The Hidden World of “Passive” Investing with Syndications

You may have heard the term “real estate syndication” thrown out quite a lot over the past few years. It seems like almost every real estate investor is either starting a real estate syndication or investing in one. So what’s all the hype about? Is this an investment opportunity that you’re missing out on, and if so, is it truly passive as many people claim? We’ve brought the master flipper, rehab estimator, and syndicator himself, J Scott, back to the BiggerPockets Money Podcast so he can share some information (and advice) on real estate syndications. J walks through a handful of points worth examining before investing in syndications. We talk about what a real estate syndication is, where to find syndications, how to validate the syndicators themselves, what a limited partner is, what a general partner is, and more. The most valuable part of this entire episode is about researching the syndication deal itself. Where is it located, what is the structure, who’s running it? These are all questions you should ask, along with some other key questions like: ~~~~ Join the BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group:   / bpmoney   ~~~~ Get Tickets to BPCon 2021: https://www.bpcon2021.com/ ~~~~ Take a Listen to Past Episodes with J: Episode 43: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/bi... Episode 70: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/bi... ~~~~ Invest with J: https://www.bardowninvestments.com/ ~~~~ Send Scott an Email Letting Him Know What BiggerPockets Can Do That Would Be MOST Helpful to You: [email protected] ~~~~ Follow Scott and Mindy on Instagram: @scott_trench or   / scott_trench   @mindyatbp or   / mindyatbp   Episode 219 Show notes at: https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneysh... 0:00 Intro 4:01 A Legend Returns to the Podcast 4:50 What are Real Estate Syndications? 9:23 Barriers to Entry (Syndication Requirements) 12:46 Finding Syndications 16:45 The Coveted "Limited Partner" 18:04 An Example Syndication 30:14 NOI and Cap Rates 38:32 Doing Your Due Diligence on Syndicators 58:38 Minimum Investment to Enter a Syndication 1:01:49 Syndications vs. Funds 1:04:42 Syndications vs. REITs 1:05:48 What if a Syndicator Runs Out of Cash? 1:12:13 Choosing the Team 1:17:10 Location, Location, Location 1:23:41 The Details on the Deal 1:31:46 Preferred Returns and Preferred Equity 1:38:12 How Does the Syndicator Make Money? 1:47:02 Questions to Ask a Syndicator 1:57:23 Go With Your Gut (When It Says No) 1:59:22 Reviewing Syndication 101