All Forum Posts by: Charles Seaman

You're welcome @Stephanie James and @Marlen Weber.  I'm glad to help.

@Sam Abraham What exactly are you looking for from a mentor?

@Stephanie James For commercial properties, you'll need to put at least 20% down.  The money doesn't need to be your money, but somebody needs to put that money in the deal.  It's unlikely that you'll be able to collateralize your personal properties as a way to fund these deals, but you might be able to collateralize them in exchange for funds from a private lender.  You can then use these funds to invest in the deals.

Obtaining seller financing might be another option.  Getting primary financing that allows for secondary seller financing can help you reduce the amount that you have to put down.  Overall, my best suggestion is to work on finding money partners that can put these funds down for you until you're in the position to do so yourself.

@Ian Jimeno Prior to COVID-19 and the event going virtual, I had it on my radar to attend because it seems like the type of event that would attract a lot of people that would be worthwhile to meet.  Now that it's virtual, I no longer plan to attend.  But for somebody that's just starting out in the education phase, the virtual event will likely be worthwhile to attend.  Hopefully you get tons of value from it.

@Jason Malabute It's a tough time to answer this question because of where the overall market is due to all of the uncertainty we've experienced in recent months.  If you're financing your deal with agency debt, there's a very good chance that the lender will require you to provide at least 12 months worth of debt service at closing (Fannie Mae will likely also require at least 12 months worth of real estate taxes, insurance, and replacement reserves at closing).  This gives you a nice little cushion.

However, I'm a proponent of being conservative.  On top of the lender required reserves, I'm currently using an owner reserve that's equivalent to four (4) months worth of the property's total net income.  Between both reserves, they should hopefully allow a sufficient safety net.

@Jonathan Farber You're welcome.

@Jonathan Farber The biggest risks to doing this are below.  If you're okay with them, then I'd say go for it.

1.  Potentially ruining your reputation with the brokers that bring you the deals because word travels fast and you might get a reputation for being a guy that gets deals under contract, but then not performing.  This will be a hard stigma for you to overcome.

2. Incurring costs for deals that you don't intend to pursue. Even if you get your EMD back, you'll still incur legal fees, lender fees, inspection fees, and other costs that you will not get back.

3.  Not being able to raise sufficient capital to close all of the deals that you actually want to close.

@Christopher Smith I wouldn't personally, but I do know other people that have and the reality is that such behavior will likely continue in the future.  People aren't perfect and many successful people simply don't make being kind a priority.  I'm not saying that such behavior is right or wrong, but more that it is what it is.  The are a few major takeaways for you from this:

1.  Let this treatment help you build mental toughness.

2.  Allow it to further motivate you to achieve your goals.

3.  In life, people sometimes have to do things to get what they want.  For example, if wholesaling or being a bird dog is a necessity to help you get where you ultimately want to be, then use it as a stepping stone.

4.  Take action and do something (which you are), but don't split yourself too thin by trying to do too many things because then you'll experience diminished results with all of them.  So if you decide to start with wholesaling, make that your priority.  Continue learning about multifamily until you're in a position to make the jump from one to the other.  Conversely, if you want to stick with multifamily, then do that.  Just realize that the time horizon for success in both is generally different for most people.

5.  Keep your head and realize that you just need to keep putting the work in.  Eventually, the pieces will come together if you surround yourself with the right people and take the right actions.

@Kim Lisa Taylor That's sound advice.  Do you have any tips on what people should look for as they pay careful attention to their syndicates?

@Joe Ansley A very popular, yet affordable, underwriting tool is Michael Blank's Syndicated Deal Analyzer.  My team started using it back in December and have been happy with it thus far.  See the link below for more information.

https://themichaelblank.com/syndicated-deal-analyzer/