@Helen M McKane Congrats on venturing out in the MF space!
The multifamily/syndication coaching space is certainly crowded and can be a bit confusing knowing what to look for - at least it was for us. We've been in 2 groups - it took making a mistake on the first one to know what to look for and find the right mentor/coach. Once we did - our success took off.
I'll try to not make this post super long - but here's a few things to look for when vetting a coach:
1. Willing to partner with you in any market as long as they like the deal (without weird rules and restrictions that create a cluster of competition from all students in one market)
2. One-on-One coaching DIRECTLY from the "main" guy/expert - avoid groups with "sub-coaches" (<--these are put in place because they can't handle the volume of new members)..makes you wonder if they're focused on building a coaching empire and making a ton of money from that - OR focused on building a successful real estate portfolio & focusing on the success of their members.
3. Make sure your coaching is coming from someone with 7K - 8K unit portfolio - across multiple markets - and been through a full deal cycle on multiple deals - AND performing/hitting their investor targets. There's a lot of gurus popping up selling coaching and they've only done a few deals. You need a strong backing when doing these deals!
4. Avoid groups with weird rules (must use their buying broker and/or can't talk to brokers directly, can't partner with people outside of their group, nickel and dime you on additional fees, etc)
5. Culture of the group - is it established & maintained? These people will be your partners - make sure integrity, character, etc are required values to join the group - these are your future partners and you want quality. This starts at the top with the leader. Are they letting anyone in as long as they can write a check and pay for the group? (<--red flag) or do they truly vet people - is there an interview process?
6. Reputation in the industry - with investors (is the portfolio hitting targeted returns), with brokers (are deals closing once under contract), with lenders, etc. Be careful who you learn your underwriting from!
7. How many people in the group are doing deals and getting into General Partnerships? How long does it take to do so? (should be joining a GP within 4 months and doing your own deal of 100+ units in your first deal) Ask about track record of members
Hope this helps! Trust your gut and intuition...if it feels like a dog & pony show with a lot of flash & money & sales pressure...it's most likely just that - a dog & pony show.
