Introduction

You don’t know what you don’t know and sometimes you don’t know what questions to ask to start uncovering what you don’t know.

When I entered the multifamily space in the Spring of 2019 after a successful career in commodity derivatives on Wall Street, I had more questions than answers. I was drinking from a fire hose trying to get my arms around the multifamily space – what deals were good, which ones I should avoid, what sponsors I wanted to invest with, those to run away from and what deals I should co-sponsor.

I was facing a rapidly approaching deadline as I needed to invest a sizeable amount of personal capital before December 31, 2019 for tax purposes. I needed to move fast and decided to apply the principles that made me successful on Wall Street – namely, what are the key economic drivers of the transaction, what could go wrong, what is the upside and what is my gut telling me about the sponsors of the deal.

I wish there was someone that could have provided a road map to dig through deals when I was wading through so many deals and sponsors. However, I eventually figured it out and lowered my tax burden by 65% in 2019, receiving a $223k refund check from the IRS through apartment investing. 

With 13 years of Wall Street experience and after investing in 2,958 doors, I codified the “25 Questions Every Passive Investor Should Ask.” Some of these questions you will ask directly and others are the question behind the question. I hope you find this document helpful and look forward to your feedback.

To access the “25 Questions Every Passive Investor Should Ask,” please fill out the form below.