Must-read 2024: Leading literature in multifamily real estate

TOP FIVE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS ON INVESTING IN MULTIFAMILY REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FROM FOUNDER AND CEO IVAN BARRATT AND THE BAM CAITAL TEAM

Several major multifamily real estate players have touted their favorite pieces of literature on the subject. However, regarding private placement, sometimes called syndication, five books set themselves apart by offering deeply attuned insight for the novice accredited investor or anyone looking to learn more about long-term wealth creation. 

Whether you are just starting or have been studying the mysterious undertaking of real estate for years, the stock of knowledge one can attain continues to swell. The BAM Companies Founder and CEO Ivan Barratt and Chief Investment Officer Tony Landa gathered their list of valuable multifamily real estate and property management books for readers to dip into by year-end. [1]

Here are their top five.

THE ABCs OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 

Written by Ken McElroy and published in 2014, The ABCs of Property Management is the second installment in an ABCs trilogy exploring the principles of decision-making and expectation maintenance for property managers, owners/operators, and real estate investors. From guiding readers through a month-in-the-life of an owner/operator to prescribing tools for assembling a reputable team, McElroy challenges the sustainability and growth patterns of 2014 real estate professionals and extols the value of a quality property management team.

“I tried to copy, rinse, and repeat what he was doing,” says Ivan Barratt. “[I] got a lot of knowledge from him on how to start a management company.” He describes how McElroy, now a trusted friend and advisor, used a management company to grow into private placement (syndication).

According to a brief description of the book, readers can also glean from the text:

How to implement the right systems and structures for your investment

How to manage and maximize cash flow

How to find the right property manager (and avoid the wrong ones)

How to assemble a superior management team [2]

THE REAL BOOK OF REAL ESTATE

Renowned author and trusted authority on personal finance and business education, Robert Kiyosaki delivered Rich Dad, Poor Dad to economics classrooms and the desks of anyone keen on fine-tuning their financial literacy back in 1997. Just over a decade later, in 2009, he released the aptly dubbed “Bible of real estate”—The Real Book of Real Estate: Real Experts. Real Stories. Real Life.

As the name suggests, the book is a compilation of testimonials and case studies from reputable real estate advisors on everything from asset valuation to resident relations and lease breakdowns. [3]

Ivan Barratt describes each chapter as “written by a different real estate professional who’s very successful in their discipline.” He says, “I’ve recommended this book a ton of times because it’s got something in there for everybody, especially people [who] maybe don’t know which direction they want to head in in real estate.”

HOW TO MAKE A FEW BILLION DOLLARS

Earlier this year, Brad Jacobs debuted How to Make a Few Billion Dollars, a memoir-adjacent chronicling of his success in corporate America. According to his biography, Jacobs is the founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of QXO, Inc. He has founded and led five public companies: United Waste Systems, Inc., United Rentals, Inc., XPO, Inc. and XPO’s spin-offs, GXO Logistics, Inc. and RXO, Inc. [4]

Rather than change your mind like Michael Pollan’s seminal text, Jacobs sets out to “rearrange your brain,” explaining how to capitalize on finance trends by leveraging tech and understanding tools such as artificial intelligence. 

“I’m reading [it] for the second time,” Ivan Barratt explains. He describes Jacobs as an all-star CEO who is “very authentic and vulnerable with how he got to where he got […] how to grow companies [and] find value. And that’s really what we’re in [which] is the value creation game.”

The book’s praise highlights its practicality and guidance toward long-term wealth creation. Among authenticity, one summary of Jacob’s book lists the following touchpoints readers can look forward to:

Turning a healthy fear of failure to your advantage

Achieving high-quality M&A (mergers and acquisitions) without imploding

Building an outrageously talented team

Catalyzing electric meetings

Transforming a company into a superorganism that kills the competition [5]

THE ADVANCED GUIDE TO REAL ESTATE INVESTING

Ken McElroy appears twice on this list with his book The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing. Described as “picking up where The ABCs of Real Estate Investing left off,” this 2008 release delves into market fundamentals and critical strategies for closing deals. 

