part0005

Then you’ve got an opportunity, but NOT in the way you might expect and NOT in the sense of being able to buy two gallons of gas or two lattes at the coffee shop or that slice of dessert after dinner. No, you have a REAL opportunity!

Relax! There’s NO sales pitch or product coming. I'm not after your $7. Instead, I'd like to share a story. A story of what's possible. A story of how far you can actually go starting out with just $7 in your pocket.

The story, by the way, is my own. Since we have yet to meet, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vinney “Smile” Chopra . I’m the author of this book and a real estate investor. You may not be able to tell, but I'm smiling right now! In fact, I'm perpetually smiling. Of course, Smile is not legally my middle name, but it is what those who meet me soon start to call me. Why the smile? Well, why not? After all, smiling is supposed to be good for your health. Beyond that, though, I’m 'all smiles' because of how far I have come in the last forty years. That’s the story I want to share with you on the pages ahead.

It’s the story of how I came to the United States, from India, in the 1970’s, with just $7 in my pocket. Oh! Don't worry! It isn't a sad story. Let’s just say I earned “a few more dollars” along the way, arriving at a point today where a bottle of Coke, though I do still enjoy drinking one, is no longer the “luxury” it once was .

Goodness! Has it really been that long? Pardon me while I reminisce. Forty years since I stood there. Fresh off the plane in New York City. Dehydrated by jet lag. Struggling as my body switched to NYC’s climate - a drastic change from what I was accustomed to in India. And craving more than anything a bottle of Coke sitting in a glass case at a restaurant. It might as well have been a diamond on display at the museum. I could not afford it - not at the $2 it cost.

Oh yes, right! We're not sharing a sad story here! How things can change for the better! In my case, that change meant going from a $2 Coke being a “luxury” to acquiring over $200 million in multifamily real estate assets. That's right!

If that word “multifamily” doesn’t ring a bell, it has to do with real estate relating to apartment buildings. Simply put, as a multifamily real estate investor, I invest in apartment buildings and enjoy helping others do the same.

More specifically, I lead groups of investors in what are called “syndications .” Though I'll share a more inclusive definition of syndication in a few pages, what it means is that I raise money from investors to acquire apartment properties, manage and add value to those properties, and then sell the properties later for a profit.

To date, I have led more than 26 syndications and amassed a portfolio of over 3,000 units (i.e. individual apartments). As I write, I am in the capital raising process of my largest offering to date (#27), and it stands to provide me with a HUGE RAISE. My biggest one returned $50 Million in Equity, a success about which I am excited and proud! With this raise, my investors and I will be able to add approximately $300 Million worth of more multifamily acquisitions. Well, as I am sending this book to be published, I have a great news that should reinforce your commitment to learning a lot in the chapters ahead where I will discuss so many tricks of the trade. You might ask, what is the good news? Well I just got the largest Mutifamily 324 units under Contract with my half partners (great syndicators also) worth $52 Million in a superb emerging market. Are you excited yet?

The story behind my success in real estate investment and syndication is interwoven with the stories of success for others, including families, colleagues, and my staff. I have always followed and give testament to the power of four incredible words: ENTHUSIASM; PASSION; PERSISTENCE; and POSITIVITY!

Let's talk about that last one. The positive attitude plays an important role in anyone's life. Negativity is viral, breeding negative energy here and there. If we are not cautious, those negative factors will penetrate our thoughts and minds. So, I believe we should really shield ourselves from this disease, refusing to let it contaminate our minds, our speech, and our attitudes. Instead, I promote being positive - keeping happiness in our thoughts, exuding joy in our smiles, and doing as much good as we can for the people around us. It is a simple approach, but by adopting it, we will do well. That has been my #1 goal in life.

If you will really think about it, you have a lot going for you since you probably do have at least $7 in your pocket. So maybe it is not literally in your pocket at this precise moment (since hardly anyone carries cash these days), but chances are you do have at least $7 in your bank account or somewhere.

For others, depending on your profession, you may have substantially more than $7 right now. Maybe you are in the medical, legal, or financial profession, or perhaps you are enjoying success in another line of work. Maybe you are what they call a “high net worth individual.” Maybe you have enough money to buy your own Coke machine rather than just a single bottle. Or maybe you own stock in Coca-Cola. So, $7 does not seem that much to you.

By “enough” I mean enough money to become financially independent. Where you are able to live comfortably at the level you desire, funding your lifestyle with a recurring cash flow, you are a financially independent person. Financial independence also means you have enough wealth on which to live without working. Financially independent people have assets that generate income (cash flow) that is at least equal to their expenses.

In the same way I have, with multifamily real estate. So, you, too, will be buying small and large apartment buildings, managing and adding value to those buildings, and then, potentially, selling them for a substantial profit .

