STRATEGY
APARTMENT SYNDICATIONS
1. Is the property being acquired at a price below the comparable properties in the area? 2. What is the in-place/going-in cap rate? 3. What is the status of the apart- ment’s major systems? 4. What is the capital expenditure budget? 5. How do the trailing 12-month profits and losses compare to your pro forma? 6. How much money are you placing in reserves up front and each year? 7. Is the debt term equal to/longer than the projected hold period? 8. What are the sales assump- tions? How do you calculate the exit cap rate? The syndication team, the market, and the deal are the three major risk points for a passive apartment investor. By following these three tips, you will minimize these risks and be on your way to making this year your best ever! • 9. What are the projected returns?
is and has been trending up.
3. JOB DIVERSITY This is the most important market factor. Sure, people need jobs to pay for rent, but what happens if the main industry takes a hit? How many jobs are affected? That’s why the main industry in the strongest apartment markets employ less than 25 percent of the population. 4. VACANCY RATES The vacancy rate indicates the level of demand in a market. The lower the vacancy rate, the higher the demand for rentals, which means higher rents and higher econom- ic occupancy. Ideally, the market vacancy rate is 5 percent or lower or is decreasing. 5. RENTS A market’s median rent also indicates the level of demand in a market. Increasing median rents indicates a higher demand for rentals, which means greater returns. However, make sure that the median rent is less than 30 percent of the median income, or else the majority of the population will not be able to afford rent. Other relevant market factors to be aware of are crime rates, school district rankings, Fortune 500 Com- panies, number of new builds, and population age. INVEST IN CONSERVATIVELY UNDERWRITTEN DEALS Lastly, successfully passive in- vestors only invest in conservatively underwritten deals. To determine if the return projections are conserva- tive or aggressive, ask the syndicator the following questions:
Three Tips to Scale Your Multifamily Passive Investing Business
their first deal or failed on others. And always remember, successful passive investors have their fingers on the pulse of the projects. This is impossible if the syndicator isn’t transparent or has poor communica- tion practices. UNDERSTAND THE MARKET FUNDAMENTALS The next step is to understand the fundamentals of the syndicator’s target market. One strategy is to simply assume that the syndication team would only select the best markets in which to invest. But suc- cessful passive investors conduct their own market evaluation. You can trust, but always verify. Here are the five market factors to evaluate: 1. UNEMPLOYMENT People need jobs to pay for rent. Ide- ally, the unemployment rate is low and/or decreasing. 2. POPULATION To fill vacant units, you need people who need a place to live. The more people who move to a market, the more demand there is for apart- ment rentals. Ideally, the population
HOW TO PROPERLY VET AN APARTMENT SYNDICATOR.
by Joe Fairless
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background? How large is their operation? Have they worked with your company before? How long have you partnered with them? NO. 4 How often do you send updates on deals? What information is included? Are the reports customized? NO. 5 Who is my point person with your office? Can I have his or her cell phone number? As Tony Robbins says, “Suc- cess leaves clues.” You can trust a syndication team with a solid track record of taking multiple deals full cycle that exceeded projections more than a syndicator that is attempting
e get it — you’re busy. Perhaps it’s a full-time job,
their team. Since you’re handing over your hard-earned capital to someone else, you must trust this group to pre- serve your wealth and distribute the return projections in full and on time. To do so, you’ll want to thoroughly vet the apartment syndicator and their team. Here are some questions for them.
new kiddo or you simply want to enjoy your retirement. Whatever the case may be, you can still passively invest in apartment syndications and achieve returns that are greater than those of stocks, bonds, REITs, and other investment vehicles. If you choose to pursue passive multifamily investing, consider these tips to scale your business well into the future. IDENTIFYA QUALIFIED APARTMENT SYNDICATION TEAM The first step is to find a quality apartment syndicator and evaluate
NO. 1 How many deals have you taken full cycle?
Joe Fairless is the Co-founder and Managing Principal Ashcroft Capital. He started buyingmultifamily properties in 2013 and now controls over $460,000,000
NO. 2 Were those deals success- ful? Did the actual returns meet or exceed your projections?
worth of real estate with a portfolio of 5,453 units. In 2018 he was named Think Realty's MultiFamily Investor of the Year. Learnmore at InvestWithAshcroft.com or contact himat joe@ashcroftcapital.com.
NO. 3 Who is the property manage- ment company? What’s their
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