for a large financial consulting firm or studied migration patterns with a PHD in mathematics. Tell your story and be 100% truth/transparent.

Lesson 4: Be detail oriented. Ensure not only that your offering material has your information but you know it and can speak to it inside and out. Be sure to have the following as a starting point: detailed property information, analysis of the property numbers, demographic/population trends, supporting rent comps, clear investment structure, financing/cap ex costs, and a business plan.

Lesson 5: Think logically about the fees you may or may not charge as an operator. If you are trying to acquire additional investors, have your fees be performance based whenever possible. For example, if you are going to charge an annual asset management fee, charge the fee based off revenue collected versus assets under management.