Educating yourself is very beneficial in the long run. As an entrepreneur, you have to develop the mindset and willingness to learn more. To be successful in multifamily syndication, you should know how to approach your strengths and weaknesses. In the previous episode, we heard Jennifer Joyce’s journey through the real estate space. Let’s dive in to hear more about multifamily business and what she’s up to today. She discusses partnerships and hiring your team to fill in the gaps.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

How Syndication Can Work For You Part 2

We are in part two of the interview with Jennifer Joyce. She is important and such a rockstar that we had to have two episodes with her.

Thank you, Chris, for having me back so soon.

Thank you so much for joining us, Jennifer. This is part two. We are going to save the introduction because Jennifer’s experience speaks for itself. In episode one, we talked a little bit about that. Her journey through the real estate space is pretty dynamic. What we want to talk about now is we are going to dive into the multifamily space.

Also, what Jennifer is up to now is we are going to talk a little bit about funds and give you some action items throughout. Jennifer, why don’t you start by telling the Charging Forward Crew what you are up to now and how they can grow their multifamily business if they have a couple of deals and they are on their way?

It is easy to get complacent when you get good at a certain part of the real estate journey. Maybe that works for the readers, but some of them are also interested in completely personally developing further. I know that one of the things that have helped me is to stay a student. No matter how much we do or perform in the multifamily space, real estate, in general, we are always a student at heart.

We are always looking at ways to learn because, at the end of the day, we are entrepreneurs that do not have a box. If we can come up with a new way of looking at things, we stay visionaries. This multifamily syndication is a vehicle to be true entrepreneurs out in space. In a proven track record business, it has a real estate and building attached to it, but we are fixing businesses. We are improving inefficiencies and making places a better place to live, and creating some community.

One of the things that I aspire to do is stay as a student because the world changes in front of our very eyes. Technology is going to be forced to change faster. Are you keeping up? How are you leveraging that new technology in your business? That is going to set you apart as well. I would continue to absorb from others around you that you highly respect and see what you can gather from them to improve your business structures.

Multifamily syndication is a vehicle to be true entrepreneurs out in space.

Charging Forward Crew, what I want you to take away from what she said is we are entrepreneurs that do not work inside a box. We are always reinventing, moving, and creating. The only way to do that is to constantly stay inspired and educate yourself. You have to pick up information that you are not comfortable with, or even topics in the space that you do not want to deal with, like numbers, data analytics, or one of the things that Jen is an expert at, which is dealing with debt.

It is understanding the debt structure of deals, dynamics, trends of what interest rates are doing, and the creative financing process. We are going to dive in about funds. It blows my mind sometimes. There are things that might be a strength of mine. I will be talking to Jennifer and we will work on a deal together on something. She will jump in with all this analytic data as it relates to where the market was going, where it was not going, what do we need to be focused on with this fund, and all these things. It is like, “Wow.”

You have to have some time and energy into that space to even understand that language. Let alone the outcomes, positive or negative, as a result of you not paying attention to that data. Whereas oftentimes people are, “I want to get a deal. If I get a couple of hundred thousand dollars to put down in a deal and now I have got a deal. Now I have hired a property management company. I suppose I sit back and collect checks now.” Not quite. There is an awful lot that goes in.

If you want to protect your investors and grow in this space, you have got to expand your skillsets and knowledge. Jennifer, I love what you said about that. You summarized it by saying, “Entrepreneurs that do not have a box.” It does summarize it well because you cannot get complacent. You cannot sit there and think, “I got my deal, and I’m ready to go.”

You have to constantly be learning and specifically learning the things that you are not comfortable learning or, at the very least, partner with someone. You touched on partnering in the last show, partnering with somebody that does want to play in that space so you can focus on the things that you are good at.

 

Why don’t you dive in a little bit to some of the things that you have been working on? It could be some of the pros and cons that you have learned along the way from some of these deals, how you have decided you wanted to scale, what you are doing with the fund and things of that sort. Why don’t you share some of that with us?

Part of the amount of scale that we had in the last couple of years has to do directly with the economic correction we are all seeing unfold in front of our eyes. We can press timelines on purpose because of the peak we are in that economic cycle that usually lasts somewhere between 8 to 12 years. Having several years in real estate watching the markets rise and fall, we wanted to take full advantage of that.

