Do you want to scale your real estate investing with multifamily apartments, but you feel stuck because you don’t know where to start? 

Maybe you're worried brokers and investors won’t take you seriously because you lack a track record and only have experience in single-family strategies. Or maybe you're concerned about raising enough capital or making an expensive mistake like buying in the wrong area (like I did). 

Trust me, you're not alone. These are the exact hurdles I faced when I started investing in apartments. There is a way to overcome them – and it all starts with building the right team around you. 

In today’s article, I’ll show you who you need on your team, how to recruit them, and how you can leverage your team members to do your first deal and break into the apartment investing game even if you’ve never bought an apartment before. 

Let’s do this!

Brokers won’t take you seriously if you don’t have experience 

Brokers won’t take you seriously if you don’t have experience. It can feel like a chicken-and-egg problem. 

To close a deal, you need experience. But to gain experience, you need to close a deal. How do you get brokers to take you seriously so that they start sending you quality deals? And how do you start raising money for those deals if you’ve never done it before?

And on top of all that, there’s the high chance that you’ll either make a big mistake or buy in the wrong market – lots of new investors do this!

When I started in real estate, I had a lone-wolf mentality. I flipped houses on my own, bought and sold rentals, and handled everything myself. But when I transitioned to multifamily properties, that approach didn’t work. The stakes were higher—more zeros, more complexity, and more risk. I realized I needed a team to succeed.

If you’re trying to go it alone in apartment investing, you’re likely to hit the same roadblocks I did. Brokers won’t take you seriously, investors will hesitate, and mistakes will be costly. But there’s a better way forward.

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The Solution: Build Your Team

The key to breaking into apartment investing without experience is building a team. A strong team not only helps you overcome your lack of experience but also positions you as a serious player in the eyes of brokers, lenders, and investors.  

Here are the steps I took to start building my team with all-star members when I first started in apartments:

1. Recruit Key Professionals to Add Credibilty 

Your team should include experienced professionals who bring credibility and expertise to the table. At a minimum, you’ll need:

• Property manager: This person will guide you on market rents, expenses, and property operations. Their experience managing thousands of units can boost your credibility with brokers and lenders.

• Lender: A reliable lender can give you details like interest rates, loan terms, and down payment requirements, which you need for underwriting deals.

• Real estate attorney and CPA: You want to make sure everything you do is legal so that you don’t get into trouble. These professionals ensure your deals are legally compliant and financially sound.

Now when you talk to brokers and they ask about your experience, you can lean on your team’s track record. 

So instead of saying, “this is my first deal but here’s my business plan and how I’ll execute” you can say, “I’m working with John who oversees 5,000 units and a lender who has originated $1 billion in loans.” 

It’s no longer about you, it’s about your team and their experience. That instantly positions you as someone serious, even if it’s your first deal.

2. Form an Advisory Board

An advisory board is a group of experienced investors and operators who can mentor you and guide your decisions. 

These are the people who’ve been in the trenches—they’ve bought apartment buildings, navigated challenges, and can help you avoid rookie mistakes. 

3. Leverage Joint Venture Partnerships

You don’t have to do it all alone. Partnering with experienced investors allows you to pool resources, share responsibilities, and gain access to larger deals. 

In my early days, I struggled to raise $250,000 for a 12-unit deal. Years later, through joint venture partnerships, I helped close a 321-unit deal that required $3.2 million in capital. The difference? My team.

4. Adopt a ‘Who, Not How’ Mindset

Instead of asking, “How do I do this?” ask, “Who can help me do this?” For instance:

Need help raising capital because you’re not a people person? Parter with someone with a big network and success leveraging it. 

Concerned about legal compliance? Hire and SEC attorney.

No idea how to manage a property after the close? Bring in a professional property manager.

Focus on assembling the right people to fill gaps in your knowledge and experience. 

If you’re serious about scaling your real estate investing, the question isn’t “How do I do it?” It’s “Who can help me do it?” You need a team of experts, advisors, and partners who can guide you, lend credibility, and help you avoid costly mistakes.

Finding these people isn’t as easy as talking about them – but you could be one conversation away from one of these connections. All the members I talked about today I found through networking with other investors in the space and getting referrals. 

I hope this helped you understand the different roles in a successful apartment deal!

To your success,

Michael Blank