All Forum Posts by: Lisa Burns

Thank you everyone for the replies so far! I'll try to answer the most prevalent issues that have been raised so far:

Quote by @Don Konipol:

In 45 years in the real estate investment business, I NEVER saw anyone long term successful in the business who wasn’t PASSIONATE about real estate.

I am not passionate about real estate. I am passionate about owning/controlling my income sources (which I have done in the past though not in the present), and I have some long-term "mission" goals that are very important to me that would be well-served by some real estate experience at a higher level than single-family. But I have no inherent interest in real estate on its own merits. I fully expect that the day-to-day would be a grind with little emotional reward.

Quote by @Jonathan Greene

And in regard to gurus in the syndication, do not trust them. You want to learn syndication from tried and true syndicators, not fake gurus.

This particular guru is an established syndicator. Both he and the equity firm he leads (which apparently funds some but not all student deals) are well-respected here at Bigger Pockets.

Regarding the recurring theme of experience -- I understand everything that was said by @Brian Burke , @Jay Hinrichs , and others, and it's nothing I haven't thought of before. The fact is, I DO have some relevant experience, just not in real estate. I'm a numbers person with decent negotiating, project management, and administrative skills, and I was counting on those talents plus some education to be enough to get taken seriously. And I was counting on quality mentoring to help avoid major pitfalls with OPM. (Because like Jay said, a lawsuit is FAR up on the list of things I'd like to avoid!)

I still haven't decided what I'm going to do, but everyone here has given me a lot to think about and I appreciate that. A good part of me really believes I can do this, but my gut has been telling me all along that it's simply unrealistic to expect to be ready to responsibly fulfil a GP role after 6-12 months in the industry. It's just that I prefer to make decisions on facts rather than feelings. Hence this thread.

Thanks again to one and all!

I'm an experienced entrepreneur, but new to real estate investing (no deals under my belt yet apart from my own home). I want to replace my income within a reasonable timeframe, so I'm looking at a syndication mentorship with a "guru" who claims I'll close my first syndication deal on a commercial multi-family property within 6 to 12 months. I know the whole mentoring space is full of charlatans and "those who can't, teach," but I've done my due diligence and this outfit has legitimate results, so I'm comfortable moving ahead.

What I'm struggling with is if I actually want to own or be responsible for a large apartment complex. I mean, once the deal is inked, then I'll be in charge of a syndication and contractually bound to certain things, and even with good property management in place, I assume there will be some headaches (especially as a newbie). My "guru" has shared some thoughts on that, but I'm interested in additional opinions.

I'm not afraid of hard work, but I'd appreciate any thoughts on what I need to be prepared for if I head down this road, as well as opinions on the risks I'm signing up for. Any and all thoughts are welcome, including wet blankets if need be.

Thanks in advance!