Hyattsville, MD · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 4 votes
Hey, everyone!!
I’m interested in hearing some stories about people investing in apartments of 5+ units without syndication. I’m pretty sure Jake & Gino started that way but would love to hear more stories about how people successfully invested in the beginning without syndicating.
Thanks!!
Investor · Santa Rosa, CA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 7k+ votes
8y
Mine was a 16 unit building that I bought with a 1031 exchange and some seller financing.
I owned a SFR and a condo and sold both. The proceeds from both sales went to my exchange intermediary. Then I found this property through my broker.
The funds in my exchange weren’t enough for the down payment. So my offer was bank financing for 70%, seller financing for 20%, and 10% down.
After about 2 or 3 years I refinanced the property and not only lowered my interest rate but also got enough proceeds to pay off the seller loan. Now I had permanent financing with a 20 year amortization. I owned that building for 14 years and then exchanged out in another 1031.
That was a great learning experience for me and taught me many lessons. After doing a few more similar deals and a decade of experience I built the confidence to start syndicating deals. I wouldn’t have crossed the 2,000 unit mark this year if I hadn’t started with this one little 16-unit...
Rental Property Investor · St. Paul, MN · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
I have done several 15-20+ unit deals using my own money or partnering with one other person. Money in my case came from selling a few flips and from rental income. The issue of course with doing it on your own, with just your own money is that you will run out or go really slow. Nothing wrong with that if that is your goal. I decided to go the syndication route, because investors kept asking to get into my deals and it was what would allow me to buy at the scale that I wanted.
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2018 · 129 posts · 163 votes
7y
@Royce Hodnett
My journey was slightly different. I did a solo 401k based on saving 10% YoY for 15 years in tech, and cashed out on current bull run and for 80% LTV, 7% over 25 year amortization. 19 unit for 750K and found it through networking with 20 brokers for the right off market deal over the course of 2 years.
Goodluck!
Developer · San Diego · Member since 2018 · 65 posts · 75 votes
7y
nice thread guys! Really nice to hear some of these stories!
@Account Closed when you said you used a solo 401k, do you mean you literally cashed out your 401k and paid the penalty then used the cash as the down payment or that you bought the property through the 401k?
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2018 · 129 posts · 163 votes
7y
@Mark Doty
Good question. I consolidated my 401Ks from previous employers and “pooled” them into a Solo 401K to avoid it being a non-taxable disbursement. Essentially had three 401Ks with different custodians and simply did a “rollover”.
Luckily, my laziness paid off as most folks are told to roll it over to the current employer... bad idea unless it’s either mandated or required (usually <5K vested balance per 401K).