McElroy spoke on his impetus for the book, detailing the cycle in which mainstream financial media is funded by mainstream financial companies deliberately confounding how exactly to invest in real estate—something that McElroy believes a person can learn to do on their own. [6]

Like his earlier work, McElroy structures his book in a how-to format and lists six objectives to consider:

How to think and operate like a real estate mogul

How to identify and close expert deals

Why multifamily housing is the best real estate investment out there

How to surround yourself with a team that will help maximize your money

How to avoid paying thousands in taxes by structuring property sales wisely

Important projections about the future of real estate investment [6]

THE HANDS-OFF INVESTOR

The recommendations are rounded out with Brian Burke’s The Hands-Off Investor: An Insider’s Guide to Investing in Passive Real Estate Syndications. Syndication, or private placement, is when general partners (GPs) pool the financial resources of multiple investors, known as limited partners (LPs), to purchase a property. As the president and CEO of Praxis Capital, Inc., a real estate private equity investment firm, Burke’s decades-old experience forms the foundation for the text, which unpacks insider secrets of the real estate private placement world. Highlights from the book include passive investment strategies, portfolio diversification, and professional management blueprints. [7]

Tony Landa, Chief Investment Officer with BAM Capital, recommends this book to his pupils. He says it is for those seeking “how to find the best real estate sponsors and evaluate those sponsors for optimal investment opportunities.”

The material is comprehensive, allowing readers to treat it as a reference text and turn to a specific moment in the book to find a solution. 

Click here to see how impactful these texts have been to the BAM Capital team.

FROM READING TO READINESS: PREMIER MULTIFAMILY PRIVATE PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

While the recommended texts above may offer clarity and fuel your motivation, scheduling a call with an award-winning investment team can foster accountability and due diligence. 

The challenge of understanding topics like finance, multifamily real estate, private placement, and investing comes less from complexity and more from knowing how to get started.

BAM Capital wants to help. 

BAM Capital is the private equity arm of The BAM Companies, an institutional real estate owner/operator. As an Indianapolis-based owner/operator that has established itself as a leader in its industry, it focuses on high-quality Class A multifamily real estate, prioritizing properties with in-place cash flow and proven upside potential. BAM Capital’s investment strategy creates forced appreciation while mitigating investor risk. Today, the brand has over $1.2 billion in AUM and ~6,500 apartment units.

If you are an accredited investor who wants to enjoy passive income and all the other benefits of multifamily private placement, schedule a call with BAM Capital and invest today.

Remember that no investment is without risk. Before making financial decisions, consult your investment advisor and speak to a BAM Capital investment team member.

Disclaimer: All investments carry risk, including potential loss of capital. This content is for informational purposes only and is not financial, legal, or investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Consult an independent advisor for personalized guidance, and contact BAM Capital for details on current offerings. BAM Capital and its representatives are not fiduciaries or investment advisors. The information provided is general and may not reflect individual financial goals. Past performance does not predict future results. BAM Capital and its affiliates do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information.

Sources:

[1]: The BAM Companies. (n.d.). “Vertically Integrated Multifamily Owner/Operator.” https://thebamcompanies.com/. 

[2]: Ken McElroy. (17 January, 2024). “The ABCs

of Property Management.” https://kenmcelroy.com/product/becoming-a-professional-life-coach/

[3]: Amazon. (n.d.). “The Real Book of Real Estate.” https://www.amazon.com/dp/the-real-real-estate-book

[4]: GXO. (2024). “Chairman: Brad Jacobs Biography.” https://gxo.com/leadership-team/brad-jacobs/  

[5]: Amazon. (n.d.) “How to Make a Few Billion Dollars.” https://www.amazon.com/dp/how-to-make-a-few-billion-dollars

[6]: Ken McElroy. (17 January, 2024). “The ABCs of Property Management.” https://kenmcelroy.com/product/the-advanced-guide-to-real-estate-investing/

[7]: Amazon. (n.d.). “The Hands-Off Investor: An Insider’s Guide to Investing in Passive Real Estate Syndications.” https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Off-Investor-Insiders-Investing-Syndications