12/10/2023
The last year and a half have certainly been like drinking water out of a firehose. From discovering the syndication model to actually looking for deals and almost coming under contract on one, this journey that we embarked on has been life-changing.
One of my lifelong goals has been to acquire apartment complexes since I was in high school. Real estate has been one of the main focuses in my life. I had been drawn to it at an early age and built this obsession with real estate. Everywhere I go, I analyze in my head the potential growth of a suburban neighborhood, how much a piece of land can sell for, or the next up-and-coming neighborhood in downtown Chicago. My biggest barrier to getting into these apartment deals was bringing capital. I thought to myself that I would have to save up millions to bring to the closing table, which I did not have.
Flash back to sometime in early 2022, when I was introduced to the syndication model and attended a boot camp in July. After coming out of that boot camp I got started right away in figuring out who I would build my team with, as the boot camp had stressed on-find your skillset and partnering with people who have the ones you lack (mine was raising capital). I immediately thought of Harnish for a few reasons: He’s analytical and great with spreadsheets, which an underwriter needs but most of all he shares the same passion for real estate! I thought these skills would complement what it would take to raise capital. I am more of someone who likes to build relationships and socialize, which is a huge part of raising capital. Although I admit, it’s a daunting task but if I can just educate and show people the value of investing in real estate it will make the road a lot smoother when trying to raise. Luckily, it helps that I have a passion for it to begin with!
From August to May Harnish and I worked together to look at deals and underwrite them on our own. We spent all that time to understand how this business model works and make sure it’s a sound investment strategy. Most of all, we wanted to see if we could get this going on our own and if we could find a deal without joining any networks like the boot camp I went to, which was the first domino. I will admit that we were out of focus in some aspects and realized maybe we needed additional help. Around the end of May or June of 2023, we decided to join a network made up of like-minded individuals, people who shared the same goals in not only multifamily but life itself. We finally hit the ground running in August after both Harnish and I were enjoying the better part of life. His wife gave birth to a baby boy and my wife and I were just traveling with one baking in the oven. Since then we have gone all-in on both of our roles and built amazing relationships with people who we will eventually partner with! I’ve been more focused on reaching out to our network to see who is interested in investing in multifamily with us!