Financial Advisor · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 14 votes
I'm a 29 year old from Orange County, CA who recently became debt free by paying off over 6 figures of debt and student loans in full!
As a newbie real estate investor, how can I seek out good partnerships with other investors involved in commercial real estate so I can take the first step and jump into the game? I've found it to be especially difficult these days due to Covid and limited networking opportunities. I'm hoping to network through this forum!
I'd love to hear some advice and ideas for the budding investor!
Real Estate Broker · Salt Lake City & Oklahoma City · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
Hi @Caitlyn Richardson, welcome to the BiggerPockets forums and way to go paying off all that debt!
I'd recommend something that I'm doing right now (imagine that!?) that I heard from someone who heard from . . . well you get it. Work up a Personal Financial Statement (these are the things that banks ask for from self-employed borrowers and nearly EVERY commercial lender asks for anytime you want to do business with them). The simpler the better for this.
Once you work up your Personal Financial Statement, study it. Then start from scratch and redo it every week or month and make goals around your Net Worth. Repetition with this will increase your awareness around what actually increases net worth (a stand-in for total wealth as it is not income and not simply a sum of all investments). This has been instrumental in training my thinking around assets at a deeper level and I would recommend it to you!
Real Estate Broker · Salt Lake City & Oklahoma City · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
Hi @Caitlyn Richardson, welcome to the BiggerPockets forums and way to go paying off all that debt!
I'd recommend something that I'm doing right now (imagine that!?) that I heard from someone who heard from . . . well you get it. Work up a Personal Financial Statement (these are the things that banks ask for from self-employed borrowers and nearly EVERY commercial lender asks for anytime you want to do business with them). The simpler the better for this.
Once you work up your Personal Financial Statement, study it. Then start from scratch and redo it every week or month and make goals around your Net Worth. Repetition with this will increase your awareness around what actually increases net worth (a stand-in for total wealth as it is not income and not simply a sum of all investments). This has been instrumental in training my thinking around assets at a deeper level and I would recommend it to you!
Rental Property Investor · Northern Virginia · Member since 2019 · 793 posts · 620 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson Welcome to the community! Great to hear you are interested in real estate.
Before starting out in real estate, it is important to know your "why" in investing. What goals do you need to accomplish your why? Do you want cash flow or appreciation? Do you want cash flow now? What is your appetite for rehab?
Thinking through these things will help you know what you want/need, so you can find a partner with similar goals and objectives. It does not help a partnership if you are looking for long-term buy and hold and your partner wants to flip, vice versa.
Next, do a deep analysis of yourself. What skills do you bring to a partnership? For example, if a person does not have the funds, then maybe they have the hustle or analytical skills. In addition, know what your weaknesses and gaps are to successfully invest in real estate.
When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you want to find a person who has complimenting skills. If you both have the same skillset, then 1+1 will equal 1. If you have complimenting skills, then 1+1 can equal 3, 5, 10.
The forums are a great way to find potential partners and when you are able to get back to face-to-face contact, your local real estate groups can also be valuable.
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 531 posts · 310 votes
5y
Hey @Caitlyn Richardson great job getting that debt paid off and now wanting to start investing!
So the way I see it to buy real estate you need 4 things:
1. Money
2. Time
3. Knowledge
4. Experience
Since you are a newbie, you can scratch Experience off the list. If you are looking to partner with someone who already has experience. You need to be providing one of the other things to someone who does not have those things.
For example: If you have tons of time, you can offer to work for them for free if you have a skillset that they lack and one they need. If you have tons of money, find an experienced investor who needs money and partner with them, take only a cut of the profits to learn from them.
Its all about providing value to someone else, and then getting value in return. But the challenge is you can't just work for free for someone. You need to know a skillset that you can provide to them that they need. Its gotta work both ways.
I am 27 by the way, and I used partnerships with families to get my 3 small multifamilies. So this is what I did, just not with investors.
Specialist · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
First thing I would do as others in here have stated is figure out "WHY" you are doing this. Once you know that and you know your end goal then you work backwards. The goal has to have a finite destination and time limit on it.
For example you may say your goal is 20 houses in 20 years (paid off) earning $20,000 per month.. (20,20,20 goal).
Now you know where you're going and the timeframe for this to happen. From here you can build out your strategy, for example here you would want to have the 20 properties purchased the first 10 years so that they can use the final 10 years to pay themselves off. This means that you have to buy 2 properties per year which means you have to close on a property every 6 months which means that you have to find a property in 3 months to have it on the market and rented the following 3 months.
And the properties need to have a final cashflow of $1,000 per month after all expenses are paid. This will dictate where you purchase and look for properties based on that number alone.
My point is that you always start with the end in mind and work it backwards, this creates the strategy (Buy and hold, flip, Wholesale, Notes) which will be driven by the tactic (SFR, MFR, Mobile homes, Short term rental etc)
I always coach people and explain that the property is actually the last piece of the puzzle not the first.
Rental Property Investor · Thousand Oaks, CA · Member since 2017 · 42 posts · 10 votes
5y
Agree with all of the above. I’d also suggest finding local or even national meetups. Most are virtual now-a-days and it’s a great way to connect with like-minded people. You can start to meet real people doing exactly what you’re wanting to do. Just about anyone in these groups tend to be very giving and open to sharing information and knowledge.