What we have done are press timelines. We have gone into brainstorming, and it is called power storming. It is where you do not have a choice but to solve the problem in front of you as quickly as possible. You probably need twenty solutions to every problem. We have learned so much in such a short period of time only because we have acquired 2,500 doors in less than 24 months.

Someone who is maybe only buying 1 or 2 apartment complexes in that same space is not going to have the amount of education by compressing timelines. Compressing it down to the point, almost like friction, where you put coal in a hot fire, and you come out with a diamond or a pressure over time. We have compressed all of that down. I’m doing the same thing with the number of doors by looking at all the different loans, closings, property management companies, and residents’ needs in a new time where nobody knows the future.

The volatility of this time has also forced us to learn at an exponential rate. I’m just another one of those geeks out there geeking out about data. That is all that is happening. In the course of that, my SCC attorney saw how fast we were closing and recommended that we introduce the idea of a fund to not confuse the investors into which closing we were to talk about.

The world changes in front of our very eyes, so that technology is going to be forced to change faster.

They recommended that we build out a multifamily fund to house more than one closing across the time. That way, everybody could have one K-1, one checkpoint to get into a deal, and one return that they could count on that was then diversified in such a volatile space. We started a fund in the middle of the pandemic as well.

If you don’t mind, elaborate a little bit because you touched on it, which was we started to grow exponentially as we all know in this space, deals can get pretty complicated. When you start to build an investor base, there might be an expectation, but you have a deal that maybe does not quite feel at the exact model. It is like, “You gave me a 6% pref on this, 8% pref on that, or a 2% return here, a higher annual return there.”

As you started growing, it was, “How do we simplify this model? How do we streamline it and create consistency while at the same time protecting the investors because you are spreading the risk out over multiple assets?” If you don’t mind, talk us through the journey of creating that fund and how it started to work well for you in the sense of simplifying the process a little bit.

We wanted to make a better customer service experience for the limited partner. What we started noticing across the 500 investors we had across all of these different transactions is they found a risk tolerance they were comfortable with, but how do they truly know if it is a good deal or a bad deal? Time plays itself out there.

One of the things I used to say before the pandemic was, “All these people are making money because they are writing on the appreciation. How do you make sure you have a good operator operating those businesses?” We figured out that if we started a fund, we could scrutinize deals at our risk tolerance and other people’s deals at our risk tolerance. We could be a guide along a journey of what the passive investor’s goals were.

 

If they were used to making a 7% or an 8%, now we could simplify that and allow them to have us come alongside them as a partner. We say all the time, “This deal does not qualify for the fund. I’m sorry. It is not a good fit.” We have set a standard. That is not out there in the industry. It is usually a presentation that is put together.

They still have to spend all the time and hours trusting their gut as to whether it is a good deal for them to invest or not. We are going ahead and doing a triple check on that. We are involved in the partnership group, vetting the rest of the deal in the partnership, and we are taking care of a return customer. We are taking a load off of them by putting in all the section work around the fund.

One of the most complicated processes is building out your underwriting, PPMs, subscription agreements, and all that stuff. These folks have to analyze 100 to 130-page documents sometimes. It is like, “This one changed slightly from this last deal. What was that all about?” versus, “You are in a fund. You have invested several times with us. Now you want to come in on this next one, we just added a fourth property to the portfolio. Returns are the same. It is consistent. You have already signed your PPM. How much do you want to put in?” It is much easier for them.

I can tell you, at least from my experience, when I first started in the space, I was passively invested in over 3,000 doors. There are 10 to 20 different PPMs, and everyone is doing them differently. Not everybody has the same system. Some of these folks are big groups that you are investing with. You were like, “None of this stuff is working right. Why are these documents complicated? Why doesn’t this sign work?” Whatever it may be. That does simplify it.

Charging Forward Crew, what I love about what Jen said was that her focus was how to create a better experience for the passive investors. It makes more sense for a syndication group if you can build out a fund, which there are some cost, time, energy, and commitment there, but it is customer-centric if you could do it.

