To invest in an apartment syndication typically is a $50k minimum. Fifty thousand dollars is a LOT of money. Nevermind fifty thousand dollars per year. I get it, but hear me out. Once you see the potential results, I strongly believe you might be more willing to put forth the effort required to get there.

I’ve seen regular people with regular salaries (even teachers!) do this and change their trajectories forever. So, as with most things in life, it’s about resourcefulness, not resources. You can do anything you put your mind to, and seeing the progression of investing in syndications year after year might help you put your mind to it.

Here’s what could happen when you invest $50k a year into real estate syndications:

Year 1

While the first year may not be that exciting, it’s definitely an accomplishment to invest your first $50k. It’s also pretty cool to pick out that first property. Let’s pretend you select a 350-unit value-add multi-family unit in Dallas, Texas.

Several months later, you begin to receive $750 per quarter in distribution checks, which is about 6%, an average for our standard deals (the range is 5% to 7%).

A nice, modest start at this point.

 Year 2

In the early spring, you receive your first Schedule K-1, which is the tax document that shows your income and losses from your first investment. We’ll call that Dallas apartment complex from year 1 property A.

Through the magic of our tax system, accelerated depreciation, and cost segregation, your K-1 for property A shows hefty paper losses (typically 70% to 80% of the total investment or $35k-$40k), even though you enjoyed several quarterly $750 checks since the deal closed. Those paper losses allow you to offset your investment income from this property (and others if you had them, like an AirBNB). Some investors are able to use these paper losses to offset their regular income as well (if they are Real Estate Professionals, i.e, considered in the business of real estate….we will cover this topic in an upcoming blog as this is a way to save even bigger on taxes).

This same year you invest another $50k into syndication B, which bumps your quarterly cash flow from real estate syndication investments to $1,500 ($750 quarterly from each property, A and B).

Year 3

This year, in the early spring, you receive two K-1 tax forms. This marks a turning point in your finances because from here forward, you’ll begin to look forward to tax season!

Soon you invest another $50K into your third deal, real estate syndication deal C. Afterward you begin to receive 3 distribution checks each quarter, totaling about $2,250. You’ve boosted your yearly income at this point by $9k annually.

Year 4

Partially through the year, Real Estate Syndication A sends word that renovations are complete on the property, and the sponsors are seeking to sell. Because this property is in a hot submarket in a growing metro area, the listing gets a lot of attention and is soon purchased.

Your original $50k investment from Real Estate Syndication A, plus an additional $35k in profits is received. Yesssss!
You play it smart and invest all your returns from Real Estate Syndication A ($85k), plus the $50k you’ve saved in year 4, into Real Estate Syndication D.

You now have a total of $235k invested, across three syndications, each with a preferred return of 6%. This should yield about $14.1k annually in cash flow distributions ($3,525 per quarter).

Year 5

By this time, Real Estate Syndication B (your investment from year 2) has completed its renovations and is sold. You receive your original $50k, plus an additional $35k in profits.

Last year’s deals worked beautifully, so you decide again to roll that $85k with this year’s $50k all into Real Estate Syndication E, bringing your total invested capital to $320k.

Now your quarterly cash flow checks start really looking good, totaling about $9.2k (now equivalent to a significant part of your salary).

Year 6 – 7

Now that you’re getting the hang of it, let’s start moving a little more quickly.

In years 6 and 7, Real Estate Syndications C and D are sold, respectively. Each year, you invest additional capital of $50k to the returns you receive from those exited deals. In each year 6 & 7, you invest $135,000 and $185,575 into Real Estate Syndication F & G, respectively.

Now, you have a total of $505,575 invested. Every month, you get six cash flow distribution checks (for Syndications B-G), totaling $7,584 per quarter, or about $30,335 per year.

You’re now nearing a decent career path’s GROSS salary value. It’s like you’ve got an invisible earner in your home generating income but not adding to any of your expenses. And because of all the depreciation benefits, you’re continuing to show paper losses, so all this cash flow isn’t being taxed.

