All Forum Posts by: E. C. "Stony" Stonebraker

 Whenever @GinoBarbaro posts something, listen closely.  There are numerous pitfalls in property management that an inexperienced person could get themselves and their property in serious trouble.  A good local property management company will know the local laws and regulations for landlords, including eviction procedures, rental contract law, Fair Housing laws, negotiating vendor contracts, etc.  

Running a multifamily property sounds straightforward, and the basics ARE very easy to understand, but when you look into the details, a new person should hire an experienced PM and learn as much as possible, including earning an appropriate designation.

Greg has very good advice. Investing in CRE with investors is not a legal issue for a local real estate transaction attorney. You should read Kim Lisa Taylor's book "How to Legally Raise Private Money" to understand the pitfalls and requirements to do so. You might also read Joe Fairless' book "Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book" to understand what it takes to form and operate a property by investing with a syndication structure. Between these two, you'll have a solid fundamental understanding. Then when you actually do a syndication, you'll learn a lot more, too. You might consider finding an experienced partner to work with on your first couple of deals. That is the usual route for many of us. Good luck, Isaac!

@James Gee, the best resource, by far, is Beau Beery's book, Multifamily Investors Who Dominate.  

 Brock, the best and most complete advice is al in Beau Beery's book "Multifamily Investors Who Dominate."  It's by far the best resource for you and all multifamily investors.

@Brock Burton, check out Dugan Kelley (Kelley Clark), Maurico Rauld (Premier Law Group), Charles Dobens (Dobens Law & Multifamily Investing Academy) and Kim Lisa Taylor (Syndication Attorneys) who are popular SEC attorneys in the syndication space and, very knowledgeable.

@Ning Fu, I grew up in Akron and go back from time to time.  That area you are talking about is a rough neighborhood.  If you are an experienced investor used to renovating properties, it might be OK, but if you have not done that before, I would not recommend that area.  Akron itself has been losing population consistently for the last 50 years.  I think only investors who are experienced and who have an intimate knowledge of the Akron market should invest there.

@Daniel Kaplan, you can also download a very good free Excel model from Rob Beardsley's website and buy his book that goes along with his model.  Go to www.lscre.com/model for both.  There are also many others if you look online.

@Scott B Moore, Michael Blank's spreadsheet is a popular model.  You can also get Rob Beardsley's free model and he has written a very good book on underwriting as well.  Go here to get either or both.

@Eric Cichon, you can also check out Rob Beardsley's free UW model on his website @ https://lscre.com/the-definiti...  He also wrote a book on underwriting to help readers learn and improve their own underwriting, specifically for larger multifamily properties.

@Alfredo Lopez, if you are looking for passive income, read Brian Burke's book, The Hands-Off Investor.  Investing in syndications is an excellent way to diversify and accelerate your investing portfolio, IMO.  Also look for numerous multifamily offerings from sponsors across the U.S. which allows you to invest in different markets.

House-hacking, fix and flips and wholesaling are for more active investors mostly in single family homes, but these are good ways to get started when you have time and not a lot of money.  God luck to you!