4 Ways Buy Your First Multifamily Property In 90 Days

Get Started Investing Within 90 Days

This is not a “One secret to success” article because the reality is that success in real estate takes work. But the cool part is that it takes far less work than 40 years in a cubicle.

And yet the truth is that you get into your first multifamily deal in 90 days by my making the commitment upfront. I’m not pulling your tail. All four of these strategies will work and I’ve seen people use all four to get the ball rolling on their investing journey.

Pre-Step

It’s no surprise that all 4 are going to start with education. You shouldn’t buy into what you don’t understand. You need to know how multifamily properties are valued, how to manage them (at least how someone else will manage them), how to finance them, and a whole bunch of other details that go into it.

I suggest spending the first 2-4 weeks (or more if you need it) soaking up all the information you can. Read books on syndication and commercial real estate. Brian Murray’s book Crushing it in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate and The Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book by Joe Fairless are great books to start with. You can also listen to podcasts on your way to and from work and even while you are working out. There’s so much extra time in the day that you could be utilizing to grow. Listen to real estate podcasts like BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast and multifamily-specific podcasts like The Multifamily Journey Podcast. Each week on the show they relay specific and actionable advice from real estate experts. These are great resources for getting your feet under you and building your foundation.

If you want to accelerate your results, you can join a mastermind group or pay for a coach/mentor. Depending on the coach and the program, it can be a great way to fast-track your results.

1. Do It Yourself

This is probably the least recommended because honestly, it’s harder. Trust me, trying to do everything yourself is exhausting, I’ve been there. You can do it all by yourself, but it will likely take you longer. This is for the person who wants to maintain control even if it extends out the timeline for reaching their goals. If you want to complete the 90-day challenge this might not be the best strategy, but doable if you are fully committed.

It’s important to understand that there are 4 parts to every multifamily deal:

1) Finding deals

2) Underwriting deals

3) Raising capital and

4) Managing the deal

To be an effective solo operator you will need to do all 4 yourself, or higher what you cannot do yourself. Arguably the most important will be raising capital because you need to have the money ready to go to close a deal, so start building relationships while you look for deals. Learning how to underwrite and manage once you close can be done upfront before you start writing offers, but also not something you want to take lightly. Having 3rd property management will be key because that itself is a specialization and something that will take you time to get good at.

2. Get Good in One Area and Partner with Someone Who Fills Your Gaps

This is probably where most people find themselves in their first deal, myself included. In this strategy, you laser focus on one of the four aspects from above and get really good at it. Building your skills in one area makes you valuable because usually, not everyone is good at everything. Others will likely be weak where you are strong, and strong where you are weak. So, by building up your strengths you can find a partner to cover your weaknesses. Together you become a stronger whole and can conquer and divide in your areas of expertise. This can fast-track your success because you don’t have to learn and get good at everything, and can instead focus your attention on what you are good at – and because of that, you will be more likely to find success.

3. Use the Stack Method

The stack method is where you stack your investment successes on top of each other and grow exponentially. You begin with the purchase of a smaller property. Small is relative for you. If you do not have a lot of cash and no experience it could be a single-family home or a duplex. Or if you already have the experience, maybe you start with a 4 plex or even bigger. Once you close on that property you keep saving and add in the cash flow from the first property to buy a property that is about double the size of the first. And then you keep going. So, it would look like buying a duplex, then a 4 plex, then an 8-unit, and so on until you have reached your financial goals.

4. Passively Invest as a Limited Partner (LP)

This step is going to be the most efficient for your time. You’ll still need to educate, but more so about how to vet opportunities and sponsors rather than learning how to find, acquire and manage large assets on your own. If that’s ultimately where you want to get to, it’s not a bad idea to be a passive investor first. After all, if you want to attract passive investors, it is good to experience what they do. And if you can earn while you learn, even better.

This is great for those who are feeling overwhelmed but want to learn the ropes and have the capital to get in the game as an LP. Why wait when you can begin earning passive income now (which is the ultimate goal anyway).

I provide investment opportunities in cash-flowing, value-add deals like the 66 unit I just closed on. If you want to hear more about that deal and future opportunities, schedule a call with me at multifamilyjourney.com/connect or fill out the form on the invest page at multifamilyjourney.com/invest. If you want to learn more about passively investing you can go to multifamilyjourney.com on the home page and download the Passive Investor Toolkit. It’s a free resource to educate investors on everything about investing in syndications passively.

I think passive investing is a great way to get started if you have the capital available, and if not, focus on the first three.

Wrapping It Up

You see now that there are several options to buying your first multifamily property in the next 90 days. It is achievable with intentional and intensive action. You need both, you can’t mosey around. That’s why I like the 90-day deadline. It pushes you to get out of your comfort zone. But it is absolutely achievable, others have done it before you. I love real estate for that reason because it is duplicatable – you can model and duplicate the success of others. That’s why I have my podcast to talk to other successful investors who have done it – to show us how so that we can go replicate their success. The information is out there for you, now you just have to go do it!

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Blake Dailey is a multifamily real estate investor and host of the Multifamily Journey Podcast. He has reached his financial independence (Passive Income > Expenses) number through investing in real estate and aims to help others do the same. He helps passive investors impact their lifestyle and wealth by investing in multifamily real estate. He helps investors achieve the ultimate asset – Time – by making their money work so they don’t have to.

Find out about investing in multifamily with Blake at multifamilyjourney.com/invest or learn more about Blake, read his articles, or connect with him through his website at multifamilyjourney.com.