Be a geek about data.

It is much easier for them. It is easier to understand. It is one forward presentation that you are feeding deals into. When you are doing all of your accounting and everything else, it simplifies things as well, not just for you but for the passive investors. I highly encourage you to look into that. You can reach out to Jen if you have further questions on that.

Jen, is there anything else you would like to share as it relates to multifamily deals, maybe the structure of how you built all these doors? It could be something about the team because I know you have partnered with some people. If you don’t mind, share a little bit with some of these folks that are reading would be syndicators, passive investors, or entrepreneurs that want to build a business. Share a little bit of that journey. It could be a deal or even the teams you have worked with.

The nuggets I will leave with everyone is to partner with your weaknesses higher than your strengths. You are the best fit for what you are good at. However, as you scale, you need to have a team of people below you that do that for you so you can focus on the bigger thoughts. You should be getting paid for your brainpower, not your handy work.

You are going to want to partner with any weakness you have in the space. That is how people are successful, especially in multifamily syndication. They are finding teams of people that offset their weaknesses, and those people have strengths in the areas. They are going to vice versa. It is a win-win. Chris has the strength to my weaknesses, and I have strengths to his weaknesses when we partner. You want to find a group that is not all the same experience level. You want to partner with people that are dynamic. That is truly what makes a business thrive.

Part of the reason also touching back on the fund is we saw mom-and-pop businesses selling to mom-and-pop businesses that were going to make it more efficient. What we are trying to do here is institutionalized. We see what is possible if you have the budget to bring in KPI software, automation, and things that are unheard of at a one apartment complex at a time perspective. That is something that the fund can do to create more customer service as well. We are going to make properties that thrive better because we can overlay some of those costs that most people can’t at one address at a time.

 

We are still doing all of the things they are used to, like the tax benefits and the K-1 statement, where if they do not want to actualize their sale of that property, they can roll it over into the next purchase. There are some extra levers we can pull that creates amazing customer service for those investors. I feel like anybody who does not want to live in a box should be partnering with their weaknesses and scaling their individual companies with their strengths.

You touched on the team, strengths, and weaknesses. There has a ton of software. There are legal folks. There are all these people you partner with, but what would you say is the number one strength of your business or the number one thing that stands out that has helped you to grow and scale? That could be a piece of software, a partnership, anything, but is there something that stands out that you are like, “That was the one thing that made a difference?” I suppose you could give us two if you like because there are so many things you could be doing. For you, what was 1 or 2 of those things that stood out that helped you?

If you find someone who is 1 or 2 milestones ahead of you and ask them questions, you have now moved 1 to 2 milestones. Do not go to the guy who has made 30,000 doors and try to be like that. The part that helped me was going to these networking events, and they are starting to come back. These were around before.

I started asking questions to someone who is a little further on their journey than I was. It took me to that next level. I got in the habit of never stopping asking questions. You are not going to get as much from a book because it is going to be written by somebody who is much further in their journey, and you aspire to it. Those are good too when you have some time to read 30 minutes a day or whatever your goals are, but the real growth happens in talking to somebody who is a little bit further on the path than you are.

The real growth happens in talking to somebody who’s just a little bit further on the path than you are.

You make a very good point because I have met a lot of people that have read every real estate book, have been to every seminar, mentor program, or whatever, but they are not grabbing a circle of influence, which is in their space. They are not grabbing somebody close to them, maybe a little ahead, but not exponentially ahead where they have no time for them, where they have to pay substantially for that time and be inspired by them like, “You built out some software? That is great. I have not done that yet.” “You should try this. Here is how much it costs. I have raised $1 million.” “How did you raise $1 million? I can only raise $100,000.”

I was in a position where I raised a couple of hundred at one point, but it took me a year. I got here and said, “I did it.” They are going to share with you, whereas most people are going to charge you for a program. Networking is important. Make sure that you are asking the right questions to people. I would say this as well, “Make sure that you are trying to give if you can when you are asking of others as well.” What can I give you as far as advice? How can I help you if I want to hop on a call with you and ask you for some of your advice as well?

