I work as a residential realtor and I've done 4 sfr investments and 1 industrial investment.  My intention is to buy large apartments and I've talked with 3 different groups that do it locally to me.  I would like to run them myself and it seems that joining someone would make it go much faster though.  What skills or certifications would you recommend that I could bring to the table that would help build rapport and get me in the door faster or better?  

Hi Clayton,

If you want to form a new additional group from existing group members 

Find out what are they lacking or could use more of?

There's always the big two:

  1. Liquid Cash Money, which is usually a good starting point.

  2. Net worth to cosign with is another.

Lacking that, (as you said, run them) offering property management might work for some.

But for some that will not work if the lender requires an experienced property manager in order to make the loan.

Skills:

Some of the things you should understand:

  1. underwriting for large complexes to know what's a good deal and if you want to participate in the deal risk wise,

  2. how partnership splits are handled accounting wise so you know what you and they are getting; and

  3. how the IRS looks at transactions and income from group investments so you know what you're getting into and can make intelligent decisions from a tax standpoint. (Basis, 1031's K1's, 1065, Phantom Income, etc...),

  4. that you may need (to pay) a securities attorney,

  5. and a lot lot more. 

 Good Luck!

Thanks @Scott Mac , I appreciate your input 

Hey Clayton, I met you at a Think Multifamily meetup a few months back. There are a number of skills that can get you in to the management team of an apartment syndication:

0. Network like a bandit. The more people you know, the more opportunity you can create. 

1. Ability to raise money. If you can tap in to your existing network and find investors, there are groups that can get you in to the GP side of the deal.

2. Underwriting and deal flow. If you can network with brokers and perform underwriting, there are programs like Michael Blank's Deal Desk that can get the deal funded and cut you a check. Going back to step 0, if you talk to an experienced syndicator, you can ask them "hey, if I ever find a promising deal and do the underwriting, would you be interested in taking a look and potentially partnering on this?".

3. Invest passively as a limited partner and tell the GP you really want to use this as a learning experience.

Feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk about this more.

@Clayton Collins

• Knowledge and understanding first off
• Market knowledge if they are out of state and looking where you are located
• Underwriting skills
• Ability to raise money or already have a network of investors

Thanks @Asa Hunt  and yes we did meet. I bet we run into each other some more.  If you know of any more meetups in DFW, please let me know.

Thanks @john oaten.  It won’t let me select your name for some reason.

What are you good at and what do you enjoy? Focus on that and find the right partner that is not as strong in those areas. 

Or have a lot of money or a lot of deals and then you can partner with anyone