All Forum Posts by: Marina Wong

I think this question was asked 3 years too early. I am not sure whether right now is the beginning of an economic down turn, but the syndication deals I invested in has had some decrease in distribution. I have had 2 that cut distribution in half and changed from monthly distribution to quarterly. I have only invested in deals with a preferred return. The majority is still distributing as promised. But because these are preferred returns, it should be paid out/caught up in future years. I have also noticed the projected IRR is lower this year compared to 2 years ago. Of course we won't know what the real return is until the property is sold.

Really interested in learning what other investors experience is, especially those who participated in deals without any preferred return (ie. straight split) .

I know one of the syndicators does a lot of promotions on FB for accredited investors only. Where about is the project?

https://re-mentor.pissedconsum

If I see so many negative reviews, I would run the other way. There are many reputable syndicators who do podcasts. You can learn a lot from them, for free. Being a passive investor will also help you learn. I attended a multifamily submit (virtual classroom) in January and learned a TON for only 1/10th of the cost. I don't know about you, I would rather invest my money in a syndication than in a class for 3 days. You know there will be up selling in these boot camps.  

Congrats Christi!

 I’m an agent as well as in investor so maybe I can give you the perspective of both. 

 While many brokers are investors themselves, they may not have the time or the system to train you to be an investor friendly agent. One thing you can ask is how many agents in the office are investors themselves and how many  investors these agents have. The office may or may not know this answer  but it’s a good start.  There is no better education, however, than being an investor yourself.  Our office has at least five investor agents if not more (I don’t know all of them as it’s a big office)

 As an investor, if I were to choose an agent, of course I need someone who’s really knowledgeable and knows very well the asset class that I’m investing in.  The agent will also need to know the area that I’m investing in. I would not hesitate to change agent if I am going out of my regular area. So for you to succeed, you also need to network with other agents so you can refer business out and get referral fee. I have, as an agent, referred investor client to another agent because I do not know the area as well.  Besides if it’s outside of my area, sometimes it’s just not worth my while. 

 Feel free to message me directly as I’m in the area and can give you a few pointers in terms of what meet ups to attend and such. Being an investor’s agent is not all glamorous. Many winters I had to go to vacant houses with no heat and 2 feet of unplowed snow. I didn’t mind because I am an investor and I am looking at these  for myself as well (of course I would not compete with my client). 

 In terms of company, if you work for one of them near the border, very often the broker has license in both states and you can conduct business in both states with a single broker. Had I obtained  my New Hampshire license, I’ll be able to conduct business in both states with my company.

@Evan Hyde  Basis is the cost of the building only. So you need to spend as much as that for rehabbing the property. I am looking at a project. Syndicator will have loan at the beginning as well as a refi at year 5. So it doesn't seem like refi is prohibited. 

@Andy Pillinger I think you need to file some paperwork to tell the government that what you are doing is a qualified OZ project before you start. I think somewhere on the form you need to specify when is the first month (therefore they know when the clock starts for 30 months count down). Should find a CPA who knows about this to walk you thru this.

I agree with @Spencer Hogan about high fees charged. The deals should stand on their own merit, even without the tax incentives. If you have not done much syndication deals, you might not be able to tell what is or is not a high fee. I would say start looking into regular apartment syndication deals to familiarize yourself with what is an acceptable return and what are acceptable fees these syndicators charge. Then when you find out an OZ, you will be better equipped. Personally I would avoid a fund that is not limited to one (or a few) properties/project that is already identified. You need to find a team who has track record of intensive value add or building background as well as good management background so that you know they can manage the project for years to come. 

@Steffen V. @Daniel Spear   I saw their KP program ad. Do KPs in general have to invest a lot more than regular passive investors? Josh Welch was on the ad and it says he has $50M portfolio, which in apartment building world is not a whole lot, but still respectable number. So these people definitely have experience. Do you know how many KPs they have trained? Anything else you can share about the KP program? Is everything they found in Houston? Thank you.

Join the multifamilyinvestornation.com summit. The next one is in June. I found several mentors in this summit and you can also hear their difference in approach and maybe geographic area.

@Lane Kawaoka Many people consider not the best use of your IRA money for a long term RE hold as you cannot take advantage of depreciation like using non retirement money. I use my IRA money to fund other people's RE project (short term projects) or other RE activities not having depreciation benefit.

@Richard Dale-Mesaros

I am not familiar with the Dealer Status. I know being a real estate professional can allow you to claim real estate paper loss against your ordinary income. However it also means you might pay income tax for something that you would otherwise claim as passive income. Of course consult with you accountant.