All Forum Posts by: Charles Seaman

@Ken Martin your best bet is implementing stricter leasing and collection procedures upon acquisition if you decide to move forward with the property.  Better management is a value add because you can achieve operational efficiencies through it.  Be realistic and assume a higher vacancy rate upon acquisition so that you budget for it.  If the property is well located and you can easily find quality tenants to replace them, then make those the first units that you upgrade and get new tenants to fill them thereafter.

@Ken Martin are you looking to do a minor re-positioning or a major re-positioning?

@Robert White I'll message you directly to discuss it further.

@Robert White what are you specifically looking for help with?  Are you looking for somebody to help you obtain financing for it or to walk you through everything from start to finish?

@Tucker Walser I own part of a multifamily property in GA, so I'm definitely open to deals in other states.  I'm currently focusing on various parts of AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TX, and UT.

@Tucker Walser broker relationships are the most important because they'll bring you good deals.  If you're constantly searching in different areas without having a track record, then you'll always get the worst deals.  Aside from brokers, property manager relationships are important too because they'll be the ones that let you know whether or not your projections are realistic as you're evaluating deals.  Focusing on one area as you start out helps you develop better relationships with both.

@Tucker Walser there's a few things that I recommend to people starting out in syndication.

1.  Pick a target area.  You want to focus on one area so that you're familiar with the area and so that you have meaningful relationships with brokers, property managers, and other professionals that will ultimately lead to you getting better deals and better information.

2.  Find sponsors.  Sponsors are people that have the financial and experience track records to qualify for the loans that you'll need to acquire properties (unless you're not planning to use any debt).  If you develop good relationships with them, then they might even let you use their track records to get good deals that you wouldn't get otherwise and to attract investors that would be more skeptical about investing with somebody that has no prior track record.

3.  Find investors.  Many syndicators make the mistake of spending too much time finding deals and not enough time finding investors.  You should be spending as much time finding investors as you are finding deals.  It's often said that you'll be able to find the money if you find a good deal.  While there is truth to that in certain regards, it's tough to do that in syndication because there are strict rules and regulations that must be followed when raising capital.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that there's a lot of money in syndication, but it's definitely not going to be the fastest or easiest way for you to make money.  So have a realistic perspective that syndication is a long-term strategy and that you'll need to build your track record before you really start making money.  If you have that starting out, it'll help to avoid any disappointment that may come from having unrealistic expectations as you start out.

@Tucker Walser will you be syndicating the deal or using your own capital to purchase it?

@Adam Capani awesome!  I see that you're a commercial broker.  Do you deal with multifamily at all?

@Gal Shapira my associate, @Trey Knight, recently began working the Salt Lake City market for our team.  Perhaps he can give you some insight on what he's found so far.