How Are You Structuring Equity for Build-to-Rent Projects?

[Robert Ellis]

Hey BP community,

I’m curious to hear how others are structuring equity for build-to-rent (BTR) developments—whether you're doing scattered site infill, horizontal apartments, or full-scale BTR communities.

There’s a growing appetite from both institutional and private capital in this space, but the equity stack seems to vary a lot depending on:

• Project size (10–20 units vs. 100+ unit communities)

• Location (urban infill vs. suburban greenfield)

• Exit strategy (hold and cashflow vs. sell stabilized)

A few questions for the group:

• Are you raising through syndications, SPVs, or forming long-term funds?

• How do you structure LP/GP splits, preferred returns, or promote waterfalls on smaller BTR deals?

• Anyone seeing success with institutional equity or family office partners on these deals?

• Are you using phased development models to de-risk construction and lease-up?

• How do you pitch the long-term value of BTR vs. traditional multifamily to investors?

I'm working on a few BTR projects where we’re building single-family and townhome-style rentals as a product that competes with Class A apartments—but with more space, garages, and no shared walls.

Would love to hear how others are thinking about capital stack, returns, and partnership structures in this niche. Let’s share ideas and experiences—who knows, maybe even find opportunities to collaborate.