If you start out investing as a spring-chicken, you may be excited to dive into scrubbing moldy cabinets, exterminating bug-infested corners, painting, repainting, and installing sheetrock until your arms are weak with exhaustion.

The truth is, the hustle and bustle of real estate is fascinating and it’s thrilling to be a part of it all. Investing in real estate provides experience in both the finance side and the construction side of things. But after a while, you may begin to feel like you need a more simple option.

As we get older, life is more complicated instead of less so, we have kids in the house, and honestly, cleaning someone else’s mess is the last thing we look forward to. So, in an effort to continue to provide good quality housing for people, my approach has adjusted slightly over the years.

​Quite simply I want low effort, low-risk projects that provide cash flow so I can spend my energy with my own home and family. Hey, if you can dream it, you can do it. 

When it comes to investing, as with many of life’s major paths, it’s easy to look back and see the best choices, what should have been done, and what would have been a smart decision. Harnessing the ability to thoroughly understand your financial situation, identify actual financial goals, and commit to a plan of action are all easier said than done.

By looking at the past performance of three multifamily real estate investment projects, how much they returned to investors, and the impact they’ve had in their respective communities, it might help you understand what real estate syndications could add to your portfolio.

Keep in mind that, although these are based on actual projects and data, some identifying information has been adjusted to protect the privacy of the deals, partners, and investors.

​Ready to dive in? I sure am! 

Fifty thousand dollars is a LOT of money. Nevermind fifty thousand dollars per year. I get it, but hear me out. Once you see the potential results, I strongly believe you might be more willing to put forth the effort required to get there.

I’ve seen regular people with regular salaries (even teachers!) do this and change their trajectories forever. So, as with most things in life, it’s about resourcefulness, not resources. You can do anything you put your mind to, and seeing the progression of investing in syndications year after year might help you put your mind to it.

Here’s what could happen when you invest $50,000 a year into real estate syndications:

One question that comes up most often is, which investment provides a better return? People want to know if investing in real estate properties is more lucrative or if real estate syndications are truly the best choice.

Real estate syndications’ major benefit of being a true hands-off investment, saves investors from the stress of maintenance issues, tenant complaints, and dipping cashflow. That right there can make you feel like syndications are a better deal (who wouldn’t want to avoid that stress!?).

On the other hand, with rental properties, you have to do all the legwork. That includes finding a broker and a property manager and coordinating with lenders. So, in exchange for all that hard work, you’d expect better returns, right?

Thankfully, I’ve owned and participated in both types of investments, so I’m able to honestly answer this question. So let's do a little bit of math and dive in to find our answer...

Before you’re fully committed to and after you’ve become interested in a real estate syndication, you need to know several details about actually investing in these deals.

The process of investing in a real estate syndication is very different than picking a stock or a mutual fund online. Furthermore, unlike typical investment properties, there are hold times, barriers to entry, and a whole set of expectations that you need to know about prior to committing to a deal.

As a smart investor, you’ve got to know exactly why you’re choosing a particular investment in addition to the required credentials, the process, what’s involved, and how long you should expect to wait until payout. Guess what? You’re in luck!

That’s precisely what you’re about to read!

Any time a potential investor is reviewing real estate syndication investment opportunities, they’ll likely come across the term “equity multiple”. Even if they’ve purchased a primary home or a residential rental property before, it’s unlikely they’ve heard of equity multiples.

When it comes to passively investing in real estate syndications however, it’s an important phrase to know and understand.

Have you ever heard about or explored the opportunity to sponsor a child through a non-profit program such as Children International? Contributions through these organizations change children’s lives exponentially in areas of health, education, and even safety.

As you may know, when you choose to help a child through such programs, you receive updates about the child regularly, including notes they’ve written and even pictures of them. You get to have a supportive hand in their growth from afar while never having to enforce a bedtime or wash the ice cream off the child’s shirt.

Investing in a real estate syndication is very similar in this aspect. As a passive investor, you would receive regular updates on the progress of the project after the deal closes, but you don’t have to field phone calls from tenants when an issue arises.

There are 5 key communications you should receive at important intervals once you invest in a
real estate syndication. From the closing date, through the hold period, until the asset sale, here’s what to look for:

Are you considering investing in a real estate syndication but are leery that it sounds a little too good to be true? You’re not alone.

Many investors are shocked when they first learn about the potential cash flow returns they could receive through investing passively in real estate syndications.

The key, though, to putting your doubts and skepticism to rest, is to understand where that cash
flow comes from and how it makes its way from the asset itself to your pocket, and that’s exactly
what we’ll cover in this article.

If you’ve ever experienced owning single-family or multifamily homes, you know that these investments require time and energy.

Investing in residential real estate can be challenging because, typically, you as the investor wear many hats throughout the seemingly never-ending process. Responsibilities include finding the property, funding the deal, renovating the property, interviewing tenants, and even performing maintenance.

The trouble is, it doesn’t stop there. You have to repeat most of the process over again when your tenant’s lease is up.

Small multifamily rentals have some advantages over single-family homes. For example, if one tenant moves out, the tenants in the other units are still there to help cover the mortgage. Plus, it’s much easier to manage one property with multiple tenants than to manage multiple properties with one tenant each.
​
But, even with a property manager on board to help with your rentals, bookkeeping, strategic decisions, and maintenance/repair costs are still in your court. You’re basically running a small business, which can be challenging if you’re working a full-time job.

One of the most common questions that we get asked is, “If I were to invest $50,000 with you
today, what kinds of returns should I expect?”

We get it. You want to know how hard real estate syndications can make your money work for
you, and how passive real estate investing stacks up to the returns you’re getting through other
types of investment vehicles.

In order to help answer that question, you should first know that we will be talking about
projected returns. That is, these returns are projections, based on our analyses and best
guesses, but they aren’t guaranteed, and there’s always risk associated with any investment.
The examples herein are only meant to provide some ballpark ideas to get you started.
​
In this article, we’ll explore the 3 main criteria you should look into when evaluating projected
returns on a potential real estate syndication deal.

Each real estate syndication investment summary contains a barrage of useful data. Focus on
these core concepts:

1. Projected hold time
   
2. Projected cash-on-cash returns
   
3. Projected profits at the sale