How To Leverage Your Real Estate Syndication Team

Real Estate Syndication Roles

Property Managers 

Property managers handle the day-to-day operations of your commercial real estate asset. For self storage, they’re the ones who are handling maintenance and repairs as well as customer inquiries. They also oversee tenant communication, and most importantly, they make sure your facility is being optimized from revenue and occupancy standpoints. 

The best way to find a good property manager is through references. I recommend reaching out to others in the industry and finding one that will suit your needs.

Once they’re part of your team, they’ll serve an important role in the syndication. The property manager will prepare everything necessary for turnover. This allows you to get started after closing. They should provide all information needed to take over software, payment processing, tenant communication, and new ownership announcements.

Real Estate Financing Brokers

Financing brokers will help you find bank terms that best suit your real estate investment situation. Bank terms can make or break a real estate deal. It’s often much easier to work directly with a broker who already has banking relationships than to go out and talk to each bank yourself. Leveraging their local reputation and knowledge is key. 

As they set up the deal, keep in mind that different components of the banking terms will be more important to you. In one situation, you may value a lower interest rate while in another a high amortization period will be ideal. The real estate broker negotiates on your behalf to see the deal through and provide a favorable outcome. 

Real Estate Attorneys

Attorneys give you security in your contracts and expertise in the legal realm. They are essential for your real estate syndication. You need attorneys for two major components of the real estate transaction. The first is an attorney to review and approve the purchase contract as well as make sure you’re in compliance with state and local laws. They will also coordinate the closing with the sellers attorney and banks attorney if they have one. 

The second role a real estate attorney provides is as a syndication attorney. They put together the legal documents for the LLC or business entity. He files for the newly formed syndication under which the commercial asset will reside. 

Between the contract and communication the attorney provides in the first role, and syndication attorney, this is an integral role in your team. 

Limited Partners

Limited partners allow you to leverage other people’s money (OPM). They bring the capital to close on the real estate syndication. This can include the down payment as well as any capital costs that are not included in the bank. 

They are important because as an individual you only have a finite amount of capital to do deals. When you start raising capital, it allows you to take on bigger projects that can benefit both yourself and others. Limited partners are investors in the project who may play less of a role in putting together the deal, but all the same, they are necessary for making it happen.

Real Estate Agents

I personally prefer to find off-market properties that aren’t listed. However, there are still great deals that are found by real estate agents. They continuously network and connect with owners. If you want to enter a new market, it’s a great idea to connect with real estate brokers who already have relationships and know the area well.

Building new relationships on your own may be difficult so finding real estate brokers who understand local businesses and development areas is key to saving time learning about opportunities. 

General Partners

There are many components to closing a real estate syndication especially when leveraging external parties. It’s still a great idea to have other general partners to divide and conquer. Other general partners bring experience in capital raising, finding deals, asset management, and specialized industry knowledge.

It’s key to find a general partner that you know and trust because you will be entering a business marriage. Overall, having more than one gives you the ability to expand your experience and skill based on their resources and knowledge. 

The most important factor in a general partner is trust. It’s imperative when working with a general partner because each deal is different and understanding that you’re working together for the most benefit is the key to success.

Putting Together Your Real Estate Team

Overall, a real estate syndication has a lot of moving pieces. That’s why filling each role with specialized expertise is important to organize all of the specific components. Take your time putting your team together and it will go a long way toward making your deals go smoothly.