income. However, you can probably find several that can invest three or four hundred thousand. In this way, they get the benefit of purchasing a high-quality property without putting up all of the money. You as the broker get the advantage of being involved without putting up the money. You will find the property, manage it, and report to the investors. This way, both you and the investors will be happy.

As the broker, you will need to understand a few key concepts. To set up an arrangement like this you will need a separate entity. One great example is the Limited Liability Company or LLC. This type of corporate entity has several advantages over other forms. It gives you the freedom from personal liability that a corporation enjoys without the double taxation. If you or one of the investors is named in a lawsuit, this will prevent the court from coming after the property. The property is owned only by the LLC. No one person has complete ownership. Then when it is time to report taxes, each member just files them on their own personal income tax. Depending on their percentage of ownership, that is the percentage of the income and expenses that they will claim. This is much better than the company paying taxes first, then the shareholders paying again. In order to start an LLC, the appropriate documents will need to be filed with the government. A registration fee will also need to be paid. Although it may be frustrating in the beginning, this is time and money well spent. It will save you much more money in the future.

When you, as the one in charge of the syndication, find a potential property, a Private Placement Memorandum must be created. This is basically a document that informs all of the investors about the potential risks involved. It is much better to make everyone fully aware of what they are getting involved in upfront. You don’t want to do anything without the full knowledge of all parties. If something bad were to happen, no one can claim ignorance. Be sure to keep a copy of this after it has been reviewed by all parties involved.

There are a few skills that you will need in order to be successful in this field. Being analytical is very important to finding the best deals. You should know spreadsheets inside and out. Many problems in real estate could have been avoided upfront with a little more time spent investigating. Another important trait is to be a skilled presenter. If you can’t communicate your idea to others effectively, why would they ever give you their money? They must feel completely confident in your abilities.

Now that you’ve decided you can do it, what kind of investors are you looking for? Despite what you may have heard there are many people who have money. These people are always looking for a great place to invest it. The best investor to get is one who has more money than time. These people are usually busy in other professional careers. They are probably even involved in many other forms of investment. They didn’t get money to invest by being lazy. Therefore, you must go after the busiest people out there. If you can find a group of these people, you are well on your way. With these concepts in mind, there is no reason that you can’t get the capital you need for commercial real estate.

Tony Seruga, Yolanda Seruga and Yolanda Bishop of www.maverickrei.com specialize in commercial and investment real estate. As of May, 2006, they and their partners are managing over $600 million dollars worth of new projects.

Here are some more estate planning articles...