Anyone own a large apartment complex?

[RahKnee]

I don't know if there are specific industry definitions of the term 'large', but I mean 100+ units. I have my eyes set on the goal of owning such a complex within the next 5 years. Currently looking in larger cities in Texas (Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio) just to get a feel for the market. Prices, availability, occupation %, annual ROI, etc. Outside of coming up with a sizable down payment, is there anything else I should be focused on?

I've got some very small amount of experience with rental properties through properties owned by my parents, but not much. Is it unreasonable to expect that I would be able to purchase a property and hand it over to a management company with minimal supervision on my part?

Is the idea of going from no properties to a large one in the time frame mentioned a pipe dream?

If you do own such a property, how did you approach the acquisition and did you build up to it with smaller properties or did you dive right in?

Thanks for any input!

 

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[JasonR]

I would suggest devouring a ton of real estate books before you start.

You haven't told us about YOU. Do you have money to invest? How much, how little? Do you know how to raise money? Etc...

You either need to start with money or use a TON of leverage.

For me, I prefer building/running a business (as the returns are usually much higher), then investing the money into real estate.

Many have started with Real Estate. Go find them.

 

[EvanOkanagan]

I don't think that's a bad idea, might as well shoot for the big ticket if you can! My 2015 investment goal is to get a multi-family property. Was originally thinking 3-4 plex but I've been leaning more and more towards a 15+ unit complex in my surrounding area.

I currently own 3 single-family homes as rental properties (10 streams of income total from them). It's been good experience to start small and has helped my comfort zone grow larger. Great experience too.

Here's a good couple books to start with if you haven't read any:

2 Years to a Million in Real Estate (easy read)
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller (thorough and more fine details)

 

[lleone]

Your goal is completely doable. I'm looking at owning at least one apartment building by the end of 2015.
I would recommend you do the following:
1) Join the local REIA in your area (see http://www.nationalreia.com/ to find it for your state)
2) Find a mentor who is doing exactly what you want to do. Offer your time in exchange for his/her expertise.
3) Research and read on the best areas. You've picked some markets that have been really hot for a while (e.g. Houston, Austin, etc). They are very close to be oversupplied especially for apartment buildings. In addition, some of the areas are very reliant on the energy industry and oil has been dropping in price. It's important to know if that is going to limit population and job growth in the area).

Good luck.

 

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