Do you think that apartments are only for people who have done dozens of real estate transactions over 5+ years?
What if I told you that even if your experience in real estate is minimal—maybe just a flip or a wholesale deal under your belt—you're still in a prime position to jump into buying an apartment building?
If you've believed that this is out of your league, let me set the record straight: that's a myth.
Today, I’m going to unveil how apartment investing is accessible for everyone and guide you through how to land your first deal with what I call the 3 Rs:
- The Right System
- The Right Support
- The Right Network
Multifamily Investing IS NOT an Advanced Strategy
Multifamily investing might sound intimidating, but it's not just for the experts. If it were, I wouldn't have been able to acquire my first 12-unit complex with my background in house flipping. Here's why anyone can get started:
You Don’t Need Experience to Buy Your First Small Apartment Building
I had over 3 years of flipping experience, but when I talked to brokers in the apartment space, no one took me seriously. Starting out, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in real estate, it matters what you say.
You Don’t Need to Have All the Money
You don’t need millions of your own money to do your first deal because you’re going to be using other people’s money (OPM). You’ll raise money from private individuals to pay for the property and this is a learnable skill – even if you’re not a “salesman” – because you’re not pitching, you’re just sharing your enthusiasm for passive income.
The 3 Rs of Apartment Investing
You don’t need experience or money to buy your first small apartment building. But you DO need to know what you’re doing. The solution to this is The 3 Rs.
The Right System
The first R is you have to follow the right system.
When I got started in 2011, there was no system for buying multifamily real estate. Now there are courses and educators who tell you that their way is the best way. Maybe they are and maybe they’re not.
The system you want to follow needs to be repeatable across all demographics. Male, female, doctor, college student, parent, or full-time student.
The system also needs to be clear and laid out in a step-by-step order. Those are the most important criteria for the right system and ours meets them. It’s called the Deal Maker Blueprint and it shows you what to do, how to do it, and when to do it week by week.
The Right Support
The second R is to find the right support.
Don’t try to do your first syndication by yourself:
- Build a team around you.
On your team should be your property manager, lender, and attorney. Once you have your team behind you, it doesn’t matter that you have no experience because .. well .. look at the team you’ve assembled. Their track record will more than makeup for yours.
- Build your support group.
How many people in your community are in real estate right now? Chances are you don’t know many. Your friends and family might be looking at you like you’re crazy because you don’t want to work the typical 9–5 job like they do.
You can find this support group by attending events and conferences and signing up for online communities. Your goal is to identify 5–6 people with whom you can meet on Zoom once a month and check-in.
- Find mentors and advisors.
Build relationships with people who have done what you want to do. Align yourself with someone who’s already bought a couple of buildings or has become financially free. They’ll know exactly what you’re going through because they used to be in the same spot. A mentor like this is absolute gold to the new investor.
The Right Network
The last R is to join the right network. This is very different from the single-family house world where it’s basically you, a few brokers, a hard money lender, and a contractor.
Multifamily syndications are all about the people. This is a team sport.
If you’re out there looking for deals, you’re what we would call a deal finder. Deal finders (typically) don’t have access to all the capital to close on that deal so you’d need to find someone who does.
Your counterpart would be a capital raiser. These are the two primary roles of syndication. A capital raiser can access the capital you need, but not a deal.
There are more people involved (investors, property managers, contractors, an army of brokers), but their roles are beyond the scope of this article.
Regardless of your role, you still need to get educated and know about the asset to seem credible to your investors.
Using the 3 Rs in Real Life
That’s the summary of the 3 Rs: the right system, the right support, and the right network.
You may have heard about apartments and that they’re your way out of the grind of single-family rentals. You might be a little skeptical because you don’t think that you can do it. I hope this article has changed your mind.
If you’re still interested in apartments but not sure if it’s right for you right now, I want you to go through my Apartments 101 Course. It’s free and it walks you through:
- How to build your team
- How you can raise capital
- A deeper dive into the 3 Rs
- How buying apartments is possible for you
- How you can build your credibility without experience
Watch all four videos and keep an open mind. I think it might be the most important training you’ll watch all year.
