All Forum Posts by: Michael Sjogren

Hi @Tyler Smith,

Finding mentors is great and will be key to your long-term growth and success. The distinction to make is that mentors are there to give you guiding principles that they have used but they are not your coach. I have many mentors who I meet with regularly who have been instrumental in my career. They get me to push myself to achieve my goals but I do not ask them to map out a plan for me to achieve them. I agree with @David Thompson that hiring a coach who has success doing exactly what I want to achieve has given me direction and actionable steps to propel me to my goals much faster than I would have on my own.

If you want to be a successful syndicator, and expedite the process to get there, find someone who is at the level you want to be at, pay them to teach you exactly how they did it and help you map out a plan to get there. They are worth their weight in gold.

The third option is to invest passively with syndicators and learn the business through osmosis. Either way, it depends on your goals, how quickly you want to achieve them and what you are willing to invest. Hope this helps. 

Hi @David Hodge. Here are some thoughts for your consideration:

• -Current yields on CDs are around 1%. So even if your mother-in-law had $1M, I doubt she would be happy to live on $10k/year
• -REITS are essentially stocks. They are publicly traded and their value is based on what the market is willing to pay for them. That being said, there are several new crowdfunding sites that have started REITS that offer regular dividends. RealtyMogul, Fundrise and RichUncles are a few that come to mind.
• -Direct investment will provide the highest yields along with tax benefits (if she is accredited, i.e. made $200k/year if single $300k if married for previous 2 years, or her net worth is $1M excluding her primary residence). If you go this route, the key will be to identify sponsors with substantial track records of success. There are many on this platform. Ask them for the listing of projects and results achieved. Ask what markets they are in and why? Ask who is on their team and what their experience is. Ask, ask, and ask some more.

It sounds like you are doing your homework and not blindly turning her money over to a financial adviser and hoping they will perform. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to reach out. 

Welcome @Ned Young! Do you have any connections in these additional markets? If not, you can go to Loopnet and look for listing in those markets. The purpose of this isn’t necessarily to find deals (since Loopnet is typically the trash can for deals) but to find brokers who have multiple listings that match your asset type in those markets. Call up the broker and tell them about your business, current assets and what you are looking for in that market. Then ask them for referrals for property managers who specifically work on assets that meet your investment criteria. Call up any of the property managers recommended and explain your background again. Ask them for referrals for additional brokers as well as mortgage and insurance brokers. Follow up with those contacts. Once you have a database of recommended team members, schedule a few days to fly down to your markets and meet with each of these team members and view some properties.

Another approach is to partner with investors who already have multiple properties in those markets and bring capital or other resources to those deals. I have found this approach to work well especially in highly sought after markets where it can be difficult to get a foothold as an out of area investor. Happy to discuss further. Feel free to send me a PM.

Hi @Mark Avery. I was a member of a local BNI group for another business venture and had some success. I have not joined for real estate because the group had a financial advisor already and felt that it would be a conflict as we both work with investors. If you join the group, I'd love to hear about your experiences. 

Hi Jonathan,

At a quick glance the expenses look a bit light (currently shows about 38%, where a quick rule of thumb is 50%). Repairs and maintenance were only $283 last year, may be a sign of some deferred maintenance on the property. There is nothing in there for property management which could run 10% of collected rents plus lease up fees. A few preliminary questions are outlined below.

Some questions to ask broker:

What is the unit mix (number of 1Bed, 2Bed, etc.)? Ask for current rent roll to see what each unit is getting per month, if the tenants are on leases and when those leases expire?

What is the current occupancy of the property?

Is the commercial space leased as triple net (meaning tenant pays for everything)? When does the lease expire?

Questions to ask yourself?

How well do you know the market? What has job growth and population growth been over the past couple years and where is it projected? What are the comparables in the area getting for rent?

What is the capitalization (cap) rate for similar properties in your area?

How much capital do you need to finish the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors and what rents can you get for the units?

Are you going to self-manage the property? If not, factor in 10% of collected rents plus lease up fees.

Hope this helps.

I believe @Michael Blank operates out of DC and may have a contact for you. 

Hi Ramon, 

Welcome to BP and congrats on investing time into your education. Some helpful books to learn the basics include Gary Keller's Millionaire Real Estate Investor, Ken McElroy's ABCs of Real Estate Investing, Dave Lindahl's Multifamily Millions as well as Emerging Real Estate Markets, Brandon Turner's Book on Rental Property Investing and Managing Rental Properties. I you have any specific questions regarding multifamily investing or syndication, feel free to send me a PM. 

I have been to Dave's seminars, gone through his home study courses and done a few months of coaching in the past and his program is excellent in my opinion. I live in the Boston area and have had several one on one meetings with Dave and he is always willing to set aside some time to answer my questions. Personally I'd start with his multifamily millions boot camp and home study course. This was my foundation for learning how to invest in apartments. Hope this helps.

@Cynthia Nina-Soto

I am sourcing 5+ unit multifamily properties in Fall River. I can either wholesale or partner w him/her on a deal. Are they looking for multifamily or commercial (sounds like retail if they are looking at malls)?

Does RealeFlow also have multifamily (5+ units) properties?