Many investors have ambitions of investing in large multifamily complexes or buildings but are intimidated by the amount of money and time that it would require to purchase and manage such a project. Through listening to many hours of podcasts and talking with some local real estate investors, you may have discovered something close to it though - syndicated real estate deals. In these deals, a person (or managing company) pools together the money of many investors and, through crowdfunding, is able to purchase large, and sometimes expensive, properties. These properties can be anything from large apartment buildings, assisted living centers, mobile home parks, or self storage facilities. In any case, the managing person or team take on all of the leg work in acquiring, rehabbing, renting, and managing the property. The investors put a great deal of trust in the managers. Quarterly or yearly distributions of the cash flow are paid out to investors based on a percentage of money invested vs the total value of the property.
If you’ve bought in, you’ll have a small stake in the property and get paid out a quarterly (or other specified) return for your investment. These provide cash flow and forced appreciation that will be realized when the property is sold and all of the investors are paid out, likely in about 5-7 years.