All Forum Posts by: Asa Hunt

Welcome, Obed. I've been pursuing MF real estate for the past several months and here are the 3 "easiest" ways in to becoming an apartment investor. The best route depends on what you want to do in this field.

1. Investing passively in an apartment deal (syndication) as a limited partner. You find an operator you trust with a good track record, educate yourself enough to vet them and their deal, and trust them with the most common minimum investment amount: $50K. You can generally "expect" 70-110% return on your money over a 5 year period with quarterly cash distributions of 6-10%-ish. You can be an "active" passive and learn a lot about the process this way.

2. Learn to analyze (underwrite) apartment deals and submit them to Michael Blank's Deal Desk program. If you can find an apartment that meets his criteria, he'll raise the money for the deal, cut you a solid finder's fee check, and possibly keep you on the GP side to continue learning. If I could rewind time, I would go this route. 
http://www.themichaelblank.com/partner/

3. Raise money for other people's deals. This has to be done carefully, but I know of one such group that raises money exclusively and through them you can join the GP side of an apartment deal and make some money too. Their business is structured in a way that complies with the legal requirements to avoid brokering securities without a license.

You can message me for more information if you'd like. Apartments all the way!

But to answer your question, if you want to get in to apartment syndications, this book is a great one stop shop for education:
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Ever-Apartment-Syndication-Book/dp/0997454326/ref=asc_df_0997454326/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312025907421&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9727541632607955792&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026941&hvtargid=pla-598854978364&psc=1

@Jonathan Twombly

"Over the long run the world’s most successful investors are successful because they focus on minimizing downside risks rather than maximizing upside gains. "

This can't be repeated enough in the MF business! Well said.

Hey folks, I'm looking to host a multifamily meetup around Dallas, but I'm having trouble finding a place that will do it for free. It's a tall ask, but does anyone have any location ideas that are free?

Hey Cory, welcome to the area! I relocated here from Illinois and I haven't looked back. I'm getting involved in the multifamily space here myself. I'm especially interested in new development, so it would be great to connect.

Great write up, Omar. This is a great case study to highlight how important developing your network ahead of time is. I'm inspired to get to work!

It sounds like being an apartment investor would be a natural step up and compliment your single-family experience.  I've known several people who have quit their jobs and bought apartments full time. With a "small apartment" purchase between 60-100 units, you can afford a property management company to manage it full time, make a $60k-$120k fee up front for purchasing the property, have residual monthly income, and bank on a larger windfall in 3-6 years when you sell the property. Raising the money for a deal like that will require some work, for sure. Look up "apartment syndications" or purchase the book, "Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book" by Joe Fairless to learn more about this.

Hey bud, there are a few schools of thought on getting started.

1. Invest passively in someone else's deal to learn about the process. Usually a $50K+ minimum. 

2. Hire a mentor and go bigger, faster. They generally make themselves available 24/7, have training programs, help you with their connections, help you meet the loan requirements (10% of total loan in liquidity, networth equal to the value of the loan), and do their best to make sure you avoid costly mistakes. Programs I've seen are $25k - $30k. Some mentors are Joe Fairless, Mark Kenney, Rod Khleif, Michael Blank, and Brad Sumrok. I know tons of people who have been really successful hiring a mentor and started with 70+ unit properties. 

3. Help established operators raise capital in exchange for a spot in the general partnership of a deal or a small referral fee. Learn how to raise capital and the ins and outs of putting a deal together. 

4. Cut your teeth on smaller properties, 5-20 units, joint venture with a few people to purchase and operate something you can afford together. 

At any rate, if you're interested in apartments, I'd highly recommend "The Best Apartment Syndication Book Ever" by Joe Fairless. It's an excellent, in-depth resource on the entire process, start to finish, for an apartment project.

Good responses, thanks folks. Definitely don't want 506b offerings being pitched. The vision is for an easy and efficient networking meetup that professionals can squeeze in over lunch. I really like the idea of 1 minute investor introductions centered on what you're investing in, any obstacles you're facing, and what you're looking for from the group. That way, if you have a roofing crisis and someone there owns a roofing company, or another investor knows an excellent roofer, that connection can be made. Otherwise, you may have never met those individuals that can help you.

Hey folks, I'm looking to start a weekly lunch meetup in the North Dallas area (Addison) with a focus on multifamily investing. There are a lot of meetups in my area, so I'm thinking of ways to differentiate and maximize value in a short amount of time (1 hour over lunch). I'd really like to focus on facilitating relationships because all the learning you could ever want are on the internet, and face time with other investors is harder to come by. Ideas for a 1-hour meeting:

• Weekly investor introductions & time to share what you're looking for, any issues you're facing, and services you may have to offer.
• Deal pitching.
• Success & goal sharing/accountability.

My question for the forum is, what makes a REI meetup a good one? What is the most valuable part of a meetup? Is their value in a group where the focus is on support & networking vs. educational content?

Thanks for the feedback, folks. I may have been getting ahead of myself. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all. I've got a learning plan in place and will be doing networking in the meantime as well.