All Forum Posts by: John Fortes

Sure, I'll follow the bouncing ball here! Let's go!

Congrats on this accomplishment. Well deserved!

Outside of joining local RE meet up groups and going to conferences, investing in online education, and networking. The goal in being active is to shortcut the learning curve. Hiring a real estate coach might be an options. Others refer to them as mentors. I have an issue with that because a true mentor will mentor you if you're lucky to have their time. A coach is someone who you hire to help navigate similar to what a mentor will do but not everyone has access to a mentor in their life. That's just my personal difference between the two.

Here's 5 things I'm sharing for anyone in this situation. I understand that everyone may have different goals. 

With your experience in CRE, here are a few options.

1. Talk to a wealth manager if you haven't already.

2. To gain experience in large commercial, identify an operator that does what you want to do, vet them thoroughly, then when comfortable potentially invest with the operator. Lots of options out there with this and you will definitely learn as an investor unless your interest changes. 

3. Unless you really desired to purchase anything less than 5 units, then go ahead and do the 1 - 3 STR's but consider using one of those services that helps manage the asset as long as they keep the place booked. You can learn more about those agencies on this site.

4. Going back to the number one, consider allocating a specific amount for commercial syndications. What that number is, is up to you. That way the portion allocated is put to work as you gain experience by investing in these assets.

5. Lastly, consider partnering with a trusted and up and coming operator and KP (become the key principal) on an project. Leveraging your net worth for the debt on favorable terms. You'll learn the business as well by working alongside the operator. 

Five options to work with. I'm sure there are plenty more that can be added to this conversation. 

Good luck! Now back to the regular scheduled programing!

If this was in Florida, the one issue I see with the single family homes is that home insurance isn't what it once was. Lots to think about there as prices have inflated. 

I know what your trying to conjure here, but love how other investors are digging in and asking more and more questions such as location, condition, ect. 

Also consider your time factor going into this. Will you have a PM or self manage?

If all things being equal and buying cash and the assets are in Florida, I'd consider going 15 unit with a property manager. But it's a real tough decision to make with the price of singles appreciating these days.

Great question, start by attending some local meet ups. They could be in person, online, or a hybrid of the two. Network and develop a relationship that lines up with your goals and interests. If it is a true syndication investment that you are interested in then you can connect with a sponsor. Once you start jumping into these conversations, the lane and path of your direction will start to shape out. Good luck!

Hi Mike, I see you're local to me. It's nice to meet you.

What Lane and Evan have responded with sums it up for me. Like many on this forum do, not only do I respect their professional opinion, I value their experience on the matter as well. 

Sad and disturbing that this happened and possibly still happening to many others out there. 

@Jillian Sidoti is definitely is someone I would reach out to. Good luck!

Ton's to do with that $1MM in RE. Sign me up for the lump sum and let me make it work for me and grow it as best as I can. 

As @Brian Burke and @Todd Dexheimer have mentioned, investors are positioned differently. There are investors out there investing in ground up developments that retrieve no capital for 12-18 months before seeing dividends. A true value add shows the increase of capital through the improvement of operations over time. 

Would you rather the sponsor raise the extra capital from investors and give it back as part of the returns as a return on capital or in some cases, return of capital?

Good options and you sound really committed with either direction you will move in. Good first step is by doing so once that decision is to be made, just start and have that proper education and tools handy and ready to go. 

Just a criteria thing that you have to iron out and its a personal decision for you. 

Question to ask yourself: Won't any of the smaller acquisitions just contribute to your net worth anyways (per the equity involved)?

On another note, you can get into syndications now instead of waiting for accreditation status with many firms already offering Reg D offerings that allow for a limited amount of non-accredited investors. You can find out by identifying these firms, schedule calls and getting to know the sponsorship teams and then moving asking the questions to understand what types of investors they are seeking. That's if you decide to want to invest in syndications today vs tomorrow. 

Happy investing!

Congrats on your first deals and more importantly the fact that you've scaled your learning curve by "doing". As previously noted regarding the types of syndications to be involved in, the risk vs the reward = the return. If you have a riskier appetite for those types of investments that involve the development then you can sleep at night not really worrying about the deal you have invested in. 

For me personally, I'm more of a singles and doubles type of investor. I review & invest in conservative types of syndications. Those look like a typical 5 to 7 year hold, kick off cash flow and if they turn into triples or homeruns that will be a massive upside. I'm not going out there looking for the homerun deals because its a whole revamp to my criteria and research for investing. Once I have determined my criteria and investment style it has been easier to be able to parse through investments and weed out the ones that don't meet my criteria. If any of that is helpful for you, please feel free to steal that approach and reach out if you have any questions. 

Happy investing!