RG 148 – Set Up YOUR Syndication Legally – LIVE Episode with Peter Fischer
Nuts and Bolts
This interview with Peter Fisher took place at the Intelligent Investor Real Estate Conference in Marina Del Rey.
Peter is a syndication attorney and a Parter at Sklar Kirsh LLP. Peter was in the New York financial work in corporate finance organizing large syndicated loans for large multinational firms for 7 years before he moved to LA. In LA he moved away from big firms and started his own practice and this was when he got into real estate investing. He went to Jeremy Roll’s meet ups and then his legal career moved in the same direction.
Peter identified the difference between syndication and a joint venture; a JV has one equity partner who provides 80-90% of the equity, however syndication has groups of 10-15 people who provide small chunks of equity, approx. 20,000-50,000. Syndication is a lot more passive and the investors have no voice in the running of the deal. As a passive investor look out for how the money is distributed especially look at the fees and make sure that their interest align with yours. Common problems with passive investing is that lots of people get into it and then over promise and under deliver so if you’re looking to build a syndication group around your deal then make sure to get a team in place early and start building relationships with the investor database before you get a deal.
Peter also recommends that as a sponsor you try to get involved with other people’s deals as a passive or joint investor before going out on your own. This will show you what’s available in the market and help you structure your first deal. As an investor Peter recommends that you look closely at the financial transfer details and check what happens if you need to back out. Also check that the sponsor is responsive, that they have a track record and who has invested with them before. These details will help you decide if you can trust the sponsor.
Top Tips
- Most important habit – Updating his Outlook calendar
- Most influential person – Casey Dwyer
- Most important tool – Phone
- Contact – Pfischer@sklarkirsh.com