All Forum Posts by: Sherwin Gonzales

@Charles Curley, you can partner up with people where you all put capital in and have an equity position on the deal. As @Kimberly Nguyen mentions, if you still need more money go seek a private loan. Start with friends and family first, however, I've found it actually easier to raise money from fellow investors rather than from family. You can also offer debt + equity payoffs in a syndication. It all depends how you structure and underwrite the deal. The beauty about this is you are in control of how and when you pay your investors back depending on their needs and goals and the criteria they are looking for in their investments.

@Andy Cav congrats on deciding to partner up with friends to buy multi-family properties! I, myself, partner up with friends and invest in MF. I think it's a great way to "get your feet wet" and learn off of each other because we all have different levels of real estate investing experience. We all share the rewards and limits our risks!

As many have already mentioned, you should start an LLC. We actually didn't start one until we had a deal in escrow. Once we started an LLC, we got an EIN to open up a business account to allocate all our funds there. For your deals, you'll also want to have an operating agreement that clearly states everyone's roles, the amount of equity each person put in, percentage of ownership, etc. A PPM might not be required if you all are "active" investors. However, I'm no lawyer, so you should consult with one first to see if you need one depending on how you structure your deal.

Oh...30-50k is plenty of money to start in MF. You just gotta find the deals and if you don't have enough funds, figure out how to get the funds needed!

Good luck!

Welcome to BP @Adrian Hollifield and congrats on starting your real estate journey especially at such a young age! I would suggest you find attend some local REI meetups in your area. Get out there and start networking and chatting with our fellow investors and start building up relationships. I invest in Stockton, so would be interested to get your take on how the market is there now compared to when you were growing up there?

Good luck!

@Zach Riegler, my tenant was already in their first year of contract with the SHRA program when I closed on the property. To my knowledge, the contract doesn't restart when there's a new owner. I would double check with SHRA, but I don't have to wait a year from the day I close to give a notice to vacate. My tenant completed their first year a couple months into me owning the property and are month to month now.

Welcome to BP @Charlene Chow! It's great that you are focused on obtaining a multi-family property to make passive income. I, myself, invest in multi-family and think it's a great way to scale your portfolio fast! A lot of times I hear people who are just getting started want to invest in everything right away. It's good that your narrowed down your focus and now you need to narrow down your market.

You've already had some great advice on this thread but before you get lost in the "weeds" and all the details, which isn't bad, I would suggest you attend some local REI meetups in your area. Meet and network with other investors and see what they are doing. That's another way to get some great contacts to build your team. Not sure where you are in the Bay Area, but there's a meetup I attend the first Wednesday of every month in SF. It's pretty chill, no pitches, no sales, just investors of all levels sharing their experiences. If you're interested, I can send you more info.

Partnering up with people, especially with experienced investors, is another great way to get into the game. Everyone shares the risks and rewards and you don't have to go into a deal alone. Just continue to do what your comfortable with and always have your end goals in mind and you'll be fine.

Good luck on your journey!

@Zach Riegler, I have also have a 2-unit property in Sacramento and one tenant who is Section 8. My SHRA documents state that after the first year of contract and the owner does not wish to continue their Housing Choice Voucher, they must give the tenant a 90-day notice to move. You can serve a 30-day notice to move if the tenant has violated the lease; late or non-payment of rent, disturbance of neighbors, damages made by tenant or guests to the unit, criminal or drug/ alcohol activity, other violations listed on the lease.

I, myself, haven't gone through this process, but I suggest you go through your documents and check with someone from SHRA. Cash for keys can be a great strategy if you are looking for the tenant to vacate right away. But if you have time, I would suggest going through the process with SHRA.

I hope this helps!

Welcome to BP @Kevin Ha!

I agree with @William Brown when he mentions to learn by doing! There's only so much information you can take and you really learn by putting that information and knowledge into ACTION! I would suggest you to attend some local BP meetups and network and meet other fellow investors with all levels of experience. If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room!

Then take action! Analyze deals, call lenders, talk to brokers, etc. All those you can do for free without any capital. Another great way to get started is to partner up with people, especially those with experience. You all can share the risks and rewards. It's a great way to get started and learn gradually so that you don't have to go at it alone.

Good luck on your journey!

"Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience. You need experience to gain wisdom".

Albert Einstein

Hey @Andrew Lawlor..welcome to BP!

I agree with @Nabil Suleiman, that it's really what your comfort level is. I think purchasing an MDU is great for a first-time buyer but there are ways you can mitigate your risks. Partnering up with other people is a great way to get your feet wet if you don't want to go at it alone. Especially if you partner with someone who is experienced, you can learn a lot from that person and at the same time, share the risks and rewards. Then later on, when you get more comfortable and experienced, you can go off an venture on your own or partner with other people and you can teach them the ropes!

From your topic of single vs. multi-family, I prefer multi-family instead because it's faster to scale that way. I myself, like many others, started with a purchase of a condo, then to a single family, then to a 2-4 unit, now to commercial multi-family with 5+ units.

Figure out your goals and why you want to invest and work backwards on how you can achieve those goals. If you want to own 10 single family homes and cash flow from that, go for it! But you can also just own one building with 10 units, which would be easier to manage, and also cash flow!

Good luck on your journey!

As Cardone says....

"Rent where you buy, buy where you rent!"

Awesome job @Account Closed! Just wondering why you and your wife chose to invest in the SFH route w/ 10 properties rather than commercial multi-family?