Feel free to say "No." In fact, at this point, I would not blame you if you did because there is this ONE BIG thing we haven't talked about - the proverbial ELEPHANT in the room. And where buying apartment buildings is concerned, this ELEPHANT is HUGE! The elephant is, of course, MONEY! Or, rather, a lack of it.

Most likely, you don't have a few million dollars just lying around that you can use to run out and buy a commercial building or an apartment building. So, how is it even possible to think of making such an expensive purchase or acquisition? You need money, but WHERE would you get it? I'm so glad you asked! You can get it through SYNDICATION!

SYNDICATION . Though we mentioned it briefly a page or so ago, let's make it very clear by formally defining the concept. Syndication , as it applies to multifamily real estate is, the process of pooling money from other people with very little money of your own to purchase an asset that, perhaps, none of you might be able to acquire individually.

This is very much the same concept, I believe, of what many of the wealthy individuals and corporations that have become so successful in the marketplace have done. You see tech startups and major hedge funds raising private equity all the time to create massive wealth for both their corporation and their individual investors. Why not apply the same concept to your venture? I have, and it works!

In the pages that follow, I will share with you ways in which you are able to leverage those same wealth-building strategies, on a smaller scale, to realize your dream and place yourself in complete control of your financial future. I will confess that I always thought that building a business using "other people's money" did not go past late-night infomercials. My own experience, though, has led me to realize that it is not about me building a business with someone else's money as much as it is about creating opportunity and, along the way, helping a lot of other people whose lack of time limits their investment options.

Thinking back to our new term, syndication, you will remember that it is the pooling together of money from groups of investors. Quite simply, syndication will allow you to raise money to buy nearly any apartment building(s) you desire and then to use those buildings to achieve your own financial independence!

When I say that, I am still speaking from experience. You see, the success I've obtained through syndication - those 26 (soon 27, in 45 days, the due diligence was finished last week- as we close on this new asset) deals - has only come through tireless effort and ongoing education, through trial and error, through collaborative endeavor and collective patience with team members as we have endured the daily grind to find the solutions to the challenges along the way. Through it all, though, we have maintained that positive attitude that has fueled our motivation to continually move forward. If you, too, are willing to put in the work and educate yourself in the practice, there really is no limit to your ability to find success in syndications. You could soon have as many of your own as I have, and hopefully more.

The key is effort and education. You, personally, will have to put in the effort. I can’t do that for you. What I can help you with, however, is the education. And frankly, I’m happy to do so. It’s actually the reason I’ve written this book - the one you’re reading right now. And the fact that you are reading it is an indication that you are already serious about educating yourself in this process.

This book was born out of my dismay over the lack of resources detailing exactly how to work systematically- Step by Step to form great syndications to invest in commercial Real estate. I say “dismay” because it is startling to me that such a powerful strategy like syndication is just not discussed in any depth, especially when you think of how useful this strategy can be in helping people finally invest in commercial assets like apartment buildings, office buildings, strip shopping centers, hotels or even in large scale flipping and wholesaling, thus securing their financial independence.

You might appreciate knowing, before we move on, that I realized in 2004, after investing in rentals and flipping houses for almost 20 years, that I was not in a position to build wealth rapidly simply because those real estate efforts were not going to be a viable path to creating wealth since those investments were not scalable.

So, why aren’t there any good books out there on the “nuts and bolts” of doing a syndication deal? Your guess is as good as mine. What we can both be sure of, though, is that this book will teach you those “nuts and bolts.” In the pages ahead in simple terms, you will be learning exactly - and I do mean, exactly - how to do your syndication deals.

Picture in your mind what that looks like. Imagine a person balancing those five spinning plates, carefully keeping them all in motion at once while not dropping a single one. It is, quite literally, a balancing act that requires the utmost care and attention. After all, if the person spinning those plates slips up in any way, they may lose control of all the plates resulting in a mess on the floor - with the plates shattered into pieces and strewn everywhere.

See the parallels now to syndications? The same care and attention are required in syndications, too. In this latter case, failure to properly manage all aspects of a syndication - each of those five plates - can also result in a mess (may I suggest "shattered dream"?). And with syndications, that mess can be decidedly worse too. So, in place of broken plates, for example, you’d be looking at the brokenness of lawsuits, financial losses, and irreparable damage to your reputation with valued investors, real estate brokers, and countless other teams (legal and lending).

Relax and breathe now, though, and rest assured that you will soon be adept at spinning those five “plates.” Consider this my promise to you as we look toward the upcoming chapters: By the end of this book, you will be knowledgeable enough to confidently “spin the plates” and accomplish your first syndication deal. To set the stage for this “Five Plates” concept, I will use the next several chapters to speak specifically about Multifamily Real Estate and Syndication.

