All Forum Posts by: Travis Watts

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@Ken P. Thank you for sharing your insights. My wife and I are entering into our 26th syndication investment next month, but most of these investments have taken place over the past 5 years, so there have only been a handful that have gone "full-cycle" at this point. It's great to hear from other's experiences who have been investing 5+ years. There seem to be a lot of 5-year value-add business plans out there. 

@Grant Rothenburger Traffic on I-70 is always crazy, especially during ski season depending on weather. Denver International Airport to Keystone is roughly a 2 hour drive. The earlier you can leave, the better. The best odds are always early mornings and late nights. I'll be heading in Wednesday the 19th early morning. #BestEverAdvice 

@Bryan Mitchell There are many ways a syndicator can fail, most have been covered in the comments. The one I have had the most experience with as a limited partner investor is the lack of experience on the team. I spend most of my time these days vetting out the team, track record and completed deals. I recognize that everyone has to start somewhere, but in my personal experience of "failed deals" it was because of the syndicate group had too much confidence and not enough experience.  

@Orlando Colon My process was education first, active single-family investing second, and then apartment syndications (like you mention) with several groups similar to Cardone's. My wife and I prefer to be 100% passive in our investing approach these days, so we can travel and move around as we please. I have not invested with Cardone Capital, but I have invested with many other syndication groups. One thing Grant Cardone said really resonated with me years ago. It was about renting vs owning your primary residence and investing your available capital into apartments for monthly cash flow. We took that advice and couldn't be happier with the outcome. Our cash flow more than pays for our rent. Best of luck

@Fletcher Clardy Good point. It's definitely not the most important metric to look at. As a limited partner in syndications, I consider first the team and their experience/track record and I compare that to what will be required in the "value-add" business plan. Typically I stick to Class B value add investments that cash flow from day 1 and do not require extreme heavy lifting. The second metric I consider is the overall market; whether or not it is expanding and what job diversification is in the area. Last, I consider the deal metrics such as cap rate, loan type, purchase price etc. 

@Chad Lamb I know we spoke previously, but we didn't touch on this topic. The groups I invest with as a limited partner generally do what you first described. Adding or expanding the gym, adding in-unit washers and dryers, creating a dog park, adding fenced-in yards where possible, adding carports (if applicable), improving common areas and adding onsite self-storage options. All of this would be in addition to bringing the units themselves up to date by adding new appliances, flooring, blinds, paint etc. The goal is, of course, to create a win-win scenario by adding value to the residents in addition to increasing the net operating income on the property. From what I have observed, these "value-adds" typically result in a 25% annualized return on investment. For example, if a syndicate group invests $5,000 into updating the interior of a unit, it often results in $1,250 of additional rent for the year. Hope this helps 

@Melody E Bergloff Thank you. I agree, the consulting aspect is really what I need. 

@Anthony Miller I recommend investing in education first, then do deals. For example, you might want to learn how to wholesale properties, which is something you can do with $0 out of pocket, or you might want to learn how to raise other people's money to do deals, since you don't have a lot of capital to work with. In full transparency, I started with $25k in real estate about 10 years ago, but I wish I would have studied more, because I later learned how I could have done that same deal for around 5k vs 25k. Best of luck!  

@Amanda Janes Patience. It can be very difficult to sit back and wait for the right opportunity, especially when there are very few deals in your particular niche. Since I am an analytic, the numbers always need to work for the deal; however, I have sometimes jumped into a deal with lower projections or a compressed cap rate just because I had the cash sitting there waiting to be deployed. Only to find out later, there was a better opportunity around the corner.