E Pluribus Unum

This Latin phrase is on most(/all?) of the coins made by the U.S. Mint. I never took Latin (only two semesters of Spanish in college), so I never really knew what it meant. I took a stab at it long ago and thought it always mean 'A People United' - but, alas, I was wrong. The correct translation is 'from many, one' (or 'out of many, one'), which sounds a lot better than my guess. :-P

Anyway, this phrase came to my head as I was brainstorming the other day. I am really starting to get interested in larger multi-family properties. I figure my snail's pace of buying 1-2 SFR's per year (and I didn't even buy one this year) will mean I'll probably be able to retire when I'm about 65 (IOW, I'll just retire still being slaved to my JOB.) I have to speed-up my plan - a LOT.

So, I've been throwing around the idea of buying larger multi-family properties, like small-to-medium sized apartment buildings. Nothing too big at the beginning, of course, but something in the 10-15 or 10-20 unit range. Now at these sizes, one could be looking at doling our some big bucks just for a down payment. I know a year or so ago, I was looking at a 24-unit in town that had a list price of about $1.2M. Even IF I could get a loan for the property, I'd still have to fork over 20% (or $240,000) just for the down payment. Even if I HAD $240,000 in liquidity, I'd still be apprehensive about buying the property as I'd then be sweating about having all my eggs in the one basket.

Then I read some success stories from individuals who decided to think really BIG and started partnering with other investors on deals. Instead of going it alone and hoping a deal in a lifetime would come knocking, why not partner with others and become 'from many, one'. Either find a group of RE investors who already have such a partnership, or develop one myself.

I guess the first question would be, "But you don't have any experience in such a thing, what makes you think you can succeed with this?" And, as is the answer to most questions that ask me to extend my comfort zone - 'because I can.' So now comes the next chapter in my REI venture where I educate myself on how to partner with others to purchase larger multi-family properties. I will still be looking at 1-4 unit residential properties, but my focus now will be on larger properties. For those that have been following my blog for some time, you may remember when I was mulling the 21-unit for $75,000 that needed a major rehab. If you guess I am kicking myself now for not buying it myself or, better yet, through a partnership agreement, you're correct. That was one of those "deals of a lifetime" and due to my novice experience at what to do, I let it slip through my fingers. I can bet that it won't happen again.

BTW, for those investors that have been with me from the beginning (or anyone else, for that matter) who feel interested in going down this same path, send me an private email and let's talk more about it.