This first plate will guide you in building a team of people to assist you on each real estate deal that you perform. Building a team is essential, both for negotiating the deals, themselves, and for feeling confident in your practice .

On that second point, understand that having the right team will give you unbelievable confidence when talking to investors. You will be able to boldly look investors in the eye and tell them assuredly about the high returns you will be delivering in a syndication deal. Your confidence will come from the fact that you have a high-quality team in place to manage the various aspects of the investment.

To gain such confidence, you will need to build your team. And that is what we will cover in the chapter about the first plate. As you read that chapter, you will learn how to find and assemble the key players in your team, including brokers, contractors, attorneys, property managers, and building inspectors (for due diligence).

There’s a right way to do it, along with plenty of wrong ways. Having seen many "would-be" syndicators do it the wrong way, I want to help you avoid their mistakes. So, with this second plate, I will be sharing my personal strategies on how to successfully interact with investors. These strategies have helped me and the countless students I have coached over the years amass successes instead of failures. As you read Plate #2, and then administer your deal(s) later on, you will, undoubtedly, find the strategies to be just as helpful.

If there is one area in which the students I have coached often become overwhelmed, it is in the concept and process of underwriting. Students frequently feel intimidated by the amount of calculations that must be performed when “running the numbers” (underwriting) a deal. They realize that underwriting is essential to know whether or not a deal really makes sense as an investment. Yet, handling all of those computations, especially if you’re NOT a mathematician or a mechanical engineer, can be a daunting task - one from which many will be tempted to shy away.

Even if you do enjoy and excel in math, how do you keep underwriting from holding you back - so that you don't drown in models and never get started? You do it in the same way I advise my students. You will discover that method, as well, as we cover Plate #3 on underwriting.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees,” as the expression goes. Instead, it often comes as a result of loans. Yet the process of obtaining the loans can be difficult and complicated. And, of course, they must be repayable.

That’s where Plate #4 comes in. We will be covering all you need to know about securing the right loans for your syndicated real estate deals. Key aspects of this, to be covered, include finding a capable loan broker, structuring your financing for a deal in the right way, and forming the right legal entities for the overall syndication.

You can think of it then as “home plate” like in baseball or in cricket (where I'm from in India). Having “run the bases” with Plates #1, #2, #3, and #4, you are now ready to “bring it home” with Plate #5. Plate #5 will help you ensure each syndication you facilitate is indeed a “homerun!”- satisfying you, your investors, and every other player on your team.

To guarantee you score that “homerun," Plate #5 will cover what to do on the day of closing, when you and your investors assume ownership (takeover) the property you have acquired. You will be learning what to do, along with how to maintain the property using a management team later on.

Given the motivational message and encouraging tone of this book, you should be aware of my track record as a motivational speaker. To date, I have given over 10,000 speeches aimed at meeting life's challenges with positive thinking and setting goals of personal success. So, when you hear, throughout this book, my “you can do it” messages - understand that I mean it. Motivation is one of those things about which I am quite passionate; it is kind of a way of life for me.

Before I began my career in Real Estate Investing (REI), I was as a mechanical engineer. This experience gave me a skill which is essential for success, both in engineering and in nearly any other pursuit. The skill to which I am I’m referring is the ability to design and implement systems. In the context of engineering, systems are what allow a plane to stabilize its motion - despite gusts of wind. They are what cause a robotic arm to move in time with other aspects of a manufacturing line .

Looking beyond engineering and on to countless other areas of life, you will see systems at work. Indeed, it seems that there is no "safe" zone that is free from the benefits of implementing systems. Fortunately for us, systems are particularly suited for real estate investing. This is because of how much time and attention is required to facilitate a real estate deal. To save time, without dropping any of the five plates in a syndication, it is absolutely necessary to have a well-designed system or two (or ten)!

Creating a system may sound like an insurmountable challenge right now, and you may not even yet know what such a system would look like. Don't worry. With my background as both an engineer and a Real Estate professional, you are in good hands. I promise not to leave you to figure out systems for yourself. Instead, I will provide lots of guidance over the course of this text on those very systems. After all, my goal in sharing this book with you is to provide you with a clear understanding of what I have done with systems in REI so that you can go out and build your own.

A salesperson!!!! Right, they’re the bad guys, I know. The pests who knock on your door, interrupting dinner or family time. Look, I get it. Salespeople are often synonymous with the devil... even if they are selling Bibles!

So, I mention that past as a salesman to you little reluctantly. I do, however, think it is important for you to be aware of this experience since sales is essential to raising money in a syndication. And it was, in many ways, through that sales experience going door to door to earn my way through college that I learned the basic skills of selling a product and closing the deal, two skills that are essential to this business of syndications .

