In a previous article, I introduced the idea of having a team around you to help build your apartment empire. Let me quickly remind you that having a good professional team is recommended for any kind of real estate investing. Just to recap, some of the essential team members that you’ll want to have in place include:
- A real estate agent or agents
- A commercial mortgage broker
- A banker (one or more)
- A title company or closing attorney
- A real estate attorney
- An SEC attorney (if part of your business includes securing private funding)
- An accountant or CPA
- Property management companies
- Contractors
In a previous article, I adjourned talking about title companies so let’s pick up where we left off on our list and start talking about more of the legal side of the business. You shouldn’t be needing to use an attorney’s services on a daily basis but you absolutely want their availability when challenges or issues arise. The best thing you can do is to find an attorney who specializes in real estate and who is also used to working with investor like yourself. This perspective is hard to teach and is a big asset in the big picture of your business.
Another type of attorney that has particular relevance to my niche area of investing in apartments is an SEC attorney. Bigger deals will often involve raising capital and unless you have hordes of cash that are burning holes in your pockets, some of this capital will need to come from outside sources. When these sources are private, there are procedures to follow and that is where an SEC attorney is worth every penny they charge.
As your business grows, so too does the financial complexity of what you do. For this reason, an accountant (better yet, a small business friendly CPA) is a must have on your list of professional team members. You are simply costing yourself money if you don’t use an accountant and they are obligated to stand behind the tax work they do for you as well.
In the world of real estate that includes holding properties (which is what I suggest every investor set their sights on, either now or down the road), a property management company is almost a must. If your goal is to own 500 units of apartments, are you really going to manage them yourself? Would you even want to, even if you were capable? I’ve seen too many investors who swore by the idea of managing their own properties and had the crow’s feet and other visible signs of aging to show for it.
Our last team member may be actually several in number, they being contractors. At some point, you will need to do work on a property. Some investors dive right into this sort of things, some wait, and many experience the need for repairs when they least expect it. It is in all of these cases that your real estate business will operate more smoothly when your team includes contractors.
Can you see how your empire is being created? Can you see how it can be created in a short time? Holding single family houses will make you money. Holding apartment houses will make filthy stinking rich! Which do you prefer?