Be open to that or at least maybe share a referral or something like that if you are beginning your journey. That is always appreciated. Jennifer, we know how to find you from our last episode, but why don’t you tell us the name of the fund where we might find a little bit more information about the fund for anybody that may want to look into that a little bit further, get educated, or might want to invest in the fund?

Our fund is called the Global Housing Assistance Fund. If you will go to JJCapitalInvestments.com and subscribe, we will keep you updated. We are revamping the website now for the Global Housing Assistance Fund. Chris, I think it is important to talk about the overarching mission to circle all the way back to our first show.

One of the missions of the fund is to sell for homelessness. We are specifically targeting the veteran community because we are trying to create something that is duplicatable for mayors across America. We are also looking to feed families across the world. There are a couple of organizations that do that. As we start to scale out, and you mentioned this in the last interview, money is feedback, but it is not the goal.

 

We realize that there is going to be an influx of money at some point. We want to do things that scare us. We want to make goals and aspirations bigger than ourselves. That is why we are focusing on feeding the world, addressing homelessness in this country, and things like that through the Global Housing Assistance Fund.

We probably won’t start there, like I have said before. I’m thinking on the small side, and there is a lot more we can do, but we are excited about where this fund is going. It is specific to multifamily only. It has got two shared classes based on your needs as a limited investor. We take care of scrutinizing the deals and the sponsor teams to make sure it is a good fit. Go to JJCapitalInvestments.com, and we will get you more information on the fund.

Thanks so much, Jen. We appreciate everything you are doing. Kudos to you for thinking about the veterans and feeding people across the globe. It is obvious there is a massive need there. It is great that people are thinking about that, especially as they develop success in their lives, not forgetting to give back and make a difference. It is very cool.

What a name for a Global Housing Assistance Fund. I can’t think of a better name that inspires people. Let’s help out and bring people up. Thank you so much for reading. We are with Jennifer Joyce. Thank you so much for joining us. Subscribe, go to iTunes, and leave a review. We appreciate it. It helps spread the word. Share the message. I hope you all have a great week. Thank you.

We want to make goals and aspirations that are bigger than ourselves.

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We finished our part two interview with Jennifer Joyce, jam-packed with all kinds of great valuable information, but we are going to cover two of the takeaways as we usually do. One of the things that Jennifer talked about was how she scaled, and she needed a way to bring larger sums of capital in. She also was thinking about the synergy with her investors.

She started this fund to create a better experience for the investors. I thought that was cool. She elaborated on that by talking about how it creates one PPM, ease of operation, and better communication. It offsets the risk by spreading out over multiple assets instead of investing into one asset. I thought that was cool. She did a deep dive into explaining that process.

She also talked about when you are trying to learn something new. Let’s say you are trying to get into the multifamily space. You could hire mentors and listen to podcasts and events, but she said, “You want to try to engage somebody who is milestones ahead of you.” A little bit ahead of you, maybe have gained some experience but are not so far ahead that they are going to give you their time. You guys can learn from each other.

She talked about the importance of that because those folks are more approachable. When you go to an event, you are looking for someone who has done a few deals, even if you have not, but they are still in that space where they are willing to give their time and teach you. I thought that was cool because oftentimes, we are seeking out mentors, but mentors are busy, or you got to pay to join a mentor program, which is okay as well.

You might find that you get a lot of information out of people that are maybe a little bit ahead of you but are doing the things you want to do. It was great advice. We did a little deep dive into what teamwork is and how to do that. Please like, subscribe, and leave us to review on iTunes. We appreciate you. Have a great week.

 

Important Links

• JJCapitalInvestments.com
• iTunes – Charging Forward

 

About Jennifer Joyce

Jennifer Joyce is an experienced real estate professional specializing in Texas. Fund Management and Asset Management span over 20 years performing various real estate investment activities. Jennifer started with single family investments and then transitioned to commercial real estate in 2007 with emphasis on large value-add opportunities.

She has an excellent reputation building relationship with brokers, professional services, investors and vendors. Puts a great amount of focus into building a team to acquire and operate properties. Dedicated to providing transparency, well thought out business strategies and financial reports to her investors. Great promoter of community development activities that take pride in safe and livable solutions. Philanthropist in helping cities and veterans with homelessness.