Perhaps, having done my time in sales, I can hopefully save you from having to do the same. No need for you to go door-to-door for three summers, as I did, selling books in Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina. You can shortcut the process by hearing my tips here, which come from the sales world and have been adapted for REI and syndications.

The final thing I want to mention now, among our last-minute items is where to find me. That’s important because as exhaustive as this book will be on syndications, you will probably want to know even more about the process, about who I am, or about what is covered in this book.

Weekly as of this writing, I host a Facebook Live event. It takes place every Friday at 10:00 AM (Pacific Time, PST), and I answer questions on all things related to Multifamily Syndication Investing and Management. I would like to personally invite you to attend!

In the same way, you are also welcomed to check out my website (VinneyChopra.com) and my Multifamily Syndication Academy (MultifamilySyndicationAcademy.com) or Multifamily Academy (MultifamilyAcademy.com). Together all those resources (the event, my sites, the academy) will help you beyond what’s in this book. I provide personal coaching & group mentoring to students who are serious about becoming multifamily real estate investors and rock stars!

I humbly offer this content to you, as my students often comment about the great content they have learned in the lectures and courses found throughout these three resources. Just a few kind words from a few of my students are :

“Vinney’s Multifamily Syndication Academy has been amazing! I would’ve never dreamed that I could sit with Investors and thoroughly explain the benefits of investing in a Multifamily Deal, much less have the knowledge of how to structure a Syndication Fund. Now, After a few short months, I am able to find a deal, research the area, underwrite and go through all of the steps of putting together a great deal with little help from our mastermind group.

“Vinney Chopra is one of the most knowledgeable and generous mentors in the Multifamily Syndication space. His experience is invaluable and he is willing and generous with that knowledge and experience in his teaching and mentoring. IMO he is the best single source for this type of information to be found anywhere. Vinney is open, kind resourceful and has a genuine interest in his pupils succeeding. He is a true believer in “paying it forward” and so his success become contagious! He is the BEST!”

“Two years ago, I found myself working as a sales manager 65 hours a week and I could not figure out how I could break free of the golden handcuffs. Once I learned about the power of MultiFamily Syndication I knew it was something I wanted to get involved with, I just did not know how I would do it. To this day, I think I may still be there had I not met Vinney. Coaching with Vinney and going through his MultiFamily Syndication Academy given me the fundamental education I needed to close my first deal and quit my job. Today I have invested in/control 300 units and have another 240 under contact as I write this. Vinney takes what seems to be as he calls it a "10,000 lb gorilla" and breaks it into simple actionable steps using his philosophy of spinning the plates. The best part about Vinney is the fact that he leads by example as a true veteran in the field, who has worn every hat including acquisitions, dispositions, asset management, property management, and more. You name it, he has done it. Thank you, Vinney.”

“Vinney has changed the way I look at investing in Real Estate! By joining his Academy, he breaks down the syndication model to 5 spinning plates and teaches us the importance of keeping focused. He is not only a teacher but an inspiration for me to achieve my goals. Thanks Vinney, I have learned soooo much from you.”

“Three months ago, I knew nothing about real estate and now after taking Vinney's courses I am extremely knowledgeable on how to analyze and buy huge apartment buildings. If you are the type of person who is looking to increase their wealth and achieve financial independence, multifamily real estate is the right choice for you. Vinney has some of the best industry experience by owning and managing over $250M in Real Estate and managing over 3,500 units. He personally teaches his classes, answers everybody's questions, and is extremely transparent with how he runs his business, his properties, and even partners with students if they have great deals! He is extremely motivational and pushes his students to try to become more successful than him. If you are serious about building your real estate portfolio and want to learn from the best then Vinney is your guy!”

Now, let’s return to our discussion of syndication. As you recall, I promised you that we were going to talk in depth on the subject. And I will remain true to my word as we move on to the first of those five figurative plates you will soon be spinning as a syndicator.

Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, though, and move on to our discussion of Plate #1, let me leave you with a saying which epitomizes all we will be discussing. It comes from Tony Robbins, a man who is among the source of some of my greatest inspiration. In a big way, his motivational words were instrumental in helping me go from $7 to where I am today. Perhaps you, too, have been inspired by Tony. If so, you might recognize this quintessential quote, which ties, I believe, perfectly to the overall concept of team-building and syndication.

Then join me in the next chapter as we get resourceful in building your team for your future in Commercial/Multifamily Syndications…I want to emphasize that we can syndicate to raise money to purchase any kind of assets in Real Estate, Residential flipping, wholesaling, Offices, Industrial, Hotels, shopping Centers or Multifamily (apartments). I chose the last sector because it made more sense to me with lesser risks and big rewards at starting of my journey. And it’s still true after 15 years of being in it.