Year 8 – 10

Another three years pass. The kids grow, you’ve checked a few life experience must-haves off the list, and you’re maturing into the life of a confident real estate investor.

You’ve now been investing $50,000 every year for 10 years. The first six deals have exited, each time leaving you with a healthy return to reinvest.

Over these 10 years, you’ve saved up $500,000 in cash, which is no small feat. You’re smart and money-savvy, which is why you put that into syndications instead of mansions and Ferraris. So let’s do the final round of math, shall we?

In each of years 8, 9, and 10, syndication deals sold and left you with healthy returns to roll into the next investment. By the end of year 10, you have over $850,000 invested in multiple real estate syndications across multiple markets and asset classes, producing over $50k in diversified passive income per year. That’s more than the median household income in the US!

If you were to invest $50,000 a year into real estate syndications, THAT’s what happens.

What Life Looks Like in Year 10 and Beyond

At this point, you earn passive income of over 50k per year, and that figure grows every year. You love your chosen career, so rather than quitting, you opt for a freelance lifestyle, giving you more flexibility to take longer trips with your family.

You enjoy fun once-in-a-lifetime experiences, travel, swim with dolphins, enjoy yoga retreats, and skiing in Colorado. Good thing for those quarterly distribution checks!

You have the ability to donate often to charities and non-profit organizations that you love and be an active volunteer at your children’s school and/or in your community.

Perhaps the passive income funds a college for your children, or a personal chef, or build the downpayment for your dream home.

Most of all, you rest easy with the confidence that you’ve created a lasting legacy for your heirs. Someday, they’ll continue to invest and build their own passive income. You won’t have to worry about being a burden on them in your old age.

Disclaimers

You probably already know most of what I’m going to say here, but it’s important to reiterate.

Real-life investing is not clean and easy like it seems from this post. You can’t predict exactly when a deal is going to exit, cash flow returns might not be exactly 6%, and you may not be able to find a great deal to invest in right when you’re ready.

The scenario we walked through together in this post is based on an average hold time of 3 years before the deal exits. While most of our syndications project a 5-year hold, most of them exit quite a bit sooner than that, often right after the renovations are complete.

You should also notice that the example didn’t include reinvesting the cash flow, which would further accelerate the growth. Rough calculations for capital gains taxes and depreciation recapture at the sale of each property have been incorporated, though the operative word here is “rough.”

In the end, it’s very unlikely that you would see these exact numbers. It’s possible that the numbers could be slower to grow, but it’s also possible that you’ll see much faster growth. This post is not meant to be a prescription. Rather, to demonstrate how diligence and patience, together with compounding returns, can dramatically change the course of your financial future.

Conclusions

Investing passively in real estate syndications is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme. Quite the opposite, in fact. Investing in real estate syndications is a long-term strategy that should result in building wealth slowly but steadily over time.

It’s almost like farming. You have to plant the seeds, then wait a season or more before the harvest.

Dabbling in house hacking, private lending, and short-term/AirBNB rentals might be your entry point. And if so, that’s great because you’re on to something. Hopefully, this 10-year plan opens your eyes to something bigger and better.

There’s rarely a well-trodden path, and it’s even less often laid out this clearly. Real Estate is worthwhile, but some investments are wins and others aren’t. This method of $50k at a time is a predictable, operable, seemingly magical process anyone can implement to begin their syndication journey.

And that’s why in addition to GrowAbility operating our joint investments as your General Partner, Willie and I also personally invest in these syndications right alongside you, one (or more) 50K checks at a time. And, like you, we look forward to the next ten years using this stable, intentional, and low-hassle path toward growing our personal income and wealth as well.

Would you like some more insights? Schedule a wealth acceleration call with me so I can share more about what to expect throughout this journey and our best practices to help you achieve your long-term goals! Also, don’t forget to join the GrowAbility Equity Club to stay updated. 

Thanks for being a part of our community. Until next time, keep growing your ability to accelerate your wealth and legacy building….glad to be a part of this journey!