All Forum Posts by: Stephen Seals

Keep in mind that depending on what market you are looking at, those 2-4 unit buildings may be houses that were haphazardly subdivided to create more units.  It's not necessarily a bad thing if it's executed well, but could cause a lot of headaches if executed poorly.  Tenants may also be more transient and less prone to make it a "home" vs. SF.  Your exit price on 2-4 units will always be dictated to a great degree by your cashflows, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as rents have increased. It also may be a question of which format is more desirable for the market and associated demographics.  Established families vs. single folks.  I would dig a little deeper, look at the demographics, look at the available product, and look at your objectives - then pick your poison.  

It's all about context.  If you look at the 3% interest rate on this graph, you'll see that it's a once in a lifetime dip.  Money isn't supposed to be that cheap.  What we're seeing now are fairly "normal" interest rates from a historical perspective.  Granted, they may come down slightly, but I wouldn't expect a dramatic decrease anytime soon.  The way I look at it, it's a great time to hustle and find deals while others have pressed the pause button.  You can always refi in the future.  If it cash flows solid after detailed UW and it feels good, go for it.

I agree with you for the most part @Don Konipol.  I do think that one important factor is the right attitude and the cajones to take on some risk and see it through.  I say that because I have spent over a decade managing risk for a large multifamily lender, and as a result, I have found myself quite risk averse - to the point that I am just now getting into investing in real estate for myself.  

I regularly deal with investor clients who have millions in cash from their real estate investments, as well as large portfolios of real estate owned.  Obviously, at this point, they now have everything on your list.  However, a common theme I hear when I ask them how they got into this business - they didn't know enough to be really risk averse.  In fact, many of theme just sort of fell backwards into it.  And not just a few - a lot.

Having said that, the willingness to take the leap can sometimes be the biggest barrier to entry.  Fortunately, I am pushing past that one.  Better late than never...

@Nicholas Schwarte - Congratulations!  At more than twice your age, I am just now getting into real estate investment and looking to close on my first property in the relatively near future.  Sure I have built up a good career, invested in my 401k, etc.  But if I had gotten my tail into gear at your age, I would probably be typing this from a cabana on my own private island.  Keep at it, sir!

Hello, BiggerPockets! I just wanted to formally introduce myself. My name is Stephen Seals. While I have lurked around BiggerPockets for several years, I plan to get involved in the community here and hopefully give as much or more than I get out of it. I come from the debt side of the multifamily business. After over a decade in asset management where I currently oversee a portfolio of more than 45,000 apartment units nationwide for a large Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac lender, I am finally ready to get into my first small multifamily buy and hold investment. My plan is to steadily acquire smaller multifamily properties and eventually roll them into larger multifamily deals, which is a natural fit, given my professional background. Perhaps knowing as much as I know about risk has made me a bit too risk averse - but I am about to step in the game and give it everything.

More than likely, I will focus my efforts on Indiana and very likely Indianapolis in particular, but I am also amassing intel and remaining open minded. To that end, I look forward to connecting with investors, brokers, and lenders in Indianapolis and other Midwest markets to tap into your knowledge and discuss any potential triplex/fourplex buy and hold opportunities. And certainly, if there's anything I can give back to the community from the Fannie/Freddie multifamily asset management perspective, I am happy to do so. Borrowers who have never been exposed to agency lending can often be caught off guard by the post-closing reporting and inspection requirements. It’s a completely different world. If I can help you or your clients by sharing my knowledge, please let me know.

Bottom line - I am driven, organized, capitalized, and ready to build mutually beneficial, long-term relationships. I look forward to connecting, contributing, and starting this amazing journey. Cheers.

Stephen

Good stuff!  Thank you @Christopher Hunter @Theo Hicks @Raphael Collazo.  Looking forward to getting my learn on!

First post – wooohooo! Hello all. I have been in the multifamily business for quite some time now, but never as an investor. I work for a large multifamily lender, and I’m on the asset management side of the house. Essentially, I do a lot of relationship management, risk management, market analysis, financial analysis, etc. So in many ways, I have amassed a good deal of experience and available resources. I look forward to actively participating in this community!

At present, I’m seeking recommendations for a very specific type of book, if it exists. Most of the multifamily reading recommendations I have seen appear to focus heavily on multiple aspects of the big picture like finding deals, raising capital, financing, etc. While I will no doubt be reading some of these books – is there a book that focuses very heavily on the operations of multifamily properties?

Ideally, I would like to find a book that zeroes in on the management/operation phase of multifamily investing. So we’re talking about how to handle the initial phase of multifamily acquisition, setting rents vs market, capital improvement plans, and essentially re-positioning an asset from say a Class C dog of a property to a solid value added Class B asset.

Are there any book recommendations offhand that would fit the bill? Thank you!