Making a Fund to Buy Apartments

[Nicholas LaGatta]

I'm a moderately experienced moonlight investor with solid and relevant non-RE professional credentials, just got my real estate licence, joined my PM's brokerage, and I just had 3 deals pay out.  I'm working on leveling up in real estate with goal of going full time in the next 1-2 years. 

I've started discussing with a few investors about setting up an equity partnership to buy small apartments, most likely in rural GA or surrounding states.  I've been deep in the weeds with research to put together the nuts and bolts of this.  Before I go too deep, BP is always a great place for a sense-check.  

Below is a list of target property criteria (broad for now, but I'll dial this in) as well as a list of open questions that I'd love your feedback on.

Target Properties: 

-$1-4M purchase price
-6+ unit multifamily apartments in GA and surrounding states
-Value add opportunity through capital improvements, increasing occupancy, and/or raising rents
-Property class B or C, no war-zone areas
-Near stable employment, education, transportation, entertainment/amenities, and future development

Open Questions:

1.Is it realistic for me to be able to set up and operate this type of fund part time?

2.If it’s not realistic, I’m considering taking my capital and investors and bringing them into someone else’s deal as LPs to learn the ropes and gain some experience and credibility. I’m only home 3 days per week, so assume REIAs are not realistic for me. What are some other ways to get connected to people already doing these types of deals?

3.If this is realistic, what is the correct order of operations to get this set up? Do I start with an attorney, CPA, consultant, other? Are there companies that specialize in setting up and managing these funds, soup to nuts? How do I find the right professionals with the right experience?

4.My investors will mostly be non-accredited but with basic financial sophistication. What’s the best way to communicate the deal in straightforward terms? I haven’t found too many offering memorandums that clearly do this, so I’ve started building my own from scratch.

5.What else might I be missing here? Any other advice or words of wisdom would be welcome.