For the first 3 years of our real estate investing journey, my partner Lucas and I were a two-man show in every aspect of the business.

Our plan was simple - buy 1-2 properties per year until the passive income from rents covered our living expenses. Then, we’d be financially free and work-optional. Although we had no experience in buying and managing rental properties at the time, it started off really smooth.

But as we continued to scale, we started to feel the landlord headaches that everyone knows about. The annoying maintenance calls, bad tenants and the one thing every small-time landlord hates the most... the eviction process.

So, we took a step back and re-evaluated the path we were on. After a few weeks of looking into other ways to scale our portfolio, to continue growing our passive income, while eliminating the landlord headaches, we decided real estate syndication was the best option.

It's the best way to grow your portfolio and get all of the benefits of real estate, without having to deal with tenants and toilets.

So today, I'll tell you the four reasons why you should consider passively investing in a real estate syndication vs. buying your own properties like we did.

Let's dive in.

Why would I invest passively when I can do it myself?

Reason 1: Time is Your Most Precious Asset

As a busy professional, I understand the value of time.

Active investing in rental properties demands a substantial time commitment, taking away from tasks that truly matter. From finding the right property and securing financing to dealing with tenant issues and ongoing maintenance, the responsibilities become endless. Not to mention, the issues that need immediate attention seem to happen at the absolute worst times.

For professionals whose schedules are packed with meetings, client calls and hours of prospecting, adding the burden of being a landlord is one not many want to take on.

As a passive investor, you don't have to. With passive investments, you find a professional operator that you trust, who does this full-time, and simply invest your capital to become a partner alongside them, gaining equity in the property.

You get all the benefits every investor wants from passive income and appreciation to the numerous tax benefits, all without having to deal with any landlord duties.

I have invested in over 500 apartment units as a passive investor and I have never received a call regarding a tenant issue or had to worry about going through the eviction process, which can take months.

Reason 2: The Balancing Act of Risk and Scalability

We quickly realized that scaling our investments was tougher than expected after buying our first two properties. With our capital tied up in just a few deals, it took a while to save up for the next down payment. Plus, having a smaller portfolio made us more vulnerable to market swings and property-specific problems.

Passive investing helps solve this by spreading your capital across multiple properties and markets, which can lead to more stable returns. It often requires a lower initial investment compared to buying properties on your own. And if any major issues come up, they're typically factored into the overall budget from the beginning, so you won’t need to cover unexpected costs out of pocket.

Reason 3: Much Higher Returns!

With my background in finance and data analysis, I’m always focused on maximizing returns and understanding what drives ROI with my investments. When you're an active investor in smaller properties (1-4 units), you're at the mercy of the market—property values can fluctuate and are often speculative.

As a passive investor in commercial assets (5+ units), you have more control over valuations because they’re based on profitability, much like a business. By implementing a solid value-add strategy, an operator can increase income and reduce expenses through effective management, leading to higher profits.

This is why passive investors often see annual returns of 20% or more, significantly outperforming smaller properties and other asset classes.

Reason 4: Stress, Hassle and More Time

As I mentioned earlier, my partner and I started out with smaller properties—a triplex, then a duplex, and so on. We decided against hiring a property management company because it would cut into our profits and we hadn't scaled enough to justify the expense.

After two and a half years, we found ourselves spending several hours a week on each property, handling everything from tenant issues to basic maintenance like lawn mowing and snow shoveling. When we looked at our goal of creating passive income to cover living expenses, we realized we'd need to nearly 7x our current portfolio to get there. This was starting to feel like it would turn into another full-time job.

That’s why I switched to passive investing. Now, once a passive investment is up and running, the only time I spend on it is reviewing the operator's monthly updates, which takes just a few minutes. Meanwhile, I watch the passive income distributions get directly deposited into my account.

In Conclusion

Passive investing is a lot easier as an investor who also juggles a day job. It's straightforward, hassle free and gives you the ability to focus on things that matter.

This is a superior way to invest in real estate in my opinion and I've seen the impact it has had on not just me, but also our investors.

By investing in these larger, more lucrative opportunities, you not only get the benefit of buying back your time, but also a potential for much higher returns.

I invite you to explore real estate syndication as an investment vehicle and join our team to start earning truly passive income.

See you next week.

Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways we can help you:

1.    Schedule A 1:1 Call With Me: If you are interested in learning more about how to passively invest in some of the best opportunities, let's connect. Schedule a call on my calendar and we can discuss potential opportunities that align with your specific goals.

2.    The Passive Investors Guide: Download your free copy of our investor's guide. Inside you'll learn how to turn your active income into passive income with strategic real estate investments based on your specific risk tolerance. This comprehensive guide will teach you how our investor's are earning ~ 20%+ annual returns with hands-off, multifamily real estate investments.

3.    Investing w/ Your 401k/IRA: Join hundreds of other investors who invest in lucrative real estate investments with their old 401k/IRA's. Our webinar teaches you exactly how to invest in cash-flowing real estate and stop settling for average returns that typical retirement accounts offer. Go ahead and watch the replay for actionable tips on how investors are earning 16-20%+.

4.   Money Monday's Newsletter: Check out our weekly newsletter - Money Monday's, where we share practical tips to guide you on your wealth-building journey in real estate every Monday Morning.