As a real estate investor with an eye on owning apartment communities, you need two things in your arsenal to maximize the returns on your investments. One, you need a solid understanding of how to identify potentially lucrative deals and how to execute them. And two, you need to surround yourself with a winning team of professionals who will support you each step of the way.
So, who exactly do you need to hire to be on your real estate investment team? And how do you know which candidates are truly the best ones to work with as you strive to succeed in apartment syndication?
Here’s a rundown on what to include in real estate business team member interviews as you try to establish an all-star investment team.
A mentor is a core investment team member, meaning that he or she is one of the most critical experts to have on your side before you embark on any deal. An important question to ask a potential mentor is if he or she owns properties, and what the mentor’s net worth is. This can demonstrate his or her success in the biz and prove their experience and expertise. Also, will the mentor want to take part in your real estate deals, or will he or she simply advise you? Establishing the nuances of the relationship right away will make things easier in the future. Finally, make sure that your potential mentor shares your business values and understands your goals.
A property manager is yet another core investment team member you’ll need to hire to effectively manage and scale your business. When interviewing real estate managers, be sure to ask them how many rental units they currently manage. Ideally, you want a manager with anywhere from 200 to 600 rentals, as too few units indicates that the company may not have much experience, whereas too many rentals mean you may become a number. Be sure to also ask about the company’s management fees, and choose one whose fees are based only on collected rents, as this will motivate it to constantly fill vacancies.
Your real estate broker will also play an important role in your investment team, as he or she will help you to buy or sell properties when the time is right. Make sure that you ask potential brokers how much they charge and why they stand out from their competitors. For instance, if you’re big on communication, you may want to go with a broker who prides himself or herself on constantly being available by email or phone. In addition, consider asking brokers if they offer any guarantees, which means they’ll stand behind the service they give you.
A real estate attorney may not necessarily be on your core investment team, but he or she is a secondary team member who still plays a valuable role in your real estate investing efforts. A wise question to ask an attorney is what he or she recently did during a transaction that did not occur as planned. In addition, you may want to find out if he or she can recall a time when his or her efforts had a positive impact on the outcome.
You may also choose to include a mortgage broker as a secondary investment team member. Before you hire a given broker, consider whether other fees exist beyond points and interest. Also, what is the funding timeline? In other words, how quickly can your loan be turned around? Make sure that the mortgage broker you hire also has experience with funding the kinds of real estate projects you are pursuing.
As you seek to build the ultimate team, note that you’ll additionally need to work with an accountant. This individual will make sure that, in all of your revenue generation activities, you don’t end up getting into trouble with Uncle Sam by not paying your taxes or not paying enough taxes based on your earnings.
Ask potential accountants what types of companies they’ve worked with, and check to see how many years of experience they possess. It may also behoove you to ask them if they are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or if they have other qualifications. Note that no CPA designation is necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of a real estate accountant.
Another thing to consider when interviewing accountants is if they own any real estate properties of their own. Or, how many of their clients own rental properties that produce income? If they are also real estate investors or at least work regularly with real estate investing clients, they’ll have a better idea of how to help you manage the financial aspect of your own real estate business.
No real estate deal is successfully executed in a vacuum. In other words, if you expect to make lucrative deals happen, you’ll have to rely on other people—like a mentor—to pursue, execute, and generate money from these deals.
I could be the mentor you need to get your real estate business off the ground and start experiencing serious gains as an investor. I’ll show you how to successfully fill all of the other openings you have on your investment team as well. In fact, you can check out my three-step approach to hiring brand-new real estate team members with ease.
Contact me today to further discover how to add competent experts to your real estate investment team time and time again.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or course of action.