378: A $500M Syndicator's View on Today's Market and How to Succeed as a "Hands-Off Investor" with Brian Burke

With a recession already underway, we're turning to an investor with 30 years of experience, 3,000-plus multifamily units acquired, and one of the sharpest minds in real estate. Brian Burke is back today, and he sits down with Brandon and David to offer his interpretation of current events and to guide our audience through how to invest passively without violating Warren Buffett's No. 1 rule: "Never Lose Money!" Brian explains how his firm Praxis Capital is navigating COVID-19 and shares a few tips everyday investors can use to fortify their portfolios. We also discuss leverage, how lending practices are changing, and techniques you can use today to safeguard your investments against vacancy and drops in valuation. In the second half of the show, Brian speaks to those interested in becoming "hands-off" investors—whether you want to focus on making money in your day job or just don't want to deal with being a landlord. After all, BiggerPockets has 10-plus books on how to actively get deals done... but none (until now) on how to evaluate passive investment opportunities. We go over how to meet syndicators, what red flags to look for, how to diversify your investments... and the absolute No. 1 quality to look for in a passive investment (hint: it's NOT the deal itself). This episode is packed with deep insights into the current market shift, but it's also a timeless lesson in evaluating syndication opportunities. For more info, check out Brian's new book, The Hands-Off Investor: An Insider's Guide to Investing in Passive Real Estate Syndications , and all the great bonus content, too. In This Episode We Cover: How Brian got his start raising capital from his cop buddies " Bulletproof vests " investors can use to survive right now Brian's definition of " over-leveraged " Why Brian is currently more focused on operations than acquisitions How government stimulus $ may affect the real estate market How and where passive investors meet syndicators The #1 quality passive investors should look for in a syndicator Why the deal sponsor is more important than the deal itself Diversifying your passive investment portfolio Red flags to look for when evaluating syndicators Why " alignment of interests " is overrated The lesson he learned from a friend who lost her life savings Links from the Show BiggerPockets Forums BiggerPockets Webinars BiggerPockets Business Podcast Real Estate Rookie Podcast BiggerPockets Money Podcast BiggerPockets Radio Podcast 003: Getting Started in Real Estate and Raising Money with Brian Burke BiggerPockets Podcast 076: Growing Your Real Estate Company Into a $30 Million Dollar Business with Brian Burke BiggerPockets Podcast 152: Building Wealth and Passive Income with Rental Properties with Ben Leybovich, Brian Burke, and Serge Shukhat BiggerPockets Podcast 315: How to Read Human Nature to Succeed in Life with Bestselling Author Robert Greene BiggerPockets BRRRR Guide BiggerPockets Bookstore Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/show378 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices