My first ever 44 Unit MF apartment closed in Dec. 2020

My first ever 44 Unit MF apartment closed in Dec. 2020

New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes

I’m sharing a great news! My Real Estate Journey made at night and weekend, allowed me to close my first deal!

December 2020, I officially closed my first investment real estate deal with my partners. It’s a 44 Unit Multifamily Apartment in Lawrence, KS.

I feel like I can write a book about it, but will try to keep it as simple as possible.

Little Intro of myself: Late 30’s, Full time W2 Lawyer in NYC. Father of 2 girls. Did not own any investment property prior to this 44 Unit. (Not even a single, never done any flipping)

Limiting beliefs I crushed: No way I can invest outside of my back yard, How can I trust others, You need lots of money to start, I should start small like single or duplex before going to multifamily. Education is a cost.

How I crushed these limiting beliefs: Through right education, Not listening to the naysayers. Surrounding myself with like minded people. Being connected with mentors and right partners, Relentless action taking. Griding persistently, Trying to add value to the team, Falling in love with the process.

Some of the milestones

Late 2019: I set a goal that I’ll close my first RE deal in 2020. I joined Bigger Pockets. 

Self-education through Bigger-pockets and found David Greene's Out of state investing book. Now I felt more confident about investing out of state. By listening to Michael Blank saying he was considered as a newbie when he started MF despite his single family flipping experience, now I decided to go to MF directly skipping single/duplex. By listening to Grant Cardone saying "look at a bigger deal that justifies scalability, now I decided to look at more than 10 Unit as my first deal. 

In the begginng I was little ashamed to call myself a Multifamily investor without having any, and didn’t know how to put myself out there and get connected with like minded people. - I sought advice from Bigger Pockets, and somebody encouraged me to be just transparent (Thank you John Casmon). I decided to believe in myself and to just be myself.

March 2020 - Realized Self-education is not equivalent to taking actions. I was passively absorbing the information. Joined a Mentorship Community / Mastermind Group, Started Real Education, Started self-reflection as to who I am and how I can add value, Started putting myself out there looking for partners. This is when Pandemic shut down happened. 

May 2020 - Connected with my current partners and started analyzing deals

June 2020 - After reading Joe Fairless' Syndication Book, Started co-hosting a bi-weekly Virtual Meetup in NY regarding multifamily investing, and massive virtual networking started. Covid couldn't stop me.

July 2020 - Became a Co-Host of Multifamily and More meet up - KC chapter with my partner.

August 2020 - 68 Unit Apartment LOI Accepted

September 2020 - 68 Unit under Contract / 44 Unit LOI Accepted

October 2020 - 44 Unit under Contract

December 11, 2020 - 44 Unit closed (JV). (68 Unit closing got pushed a little - Syndication)

Feb. 2021 - 68 Unit expected to be closed within this month.


A few things I learned
: Right education. This is critical. But to get the right education, you need to be guided by people who are more experienced than you are. It can be people from bigger pockets, or mentorship program. Right partnership. You need to surround yourself with highly motivated like minded people. Stay away from people who drain your energy and positivity. Make sure you work with those who's interests are aligned with yours. Those who share same work ethic and philosophy. Massive Action Taking. I can't emphasize this enough. Do it. Meet people. Underwrite deals. Talk to the brokers and lenders. Practice your pitch. Last but not least by no means. Fall in love with the process. It's a long process. So enjoy it and be persistent, and patient. You will see the result. 

Yosef 

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Rental Property Investor · Bronx, NY · Member since 2011 · 193 posts · 322 votes
5y

Yosef!!!!! The part about "self-education is not equivalent to taking action" .... Man!!!! Not enough people realize that, just take that first step bc otherwise you'll never progress and your story symbolizes just that! Great way to lead by example and I'm so proud to say I know you and am part of your extended fam! Great job and can't wait to see what the rest of this year holds for you!

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  • Member since 2021 · 39 posts · 22 votes
    5y

    @Yosef Lee

    Awesome!

    It’s good to hear your experiences and seeing all that all your hard work paid off!

    Keep us informed on the next phase on how you are handling the property management side!

  • New to Real Estate · Houston, TX · Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    Great post Yosef! I'm in the same process you are right now and you're inspiring me to keep going to get these deals closed. Keep going you're going to be great!!

  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    Congrats!

  • Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2018 · 35 posts · 33 votes
    5y

    @Yosef Lee

    Wow love how versatile you're in negotiating and finding solutions to these issues.

    Keep up the great work! I'm looking to do the same as you in the MHP scene if you happen to be connected to someone I should know I'd love to be pointed in the right direction.

    All the best,

    Sam

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Marquis Okafor:

    Congrats on this!!

    Thank you Marquis! Appreciate that! Yosef 

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Kathleen Wilcox:

    Congratulations!

    Thank you Kathleen! Have a great day! Yosef 

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Mitchell Loukusa:

    @Yosef Lee

    That's an amazing first deal!

    I love the way you highlighted the beliefs that were holding you back and how you crushed them.

    I'm still in the 'new to real estate' phase and working on getting myself the education and tools to do my first deal, so hearing from someone just ahead of me that did such a large deal is really cool!

    Thank you Mitchell! Education is great and if you take actions thereupon? RESULT! If you have any questions please connect, I'm willing to share what I learned! Connect me on FB or Linkedin @yosefyourbrosef  

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Carlos Ptriawan:

    Yosef how do you select the property manager ? is it same as the previous owner property manager ? how's the inspection report being done ?

    Hi Carlos! The PM we have now is the one who worked there for the previous owner. In the beginning we were planning to change the PM but after talking to them, we liked them so we decided to keep them. If we need to find our own PM, we will strictly base on referral and reference. Inspection was done and we used a local property inspection company who did real thorough job. His report was delivered in his website where we could download I believe if we wanted to and it shows in detail what his thoughts are for each issues with pictures. It was really great.  

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Carla J Brand:

    @Yosef Lee Congratulations, Yosef!!! That's inspiring! Hoping/planning to buy my first multi-apartment deal this year! 

    Thank you Carla! That is a great goal and very doable! Anytime DM/reach me on FB or LinkedIn @yosefyourbrosef

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Justin Massey:

    @Yosef Lee I would love to get in touch with you , I am in your shoes! At this very moment

    Thank you Justin! Anytime DM/reach me on FB or LinkedIn @yosefyourbrosef  let's set up a zoom call. I would love to share what I learned throughout the process. 

  • New to Real Estate · NY · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Yosef Lee Great story, I myself have not started yet, I am in the Military and should be moving duty station soon. But I have not taken that step yet. I really want to start with flipping and then make my way to actual rentals, preferably in the Northern Eastern states.

    What’s your next move after this one? And how was the process, how did you feel while you were making such huge transaction?

  • Rental Property Investor · Madison, AL · Member since 2019 · 487 posts · 658 votes
    5y

    @Elin Anderson

    Investing in real estate while in the military is one of the best decision I have made for my financial future. There are several unique strategies  to get in with no or low money down. I own two properties currently and am growing to three, hopefully four investment properties this year. If you ever want to connect shoot me a DM. 

    Sincerely 

    Josh


  • Specialist · Quincy, MA · Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    @Yosef Lee Congratulations man good stuff!

  • Investor · Bronxville, NY · Member since 2017 · 114 posts · 48 votes
    5y

    Congratulations!  You set a goal and demolished it!

  • Hadar OrkibiPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · USA / NZ · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 812 votes
    5y

    @Yosef Lee thank you for the kind words!! Marco and I are delighted to have you in the MIH Mastermmind. 

    But the fact is that the teacher can open the door, BUT the student needs to walk through it!

    You have done AMAZINGLY well, no surprise because you are committed and giving it 200%. 

    You Joined the Amazing community of Jake & Gino and then Joined MIH, so that kind of commitment and action speaks for itsselfs! 

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Marc Bhuyan:

    Very cool and inspiring story. WTG!

    Thank you Marc!! I appreciate that! Yosef 

  • Member since 2019 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    Thanks Yosef for an explanation. What's the PM charges? what's the unpredicted capex expense or maintenance that you find during purchase?

    < a Few months ago I almost plan to buy 10 MF units too but finally end up with multiple duplexes across states, it's still 10 units though :) definitely I shall learn from you >

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Johnny Situ:

    Thank you Brosef for sharing your success, definitely inspiring. Let's Make It Happen!

    Hey Johnny! Good to see you here! Thank you and let's make it happen man! Brosef 

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Ken Naim:

    @Yosef Lee Great work on this deal. The numbers look great. Thank you for sharing. In two years you'll have a 3.5m property easy.

    How did you settle on Lawrence KS and find and off market deal there from NY?

    Thank you Ken! I appreciate. I happened to partner up with someone who's there locally. He is my boots on the ground partner. The deal came through a friend of his who knew the owner. This is why I always say, it's a team sport. If you have a great team, there is no boundary. FL is also great State. I know some people aiming Tampa and Orlando markets. Yosef 

  • Investor · Lake Worth, FL · Member since 2016 · 233 posts · 140 votes
    5y

    @Yosef Lee Yes, Florida has a lot of good value add deals. As soon as i fish the two I'm working, I'll be on the hunt for more.

  • Investor · St George UT / Kansas City MO · Member since 2019 · 23 posts · 12 votes
    5y

    Hello, Yosef, Thanks for sharing the details of your deal. I sent you a couple of direct-message questions that I hope you will take a minute to answer, so I wanted to point you to check your inbox please.

    Thanks a lot. 

    Josh Jackson 

    St George, UT / Jackson County MO

  • Investor · St George UT / Kansas City MO · Member since 2019 · 23 posts · 12 votes
    5y

    Hello, Yosef, 

    Thanks for sharing the details of your deal. I sent you a couple of direct-message questions that I hope you will take a minute to answer, so I wanted to point you to check your inbox please.

    Thanks a lot. 

    Josh Jackson 

    St George, UT / Jackson County MO

  • Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    Yosef,

    Wonderful story of determination.  So happy to see you have fallen in love with the process.  I am new to investing and BP and was wondering where you found the right partners considering you invested out of state? 

    Best,

    Alan

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Kevin Manz:

    Congratulations, how much are rents? Wondering what c class can bring in Lawrence. 

    Hi Kevin, the average rent for the property was about $510/Month over all. The average market rent nearby was about $700/Month. We just turned a unit and raised it about $200 to match the market. Yosef

  • New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2019 · 234 posts · 264 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Jeffery Leroy:

    CONGRATS... Super story and thank you for the detail...KEEP CRUSHING IT..

     Thank you Jeffery! I appreciate that! Let's crush 2021! Yosef

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