I shared Part 1 of my real estate investing journey in my last blog. Today, I’m sharing Part 2 with you. Warning – there isn’t a conclusion to this story as I plan to continue investing in real estate for the rest of my life! I hope you will want to do the same.
Investing in Multifamily Syndications
In 2018, we relocated back to Houston where I first heard about investing in apartments through syndications. Syndications allow individuals to pool their resources in order to passively invest and buy properties together. This syndication concept started turning the wheels in my head as it would allow us to scale our real estate portfolio holdings efficiently and effectively as well as provide regular cash flow.
Given my background and experience, multifamily investments seemed like the perfect choice for our real estate portfolio. I started getting more educated by reading as many multifamily investing books as I could, by going to numerous training conferences, and by watching a wide range of YouTube videos. My passion for multifamily investing was further enhanced by starting a monthly real estate mastermind group with a few my colleagues at work. We helped each other learn more about the risks and rewards of multifamily investing and how to invest wisely. I also learned that multifamily investments offer many financial advantages.
This education coupled with my real estate and construction experience, gave me confidence to make my first multifamily investment in 2019. Investing passively allowed me to test the waters – to learn the terminology and understand how a syndication deal worked without being responsible for the investment. This testing of the waters gave me even more confidence where I was ready to take the next step and become an active general partner – where I would participate in buying properties rather than just partnering as a passive investor.
Turning a Setback into a Gain
I was still working for ExxonMobil and had made 3 passive investments when the COVID pandemic hit in March 2020. The pandemic had a very negative impact on ExxonMobil’s earnings as they lost money for 4 straight quarters. This resulted in me getting laid off in late 2020 along with 10,000 of my colleagues. Because of my military retirement and the passive income that we were receiving from our single family rentals, I was fortunate to still have some income which also gave me options. I could find another job or I could use this pause to explore being an active general partner in multifamily investing. Through encouragement from my family, I decided that the opportunity to focus on multifamily investing, my passion, was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I halted my job search and started focusing on multifamily investing full-time.
To help accelerate being an active general partner, I joined a formal mentoring group called Think Multifamily (TMF). TMF provides the structure, coaching, and partnering needed to buy these large apartment complexes. Since joining TMF in early 2021, my multifamily investing has really taken off. I have already been a general partner in seven apartment deals! I never dreamed that I would be ready to go this big this fast, but God had a plan, and I was along for the ride.
Helping You Captain Your Wealth
I have provided my real estate journey to help you understand that you can also get started in investing in multifamily real estate. I’d like to help you connect the dots – to help you go faster, better than I did – so that you have a better understanding of multifamily investments and how they can powerfully transform your wealth portfolio. Without your trust and partnership, I could not be as involved in real estate investing as I am. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I want to help you Captain Your Wealth, to help you invest in strong, cash flowing real estate opportunities when you are ready to do so.
Closing Thoughts
Multifamily real estate is the culmination of my career in many ways. It’s a great mix of business relationships, operations, real estate, construction, strategy, and partnering – all areas that I have worked in during my career in the Navy and ExxonMobil. Along with problem solving and helping people, these are things that drive me and that I’m passionate about.
Without your trust and partnership, I would not be as involved in real estate investing as I am. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I do want to help you Captain Your Wealth, to help you invest in strong real estate opportunities when you are ready to do so.
My parents certainly passed down their passion for real estate investing and creating multiple sources of passive income to me. I have found a “home” in multifamily real estate investing, and I look forward to what God has in plan for the future.
Marshall Sykes
Co-Founder, Managing Partner
Capitano Investing Group
