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When it comes to investing in real estate, most people are fairly familiar with the process of buying a single-family home or rental property. You choose the market and neighborhoods, determine how many bedrooms and bathrooms you’re looking for, get together with a lender and a broker, tour potential properties, and then make an offer.Â
But that’s just the beginning. What they aren’t familiar with is how to manage the property or the property managers, the renovations, even just the P&L for the business. It’s a lot of work.
However, when it comes to investing in a real estate syndication (group investment), the entire process can be entirely foreign, especially if you’ve never invested in syndications before.
It was certainly overwhelming for me at first, as I found out that passive investing is open to people like us. But it was worth the initial effort to understand the process.
Today, investing is simple and easy for us. And it can be for you, too.Â
For this reason, let’s explore the syndication process together, from start to finish, so you can invest confidently in your first real estate syndication.
Here are the basic steps of investing in a real estate syndication:
Once you decide you want to invest in a real estate syndication, consider both your short-term and long-term investing goals so you can be sure to find investment opportunities that best fit your personal goals.
Think about the amount of capital you have to invest, the length of time you want that capital invested, tax advantages you’re looking for, and whether you are investing primarily for ongoing cash flow to help offset your income, long-term appreciation, or a hybrid of both.
Once you’ve determined your investing goals, aim to find a deal in alignment with your goals.Â
There are countless real estate syndication opportunities and markets out there. If you’re looking for recession-resistant multifamily investments, we can help you surface the strongest and most viable opportunities.
We will typically provide an executive summary, full investment summary, and host a webinar for investors, which provides a full 360-degree view of the asset, the market, the deal sponsor team, the business plan, and the projected financials.
Be sure to take time to properly vet the track record of the operating team, ask them your questions, and read between the lines of any investment materials provided. Take a look at things like whether the business plan has multiple exit strategies, whether there are signs of conservative underwriting, and double-check whether the proposed business plan makes sense given the asset class, submarket, and current economic cycle.Â
Research market trends in job and population growth. Review minimum investment requirements, projected hold time, and projected returns. Finally, attend or review the investor webinar and make sure you get your questions answered.
Basically, at this stage, look for any reason not to invest in the deal.
Once you’ve found an opportunity you want to invest in, it’s time to reserve your spot in the deal. Usually, deals are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so you’ll want to take the time to ask questions and do your research before a live deal opens up.
Often, investment opportunities can fill up in a few hours, which is why it’s important to have completed your research, solidified your investment value, and have clear goals. That way, when the opportunity opens up, you can jump on it.
Typically, the first step is to make a soft reserve, which holds your spot while you take time to review the investment materials. The soft reserve does not lock you in the deal; it merely saves you a spot in the deal while giving you more time to review the fine details of the investment and conduct your own due diligence.
Once you’ve decided to invest in a deal, the first official step is to review and sign the PPM (private placement memorandum).
This legal document provides in-depth details about the investment opportunity, the risks involved, and your role as an investor. Although reading legal jargon may be no fun, it’s very important you gain a full understanding of the risks, subscription agreement, and operating agreement pertaining to the investment.
As part of signing the PPM, you’ll also decide how you’ll hold your shares of the entity holding the asset and whether you want your distributions sent via check or direct deposit.
Once you’ve completed the PPM, the final step is to send in your funds. Typically, you’ll find wiring instructions in the PPM document.
Pro tip: Before wiring your funds, double-check the wiring information, and let the deal sponsor know to expect it so they can be on the lookout.
By now, the process of investing in a real estate syndication should be more clear, and perhaps, a little less intimidating.
Real estate syndications are more of a set-it-and-forget-it type of investment, so your active participation is upfront, during the time you’re choosing a deal, reviewing the investor materials, reserving your spot, reading and signing the PPM, and wiring in your funds.
Don’t worry though, if this process still seems a bit daunting. That’s what I’m here for, and I’ll be with you every step of the way as you invest in your first real estate syndication. As you review and invest in more deals, the process will become second-nature.
Here at Blue Elm Investments, we provide multiple ways to leverage the power of real estate syndications in your investment portfolio so you can take advantage of real estate’s cash flow, equity, appreciation, and tax benefits.
If you’re accredited and looking to deploy capital, we invite you to sign up for our Investor Club to get access to our current or upcoming opportunities.
