Deal Flow for Multifamily

[Dennis Johnson]

Starting out as a new investor, what steps should one take?  Find the deal first put the package together or search for investors and then find the deal.  I have gotten it from two different sources and I would like to get other thoughts on this issue. 

[Salvatore Lentini]

@Dennis Johnson - You can plan all you want but you'll quickly find in this business that the best way to learn is by just getting started.  There's a lot of "which comes first the chicken or the egg" in getting deals.  You can try to line up investors and then find deals but how?  What examples are you going to show them?  What experience will you be able to provide them with to convince them to loan you money?  Or, maybe they'll tell you that they are on board but then when you find a deal and go to them with it they change their mind.  How do you convince a seller or realtor or broker to take you seriously if you don't have financing lined up?  There's no right answer as there are soooo many variables, especially in the beginning.  It all seems overwhelming.  So the best thing to do is just start.  Start looking for deals, start looking for investors...get momentum going.  Sure, you may come across a great deal and not have investors lined up, or you'll get a big investor lined up but no deals on deck.... But, one of the times, on one of the days, everything will line up.  And if not, you can make it happen by pushing harder in one direction or another.  Feel free to reach out with questions.  For a while I had more deals than money and now that I have national financing with investor friendly lenders that don't require W2s or tax returns....I'm working hard to fill the pipeline with good deals.  It's always ebbing and flowing!