All Forum Posts by: Hubert Washington

@Chase Howard

Congratulations on looking to jump into the world of multifamily & apartment investing! My advice is educate yourself around this particular niche of REI. There is a lot of good information out there on the subject. I recommend:

1) ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy
2) Wheelbarrow Profits by Jake Stenziano & Gino Barbaro

3) Multi-Family Millions by David Lindhal

4) The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings by Steve Berges

Also Jake and Gino, Michael Blank, and Joe Fairless have great podcasts on apartment investing.

Best of luck on your journey!

@Tameka Studevan

Welcome to the BP community! There is a ton of resources and information available on BP. Make sure to listen to the podcasts. Just start with Episode 1 and continue listening until you are caught up. Best of luck on your REI journey!

@Michael R.

It comes down to your personal goals and a matter of preference. I would recommend learning the basics of both MF and SF and see which one fits better with you and what you are trying to accomplish. I'm in a similar situation, and found that the business of investing in multifamily / apartments is more in line with my strengths, risk tolerance, and short / long term goals. A good beginning book on apartments is ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy. If you like it and want to know more read:

Wheelbarrow Profits by Jake Stenziano & Gino Barbaro
Multi-Family Millions by David Lindhal
The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings by Steve Berges

I also recommend reading them in that order if you decide to go down that route. Good luck on your journey!

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!

@Brian Adams

Congratulations on your 4th syndication deal and on acquiring 240 more doors! Thanks for sharing your success with the community! If you don't mind me asking - 

1. What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome to get the deal done?
2. What is the biggest lesson you learned from doing this deal?

Thanks in advance. I'm looking forward to your responses!

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!

@Gino Barbaro

For me there is nothing "stopping" me but I think the biggest hurdle to overcome is lack of experience in multifamily / apartments. Especially because I want to start off in the 25+ unit space. It seems that most don't take you seriously until you have done the first deal and that is what I am currently up against. That is why my primary goal is to get into a deal before the end of this year - even if it is passively or in partnership with another experienced investor. My hope is that this strategy will help me get that first one as soon as possible and start the snowball rolling.

Until then I will keep learning, networking, and analyzing deals with the belief that my passion, desire, hunger, and increasing knowledge will at some point overshadow my lack of experience.

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!

@Andrew Taylor

I agree with @Wes Brand but do not think you should just walk away. My advice is find an experienced apartment investor whose investment criteria fits the deal you found. See if they would be willing to partner on the deal and teach you throughout the process. Of course you will have to give up a good piece of the deal but I'm sure the experience you will gain will far outweigh any lost profit. You might even be more profitable because you are working with someone who knows what they are doing. There will be plenty more deals. Think of this one as a learning experience with a great opportunity to be hands on and involved. I like to watch Shark Tank and always laugh at how many people walk away without getting the deal done because they were unwilling to trade potential returns for actual knowledge and experience from those who know what they are doing. Don't be one of those people. "The road to success is littered with those who tried to do it on their own."

If I were you, that is what I would do. Your main goal should be to walk away from all of this with the ability to say that you put together a successful deal for acquiring an apartment complex and achieved a greater than expected return for your investors. No one will care whether you did it by yourself or not.

I applaud you for going big and not being afraid to jump in. With that said, use this opportunity for its highest and best use - EXPERIENCE. I rarely hear people talk about how much money they made from their first deal but they ALWAYS talk about the experience they gained.

PS. Most experienced apartment investors also have a network of private capital who are looking great returns on their money.

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!

@Gino Barbaro

Incredible story and thank you for sharing! I love your mantra Thought=Desire=Massive Action=Results. I recently asked my brother "Have you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to do WHATEVER it takes to get there?". Until recently I had never wanted anything THAT badly and now that I have, it has changed my life. I realized that when you think about something so much and want it so badly, you WILL take MASSIVE ACTION to get it. It creates a magnetic "pull" on you instead of a labored "push" to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be. The best part about it, according to your mantra, is that the outcome is guaranteed.

I truly believe you have found the secret to success, Find something that you want so badly that you will do whatever it takes to get there. For me it started when my 4 year old son asked me why I couldn't stay at home to "play with him and his sister like mommy does instead of going to work." I realized right then what I wanted so badly that I was willing to do whatever it took to get it. I wanted to watch my children grow up and be present for every moment of their precious lives! How can that NOT pull you into taking MASSIVE ACTION?

I can only hope that I have the opportunity to add value to what you and @Jake Stenziano are building. Your journey has given me invaluable encouragement!

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!

@Ben Leybovich - I guess I better start looking for that needle in the haystack! Thanks for your input!

@Gino Barbaro - As always, thanks for your valuable insight! I agree about becoming a renter nation and would love to see that keep rental demand strong for many years to come. 

Thanks to everyone who took time to respond to my post. I guess the moral of the story is regardless of where the market is headed, I will be ok as long as I "Buy Right":

• Look for apartments with value add opportunities
• Find B/C properties that are in A/B areas
• Stick to my investment criteria
• Underwrite conservatively
• Be prepared to pass on a lot of deals since I am looking for a needle in a haystack
• Be patient

Did I miss anything? Thanks again for all the feedback and knowledge!

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!

@Simon Cox

Congratulations!

I'm sure you would have preferred to get the deal done but congratulations none the less for making it as far as you did. It reminds me of Thomas Edison's famous quote "I have not failed. I've just found 10,00 ways that won't work". All the things you've learned from this deal will be invaluable to you as you continue on your journey. @Gino Barbaro states in his book, Wheelbarrow Profits, that you have to analyze 100 deals to make offers on 10 to close on 1. You only have 9 more to go and you are 1 step closer than I am!

Also I applaud you for going straight into the world of apartment investing. Most people let fear of the unknown stop them from going big. Like you, once I was exposed to the larger apartment side of real estate, I was hooked and knew that this is exactly where I want to be.

I just sent you a PM. I would love to hear your story in greater detail if you are open to sharing.

@Anthony Chara - Thanks for your input! Being in Jacksonville, I am hearing similar things here as you mentioned about Orlando. I have also been looking at some local reports on my market (irr.com, colliers.com, marcusmillichap.com, etc).

@Nick B. - Shorting the apartment market? How do I get a piece of that action? lol. What specific things do you do differently in "ultra cautious" mode?

@Jake Thompson - Thanks for the recommendations. I have already read ABCs and Emerging Markets is next on my list once I finish The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings.

@Levi T. - Sounds like the common theme so far is conservative underwriting. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I would love to continue to hear the thoughts of other experienced multifamily / apartment investors.

THINK BIG...THINK BIGGER...THINK MASSIVELY!