Ep. 170: Getting Started as an Apartment Investor with Michael Blank

Michael Blank has helped investors purchase 5,000 apartment units worth $215 MM. He is the host of the Apartment Building Investing podcast. As CEO of Nighthawk Equity, Michael’s team controls $75 million in multifamily across the US. He knows many investors have trouble getting started, so he emphasizes the power of the first deal. In today’s episode, we talk about the limiting beliefs many face when doing that first deal - analyzing deals, raising money from investors and attracting new investors through an online platform.

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Key Insights

Received a large sum of money from an IPO
Invested heavily in restaurants and lost the money in 2008
Started investing in real estate, going from flips, to single-family rentals to apartments
Began blogging and sharing his deal analyzer with others
The Law of the First Deal - If you do one, it will build your confidence and momentum
No investment is fully passive, but there are degrees of being passive
How did multifamily perform during last recession - Fannie & Freddie loans default rate was 0.4% (compared to 4% for single-family homes)
Created the Syndicated Analyzer to help evaluate deals
Tools, education and support: Great source for information is the property manager
Typical Mindset: “I don’t have money, I don’t know anyone with money and I don’t want to ask my friends and family even if I did have a good deal.”
Raising capital is not begging for money, it’s providing a service
Steps to attract more money: 1. Create online platform, 2. Offer a lead magnet, 3. Nurture and educate, 4. Investor call and live discussion
Ways to create content: leverage technology, outsource, or record in your phone and use rev.com