Rental Property Investor · San Anselmo · Member since 2015 · 659 posts · 600 votes
5y
Exactly what @Antonio Cucciniello said. You need to bring one of those qualities (MONEY, TIME, EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE) to the table to be relevant to a partner. If your looking to apprentice/intern for a successful investor you can also bring a service. Possibly offer a skill that they may need or are lacking (webpage development, efficient systems, bird dogging, office management, marketing, whatever.) Covid has definitely placed a damper on networking like you mentioned but there are still plenty of digital conferences as well. Join all of your local REIA groups and be an active member. I would also let everyone know that you see (family, friends, new acquantances) that you are taking a leap into real estate and you are looking for XXXX (a well defined goal/plan/objective.) Guaranteed even Aunty Suzy and Sara from College know someone in the game.
Lastly, don't let the lack of partnerships stop you from becoming the best investor you can become. I invested for 8 years prior to ever working with a partner (although residential does have a perceived easier barrier to entry.)
Best of luck on your venture and congrats on being debt free!
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 531 posts · 310 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson Haha! See there you go. I am right now looking for someone with marketing experience to help me. I am sure there are other investors out there that would be glad to trade that for knowledge!
Investor · Waco TX / Conroe, TX · Member since 2017 · 376 posts · 228 votes
5y
Congratulations on becoming debt free!
I think the first step is just having the courage to reach out to others to start the conversation. As a beginner, it can feel very daunting reaching out to someone who is operating at a higher level. I would encourage you to push through this fear and start to seek out individuals who are doing what you want to do. It will feel uncomfortable at first but the more the more people you meet with, the more knowledge you will gain and then these conversations will feel like second nature.
In terms of where to find these people; bigger pockets is a great place to start as well as social media. There are a lot of groups out there who are doing virtual meet ups and masterminds.
Financial Advisor · Newport Beach, CA · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 14 votes
5y
@Blaine Alger the imposter syndrome is too real sometimes! And it’s scary to think it could inhibit you from reaching your RE goals. Thanks for the tips!
Real Estate Agent · West Hartford, CT · Member since 2016 · 449 posts · 476 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson as someone around your age my advice is to find out what your good at/like to do and find out what your not good at and don't like to do. Maybe your really good at analyzing deals and bookkeeping given your background. But you hate the Property management side and dealing with tenants/negotiating terms. So you would seek out an agent/ property manager to go 50/50 on a deal. Or maybe you are really good at raising money but cant find a deal. Partner with a wholesaler who is great at marketing and finding deals. All of which you can find here on BP. But first figure out what value you can bring to the table, then figure out what kind of partner you are looking for. I would be hyper-focused on finding the right partner, it will save you time and money.
It sounds like you want experience in the commercial world but have no background investing there. Offer to take a couple brokers out to lunch or coffee and pick their brain. Or find an experienced broker and offer to pay him X amount per hour for his time to just ask questions. Your best bet is to follow the Commercial Real estate forums and keyword alerts on here and read as much as you can (free).
Rental Property Investor · Los Gatos, CA · Member since 2017 · 123 posts · 131 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson
That is awesome that you have paid your debt off, congrats. We are currently marketing heavily in the Bay Area and would love to chat with you to see how we could potentially work together. Shoot me a PM if you want to chat.
More importantly, you are totally right about finding solid partners because in Commercial Real Estate Investing, it is all about your team. Buy a rental down the street is radically different from buying a big commercial asset. We are buying an apartment building right now and our org chart alone gives me a headache when I look at it lol.
Oh, you need to start figuring out gradually what you think you are good at and what you like doing. For some, it is networking with investors and raising equity while others don't like people but love spreadsheets and underwrite all day every day.
Knowing your strengths early on can really allow you to move and scale very quickly.
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2020 · 196 posts · 190 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson speak with your colleagues such as CPAs. Ideally you can be introduced to a successful real estate investor that would want to trade mentoring you in commercial real estate in exchange for you mentoring them about bitcoin/stocks/etc. There are people who've been laser focused and successful in REI who want to diversify now that wealth preservation may be more important than wealth accumulation at the stage of their life
Developer · Palm Harbor, FL · Member since 2015 · 307 posts · 96 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson Congratulations on paying off the debt and for making the decision to invest in real estate! BP as well as your local REIA is a great place to network.
Looks like we may have similar career paths, I also started my career as a Financial Advisor just investing in real Estate on the side, a few years ago real estate 
New to Real Estate · Dearborn Heights, MI · Member since 2020 · 12 posts · 8 votes
5y
@Caitlyn Richardson
Congratulations on becoming debt free! As another newbie investor myself, putting yourself out there and asking questions especially on bigger pockets is a great first step to finding a partnership. No one knows that you are wanting to partner unless you speak it into existence. Many REI have mentioned great points.
One piece of advice I have found is to continuously network with others and have conversations with them. People want to partner with people they like! If you are genuine, bring value to them and are personable, you can form an excellent partnership with them. This is how I met my first potential private lender on bigger pockets. Best of luck to you!