The Hands-Off Investor: An Insider's Guide to Investing in Passive Real Estate Syndications

by Brian Burke

Finding an experienced syndication sponsor matters now more than ever. By learning to select the right sponsors and properties, you’ll find the best deals and mitigate risk during times of economic instability! Want to invest in real estate but don’t have the time? No matter your level of experience, real estate syndications provide an avenue to invest in real estate without tenants, toilets, or trash―and this comprehensive guide will teach you how to invest in these opportunities the right way. Syndications are like the stock mutual funds of the real estate world―multiple investors passively invest into a fund, while a manager is responsible for picking the real estate and managing the portfolio. Author Brian Burke, a syndications insider with decades of experience in forming and managing syndication funds, will show you how to evaluate sponsors, opportunities, and offerings so you can pick the right sponsors and achieve the highest odds of a favorable outcome. Inside, you’ll learn:

Genres: Finance, Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook

367 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2020

About the author

Brian Burke is CEO of Praxis Capital Inc., a vertically integrated real estate private equity investment firm. Brian has acquired over half a billion dollars' worth of real estate over a 30-year career, including thousands of multifamily units and more than 700 single-family homes, with the assistance of proprietary software that he wrote himself. Though he prefers to reposition existing multifamily properties, he has also subdivided land, built homes, and constructed self-storage. Brian is a licensed pilot, so when he isn't investing in real estate, he can be found, literally, in the clouds.

Reviews

[Chris Ludlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been hearing more and more about syndications over the last 4 months as one of my best friends just got a job working for an operator and I started listening to Passive Income Pilots Podcast due to a suggestion from my brother in-law. This book excellently brought together a bunch of the knowledge I'd heard from both sources and brought up excellent steps to do throughout the due diligence steps of finding an operator and selecting one of their offerings.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every real estate investor should read this book - not just those that are interested in syndications.

Clear writing style, concepts are conveyed very clearly and there are nuggets of wisdom throughout the book. My favorite - don't listen when people say don't worry, people ALWAYS need homes (to substantiate there is little risk in multi family). He very accurately asserts when there are financial difficulties, people retrench, they find alternatives such as living w/their family so don't buy the snake oil that many people are peddling with their incredible returns on an offering memorandum. He teaches you what questions to ask and to be a smarter real estate investor.

This is one of those rare times, I feel I need to buy the actual physical book so I can have it as an instantaneous reference.

[Dmitry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very hands-on book on hands-off investing in real estate syndicates. The author assumes that the reader know nothing about income-producing real estate and takes the time to talk through every aspect of the process - a very fundamental and solid approach. There are great discussions on selection of sponsors and syndicates, analysis of investment opportunities, and common practices. Definitely a valuable read before taking on this type of investment.

[Ed Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed and Critical

I’ve spent the last 20 years in and around structured finance. Brian Burke gets it, and explains it well. If you are a real estate investor, potential syndicator or just curious, the book is well written, highly detailed, and covers a lot of ground. A must have in a finance library.

[Darrell Negley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for anyone considering real estate syndication investments. Even if you’re already investing in syndications, you’ll likely learn several tools to help you better research your next investment. Very detailed and comprehensive. I’ll use this as a reference resource for years.

[Cindy Konopelski · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this wasn't a fun read. It's technical and has good information along with some of the author's personal investing experience. But, I got the same information from a Google search. I think what reading this book does is give you the confidence to invest in real estate syndications. Also... if you commit the time to read this, you're probably not acting on a whim.

[Todd Nurnberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic resource for any investor considering investing in a syndicated real estate offering. Great combination of easy to consume content and deep coverage of specific topics. Strongly recommend this book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative, with lots of examples and clarifying tables. I really enjoyed getting more information about the syndication world and wish all finance books could be so clear about a topic with so much jargon. Definite read for anyone exploring real estate syndication investing.

[Ryan Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is really top notch, but it might been titled the one-hand-off investor, because it takes a ton of work to be “hands-off”!
The info was extremely valuable and it helped me realize that syndicate investing is a lot more work than just writing a check.

[Fetcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - audiobook. While the author is very smart and knows the ins and outs of passive investing, this book reads like a textbook. It is so boring. If that is what you are into, great, you will love it. Could use more examples personal stories and a narrator that is not monotone.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skimmed for reference. Very detailed and specific to real estate syndication structures. Perfect book to go back to for referencing when looking at deals and needing extra info or clarification

[Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides a deep understanding of real estate syndication for truly passive investors.

[Penelope]

DNF 68%. Will pick it back up when/if I look into real estate syndications more seriously.

[Stevan Tomich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the best books to understand investing in real estate syndications with a focus on multi family real estate. Definitely number heavy but worth it.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource. Critical read for anyone investing passively in syndications. Take notes. Review. This is a key resource that I highly recommend.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

good reference guide for read estate syndications

[Arias Flory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with incredible information. Too much to digest in one read.

[William Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on how to invest in syndications when/if the times comes. I used this book to get invested in two large ones and have been happy w the results thus far.

[Taylor Rodger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot's of great information. It definitely dragged at times but that's kinda par for the course for this kind of finance book that requires so much technical explanation. I feel much more confident about eventually investing in a syndication & searching for the right deal for me.

[Cory Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not familiar with investing in syndication that much and this book was a big help. It takes you through the process in an easy way to understand. I now have more investment avenues I can incorporate.