How many of you do your own deals on the side?
One of my main goals is to invest in real estate at some point in my life. To those who have invested without raising equity from LPs, how is it going?
I’m not talking about those striving to build a new company but pure side investments held by you and maybe one partner.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, many professionals in real estate pursue side investments, but the approach and success vary widely depending on their strategy and resources. Here are some key insights:
Self-Funded Side Investments:
Some individuals focus on smaller, self-funded deals, often starting with properties like small multi-family buildings. They aim to improve these properties incrementally (e.g., upgrading kitchens or bathrooms) and either hold them for long-term cash flow or use strategies like a 1031 exchange to scale into larger properties.
Challenges Without LP Equity:
Investing without raising equity from LPs can be challenging due to the need for significant personal capital. Many professionals emphasize the importance of having a strong financial foundation, such as an emergency fund and retirement savings, before diving into real estate investments.
Partnerships:
For those who don't raise equity from LPs, partnering with a trusted individual is a common approach. This allows for shared risk and resources while keeping the investment manageable.
Focus on Expertise:
Successful investors often stick to what they know best. For example, a multifamily specialist might avoid office or retail investments and instead co-invest with experts in those areas if opportunities arise.
Building Credibility:
Even for side investments, building a track record is crucial. Starting small and demonstrating success can open doors to larger opportunities in the future.
Risk Management:
Many emphasize the importance of managing risk wisely, focusing on deals they understand deeply and avoiding over-leveraging or speculative investments.
If you're considering this path, starting small, leveraging your expertise, and maintaining a strong financial safety net are key steps to success.
Sources: How many of you actually plan on going independent?, Starting a Private Equity Fund/Firm, Best way to build your net worth in RE, From Real Estate Finance to Founder of Development Company - Q&A, What is your real estate end game and plan to get there?
Huge bump and also what kind of time commitment does it take on a weekly basis?
0. My areas of expertise are mostly industrial and retail in NYC and the surrounding suburbs. I don’t have a $10mm equity check to take down a $25mm warehouse in the Meadowlands or Long Island.
I’ve thought about buying a 4 unit apartment building and living in one of the units but interest rates are high, cap rates are low, and I bring 0 skills to the table when it comes to knowing how to fix things. I don’t imagine this being too profitable if I need to call a plumber or handyman every time something minor breaks. Also, seems like a massive headache in addition to my day job.
I don’t think I really add any value to the equation unless I am buying something that is too big to take down with my own money. I also have a reputation for hiring the best transactional and environmental attorneys money can buy. All my architects, engineers, GCs, and consultants are expensive and are only economical for using on big jobs. I have a very good Rolodex of people for getting things done on larger deals. I feel like I’d be a fish out of water trying to figure out who to call for a $2mm quadplex.
I’m currently working on it. Recently started. I take broker calls during the day in a conference room and do my underwriting at night. I put in probably 8-10 hours per week. I’m putting out 1 offer every 3 weeks. I am hoping to ramp this up to 10-15 hours per week but hard with an active acquisitions job.
would love to chat if willing
Sure. DM me
At what point in your career, or with how much in savings, did you decide it was the right time to start looking at deals?
Wanted to do it within 5 years. Needed to take another 5 to save. The amount you need depends on what you want to buy. I want to buy self storage or industrial, so I needed to back into what I could afford and what markets would let me do it. Than figure out if I wanted to be in those markets.
I work for my family's development business, but am doing a duplex renovation right now on my own. I bought a 3200SF duplex for $1.15mm, I technically didn't fully gut it (didn't demo all the sheetrock, so that I don't need to bring the insulation up to code), but new plumbing and electrical, added a full bath to each side and repartitioned the walls to turn it from a 3BR to a 4BR. Total hard cost 140k-$150k, 5-6months renovation. It's going well, but had a bit of a scare up until recently. For whatever reason, the rental market has been terrible this year. Never seen it this bad. However, I got lucky and rented both units to someone who does short term rental. They rent from me at $5k/month per unit and then does airbnb to turn a profit. My positive cash flow should be ~$3k/month. Doing finishes now and should be move in ready by mid to end of august. I estimate the post renovation value to be $1.6mm-$1.8mm, prob will hold onto it for a couple years before selling
What markets do you play in? Any duplexes I’ve seen - after opex and debt service I find there is no cash flow. What are you doing to make it work? Would really love to know as I would love to buy and renovate small multi I just always see minimal cash flow where I am in the northeast. Or I find I’m competing with locals who run razor thin margins and never fix deferred maintenance which I’m not willing to underwrite on a 10 unit asset.
I play in 1 major market in the northeast.
To be clear, it’s very tough to find the right investment to make it work, especially with rates so high now. It’s not like I’m swimming in these types of deals, but each year I can expect to find 1-3. Pre-interest rate hikes my family did 3-4 in 1 year. I can’t know for certain why I am able to make them work and others cant, but here are my thoughts
1.) The biggest reason by far is that I self-perform. I GC the deals. I’ve never hired a GC, but I am certain my cost is significantly lower than my competitors who use a GC. I have some friends doing simple kitchen renovations and the price that these GC’s charge is stupidly absurd. My cost is literally a fraction of what these GC’s charge them...like 30%-50%. A good friend of mine is renovating their house and got a quote for cabinets and install at $20k...this isnt a high end renovation btw. I can renovate the entire kitchen (cabinets, counter top, appliances, labor) in $10k.
2.) I manage my properties. So if you want to use a PM, take off $500 (5% x 10k). Although in this specific scenario, my tenant handles all day to day PM and maintenance since she is running a business
3.) I found that the sweet spot is triplexes. This two family's numbers just happened to work out, but they are much more difficult to pencil. Triplexes offer the most bang for your buck in my market. I look for triplexes that are at least 3500 SF where I can add a bedroom and a bathroom. So the most common scenario is that I find a run down triplex that is currently a 3BR/1BA and has a dining, living, kitchen rooms. I'll convert the dining room into a bedroom and find some space to squeeze another full bath. My usual tenant mix are either college students or young professional, not families. These types of tenants don't need a formal dining room. In creating a 4th bedroom, I can rent each unit for at least $1000 more and that's across 3-units. Rundown triplexes of this size go for $1.3mm-$1.5mm. So on a per unit basis, I'm paying $400k-$500k whereas for a duplex is could be $600k-$800k per unit. As for 4 units or more, those properties are harder to come by and when they are available they are smaller on a per unit basis, but the price per unit is higher than a triplex.
4.) I try to acquire things where I will be in time for the March - September market. I live in a college town, so after september 1st, rents drop significantly
5.) When an opportunity does arise, i go straight to the listing agent. Since I don't have a buyer's broker, the selling agent is a lot more incentivized to make me the buyer so they dont need to split the commission. You won't believe the scumbag shit I've seen from agents that I work with directly. I've had agents "miss calls, texts, emails" so that no one else can put in an offer higher than mine. It also helps a lot that I make offers with no contingencies.
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