Spreading the word about the benefits of passive investing.
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
I had the privilege of interviewing Alina on the podcast, The Diary of an Apartment Investor. I am thankful for the opportunity it provided me to get to know her better. I enjoyed all of her thoughtful responses and guidance… and why I asked her to be part of this series. Alina’s passion to help others become financially free is truly amazing. She is always looking at how she can help others.
Alina Trigub is the founder of SAMO Financial. She loves helping people! Her passion is to spread the word about the benefits of passive investing in various forms of real estate and to empower people to build wealth for themselves and for their families.
How did you decide to start passively investing in syndications?
My tax background pushed me to start looking for ways to lower my taxes. As a former tax accountant who was climbing the corporate ladder, I became increasingly concerned about two main issues; first, that our family was paying higher and higher taxes, and second, the increased negative impact of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). In response to these tax-related issues, I stepped up my research into more tax-friendly investments. Since I couldn't find anything locally where I reside in New Jersey, I was forced to start looking for out-of-state investments. And that's how I came across syndications. After doing initial research, I invested as an equity partner in private placements. The correlation between the returns and the personal input made me realize that the industry brings tremendous benefit to every-day investors who are interested to diversify into real estate with minimal effort and building their wealth passively while helping communities. It triggered an idea to start my own boutique private equity firm with the primary purpose of helping others build their wealth via passive real estate investing.
What are the benefits of real estate syndications for passive investors?
Tax benefits
Capital preservation
Passive and residual income
Hands off investment
Calculated risk (compared to other investments)
What are some of the common questions that passive investors should ask the sponsorship team?
I actually have the whole list with more detail on my website. Here are a few:
General Questions
How long have they been in business? Ask about their team.
What is the sponsor’s historical track record?
Performance on their completed deals.
Has the sponsor gone through a full cycle?
Whether their company has ever been sued.
How did the team choose their market?
Why did the team choose the particular asset?
What percentage of investors have reinvested multiple times with this sponsor?
Deal-Specific Questions
Who manages the property?
Is a sponsor also a loan guarantor or do they use someone else instead?
What type of reporting do the investors receive? How often do investors get paid?
How long must you keep your money in the deal?
What type of reserves are established to shield investors from potential capital expenses?
What are the major challenges / risk factors for this project?
What education would you recommend to someone who is looking to start passively investing but is not familiar with syndications?
Start by reading books on multi-family investing (David Lindahl wrote two really good quality books), network with other investors, and listen to REI podcasts. There is more than enough.
Lessons you learned from being a passive investor.
No matter what type of investor you want to be, always educate yourself first. When investing, learn about the operator first and get comfortable with them because first and foremost you're investing in them and their ability to execute upon a deal!
Number one thing that has contributed to your success
Grit!
Stop trading your time for money. If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be? Imagine yourself in that space, it is possible to be there. We all want to be financially stable and not have to worry about money. What is holding you back from that?
Explore more. Adventure awaits!
