All Forum Posts by: Josh Oaten

Building and nurturing relationships with regional brokerages/brokers is another great way of being sent all offmarket deals they get.  7 out of 10 commercial properties we acquired in the last 15 months were received this way. 

Hey Josh, I am an active investor in the DFW Market and I strive heavily on sourcing off-market deals. I will find these deals by obtaining a list and text blasting the owners (Our bread and butter.) Or I will drive for dollars and call the owners directly. You have to target the right areas and motivated sellers to make a deal happen. Be persistent and personable with the sellers!

@Josh Oaten How does "renters insurance" provide an extra income stream for us, the landlords?  Charge them a separate fee for our already in place commercial property insurance?  I require the tenants to obtain their own insurance, but I think they tend to ignore or "glance over" that particular aspect of the lease.  Any suggestions?  Thanks

Possible deal I am looking to make happen with a rundown hotel. The issue is I don't see it viable as a hotel anymore, but the deal may still work if I can convert it to multifamily. Does anyone have experience doing so here in the San Antonio area?

When you first begin to consider real estate syndication as an investment option, it can feel lonely, intimidating, or even like you’re going in blindfolded.

We personally have experienced fears around investing in a property we have never seen, had concerns about how we would get our money back, and doubt around the inability to log into an account and see my money.

These fears were addressed head-on through research. Every article we read and every conversation we had built my certainty until we began to feel confident toward taking the plunge.

If you’re considering your first syndication and feeling hesitant, we recommend doing your research, connecting with other investors, reading through previous deals, and taking your time.

Do Your Research

The best way to build your investing confidence is through self-education and research. Listen to podcasts, read books, and find websites on real estate.

Books:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

It’s a Whole New Business by Gene Trowbridge

Principles of Real Estate Syndication by Samuel Freshman

Podcasts:

BiggerPockets Podcast

Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever with Joe Fairless

The Real Wealth Show with Kathy Fettke

Ask Questions

Relevant Facebook groups and forums like BiggerPockets can help you learn what questions you should be asking.

It’s likely that other people have asked about your same concerns and, just by reading through the forum’s questions and answers, you’ll gain clarity.

Remember there are no dumb questions and that you have the right to be diligent about gathering answers to your concerns.

Connect with Other Investors

A successful investor needs a supportive community, and considering that syndication is a group investment, you’ll want to get networking.

Any new investors will share similar anxieties, questions, confusion, and excitement. Experienced investors can provide invaluable firsthand accounts of their experience with various projects and sponsors.

Find other investors through online forums like BiggerPockets, local networking events, or by asking sponsors if they’ll connect you to their current investors.

Review Previous Deals

Finding comfort with financial projections, summary data, and investment lingo may feel overwhelming.

As you review more investment summaries, you’ll start to understand the flow of the deal packages, how each sponsor communicates, and exactly which investments interest you.

Take Your Time

Each new investment opportunity fills up quickly. This can make new investors panic and start to believe they are missing the best deals. Remember, there will always be another opportunity.

Allow yourself time to complete the steps laid out here, so that when you make your syndication choice, you are confident about every step.

Considering Everything

If you take nothing else from this article, remember it’s completely normal to feel skeptical, anxious, and even timid when making your first syndication commitment.

The ability to take action is what separates the successful from those who give up.

Your first real estate syndication deal is a huge milestone in your investing journey, and, even though your head might be spinning now, this is a time to savor.

What are some creative ways to get Additional Other Income from a high end multi family building? I may be running an 80+ unit in the near future.

Laundry is included in each unit. Ways that we already implement are storage, parking, certain fees, etc. 

I was thinking of possibly offering a unit cleaning service for interested tenants as a way to create additional income and cover the cost of common space cleaning. Vending machines and dry cleaning are other thoughts that came to mind.

Does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks,

Good evening all you wealth creators!

We have been blessed with the opportunity to jump into a few apartment syndication deals over the last 6 months and I have a couple questions for the brain trust:

1. What are you doing with your cash distributions?

2. If saving your distributions, where are you saving them?

3. If reinvesting them, how are you reinvesting them?

Our immediate plans are to put them in *high* interest bearing MMAs and let them grow until exit but not sure that's the best option at present.

Any parting thoughts from some of the more experienced investors?

Thanks and happy hunting!

B

Purchased 2 small multifamily buildings in a very small rural town in Southern MN recently. The city is billing us $90 in base fees for every apartment (then in additional also a water usage rate), so 20 unit building we are getting billed $1800 + usage. There is also an assisted living retirement building in the town, the city is billing them only 1 $90 base rate for the entire building (not per apartment). Buildings are setup identical, 1 water meter in the building. We use 50k gallons of water is costs us ~$2000, they use 50k gallons of water they pay ~$200, obviously drastically unfair, (and extremely expensive for us) These are the only apartment type residences in the town. 

We have approached the city asking them to change this billing to make it fair/affordable, they declined saying the assisted living building is "grandfathered" in to pay the 1 base fee. 

Looking for any guidance for anyone that has dealt with a similar situation before, or if there are any legal precedence we can take. Thanks in advance!

I'm located in Salem, Oregon and am finding it difficult to locate multifamily properties particularly ones that cashflow. The MLS has only a few overpriced properties that roost for months. I've considered direct mail but my family property has been inundated with letters and cold calls which leaves me at a loss as to how to appear different than everone else.

Another question, should I be looking in other parts of the country with better value to rent ratios?  In this area the average multifamily is running $135k-$175k per door for rents of $1200/mo for a two bedroom.