Based on your results from our Real Estate Investor Quiz, we believe Some Funds and Some Syndications may be the right investment options for you.
Passive investing in real estate is a great way to reap the benefits of owning property without all of the headaches that actively managing your properties can entail. Because you have less than $100,000 to invest, you may be limited in which syndications and funds you can invest in.
Funds
A real estate fund is a type of passive investing that involves pooling different projects and raising funds from investors. An easy way to see a fund is as separate investments into different syndications. Because not every project will perform the same, funds are generally diversified to offset risk.
Learn more about how real estate investing funds work in this Investopedia article.
One advantage of investing in a real estate fund over directly buying a rental property is that funds generally offer more diversification. Unlike a single property, funds can purchase a variety of asset classes over a wide geographic area. Funds are also not tied to a single investing strategy. Learn more about diversification in this video, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content.
Pros and Cons of Funds
Funds are a type of passive investing that don’t require any work on the part of the investor. However, there are some tradeoffs to this type of investment.
Pros of Funds:
- This is a type of passive investing and doesn’t require the investor to do any of the work on the project.
- Because there are multiple projects, funds offer diversification.
- Since so many investors are contributing funds, General Partners are generally able to get better terms than an individual investor would get.
Cons of Funds:
- You are committing your money over a period of time, and you typically don’t get it back until the project is complete.
- You usually need to be an accredited investor: either making $200K alone a year or a married couple making $300K; or, you have more than $1MM to invest, not including your primary residence.
Syndications
In a syndication, a General Partner (GP) is responsible for picking out a real estate project and doing all of the necessary work to complete the project. These are big-scale projects, such as purchasing an apartment building and creating value-add.
The majority of the cash for the project comes from Limited Partners (LPs). They write the check but don’t have to guarantee the loan or manage the project.
At the end of the project, everyone gets their capital back in additional to the proration of the profit. Because they have less responsibility, LPs get paid less than the GP. Learn more about how investors get paid in both syndications and funds in this article.
Pros and Cons of Syndications
Syndications are a type of passive investing that don’t require any work on the part of the investor. However, there are some tradeoffs to this type of investment.
Pros of Syndications
- As an LP, you are not guaranteeing the loan, nor are you doing any of the work on the project. You simply write a check, and if the project is successful, receive a share of the profits.
- Usually, GPs are incentivized to ensure the project runs smoothly and generates solid returns.
- Because your money isn’t liquid, you will generally see greater returns to offset the risk.
Cons of Syndications
- It can be difficult to find a syndicator or know the right questions to ask. Listen to this BiggerPockets podcast to find out what you need to ask before investing.
- Your money is often committed for three to five years, and you typically can’t get it back until the project is complete.
- You generally need to be an accredited investor: either making $200K alone a year or a married couple making $300K; or, you have more than $1MM to invest, not including your primary residence.
What’s Next?
Learn more about funds in this Ironton Capital webinar.
Want to see how to unlock your home’s equity so you can invest in funds or syndications? Our Property Llama software will allow you to run different scenarios to figure out the best way to build your portfolio. Sign up for your free account to get started.
