All Forum Posts by: John Casmon

Lots of good questions asked. Goals are very important here as it can be just as lucrative to do smaller deals than to syndicate. But syndication is not about real estate investing. It's more akin to a financial services firm that invests in real estate so make sure you understand what you're signing up for. 

If they're providing relaxed penalties to renters, they should at least provide similar terms for apartment owners with our hard costs on taxes, insurance and utilities of these properties. If I could tell the utility company that the tenants didn't pay so they just have to wait and can't charge me late fees or turn off service, I wouldn't really see a big issue here. But of course, it doesn't work like that.

@Mike McKinzie

Phenomenal list by @Brian Burke

I do know of a website that has a list of sponsors, but its certainly not comprehensive. There are multiple Facebook groups specifically for syndications as well.

I think you are correct, but with a couple of huge caveats.

1. You should be an owner-occupant of a 2-4 unit to reduce your upfront equity and maximize your ROI. Buying these as pure investments where you have to put down 20-25% only has one advantage over anything larger - more potential buyers on the exit.
2. Focus on Class B areas where you would want to live anyway. Someone mentioned that too many people are looking in that space and that's EXACTLY why I would recommend it. Starting out, you need some safety nets and if you buy in a great area that is in demand, you will be okay. If you try to play with the big boys out of the gate and make a mistake on your underwriting the market will NOT save you! 
3. If you have the knowledge, time and resources to go bigger then absolutely go bigger. You should be developing those three areas either way and looking for ways to solve for any gaps you may currently have. 

@Niv Levi There's merit to bringing on an underwriter, but it doesn't absolve you and your partners from the assumptions and projections. As @Greg Dickerson stated, we use help to do the initial underwriting, but I still go through all the assumptions and projections before submitting an offer. What may be more useful is having someone come in and handle the data entry and then you can review it and adjust as needed. 

You will want to learn from others doing commercial development. Whether that is through formal coaching, classes, mentorship, fellowship, employment, etc is up to you and your learning style. However, I would suggest finding ways to get real-world experience where you can lean on someone else's expertise.  

Also, development can be interpreted a couple of different ways. Do you mean buying commercial properties and renovating them or ground-up construction? 

So this is a SFR, 3 bedroom house, correct? Meaning you will be sharing common living spaces.

In this case, it’s more of a roommate situation on top of your significant other. That’s a lot of personalities under one roof, especially if they are paying you rent. It will never feel like their home and it can be awkward quickly.

I would suggest avoiding renting to family, but if you’re bringing in a roommate to help with the finances and they are living in a shared space with you, the best thing to do is be clear upfront and let them know boundaries and expectations. I would create more of a joint agreement like college roommates vs. a lease so they feel they have a say in what is acceptable.

If they have their own unit, ignore all of that and just get a strong lease, but be firm and tell them you can’t do any favors just because their family.

 Yes, Linda from Colorado. 

Rents are starting to push up and there seems to be more demand for renovated product. Cincy rents have a lot of room to increase compared to similar metros and we're starting to see people put out a better product (e.g. updating those ugly pink or green bathroom tiles) and commanding higher rents.  

As @Michael Le said the returns projected are for investors so the numbers need to reflect the returns they will see on their investment. Fees should absolutely be included. There may be a portion of operating capital and CapEx that's returned to investors, but it's safer to treat this as a bonus and not apart of the projected returns.