What’s the Most Important Skill for Long-Term Success in Multifamily Investing?

Question

The more I study multifamily investing, the more it seems like finding deals is only one piece of the puzzle.

Curious what experienced investors think is the most important skill that actually leads to long-term success in this business:

• underwriting discipline?• raising capital?• operations/property management?• renovations/execution?• market selection?• relationship building?• patience and risk management?

Seems like the operators who survive long term usually do a few things extremely well, especially in tougher markets like today.

Greg Kasmer · Answer

@Dalton Mongold - On the multifamily side I'm going to say the most important skill is general operations and/or asset management - the GP that oversees the property manager and has the pulse on the regular operations of the assets. If you run efficient operations you'll have a good chance of long-lasting success.

Bryce Jamison · Answer

If I had to pick the single skill / task that has had the biggest impact on my real estate investing, I'd pick tenant screening.

One bad tenant can cost thousands of dollars between damages, court cost, and lost rent on top of all the time they require and headaches they cause. A good tenant could stay for years, pay rent on time every month, and rarely have maintenance requests.

Other things can be more forgiving. If I slightly over estimate rent, overpay a vendor, or take a week longer to get a unit ready than expected it stinks, but it's not going to break me. One bad tenant can easily eat a year + of profit.

For these same reasons, I avoid areas where I could run into legal issues with renting, or pulling permits & doing projects.

G. Brian Davis · Answer

If I had to choose just one, I'd say underwriting discipline.

Most mistakes eventually show up in the numbers. Overpaying, using unrealistic rent projections, underestimating expenses, taking on too much leverage, or relying on a perfect exit strategy can all be traced back to underwriting. Long-term success usually comes from a combination of skills. As a co-founder of a co-investing club, one thing I've noticed is that the operators who consistently perform well tend to be disciplined across the board. They underwrite conservatively, communicate well, manage risk, and stay patient when others are chasing deals.

The common thread is that they rarely rely on optimism to make a deal work.

Denise Supplee · Answer

If I've learned anything over the years, it's that there usually isn't one skill that determines success. Patience and disciplined decision-making seem to show up again and again among the investors who last through multiple market cycles.

Through the co-investing club I help run, we've reviewed a lot of multifamily opportunities, and I've noticed that the strongest operators are often the ones who stay conservative with their assumptions, manage risk well, and don't feel pressured to do every deal that comes along.

Finding deals is important, but knowing which deals to pass on can be just as valuable.

What’s the Most Important Skill for Long-Term Success in Multifamily Investing?

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