Syndication Fee questions

I am putting together a syndication for MHome Park investing. What are some fees that you charge
for your syndications for those of you that have raised money this way.

Thanks.

I have never done a syndication but I think it would be similar to an apartment syndication. Most include some or all of the following: acquisition fees, asset management fees, management fees, construction management fees, disposition fees, etc. These typically range from 1-5% depending on the deal and structure. I have to assume it would be similar in MHPs.

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Typical fees would be an acquisition fee or promote, management fee, and there is normally some sort of predetermined cashflow and/or equity split on a capitalization event. It can be as simple as a predetermined percentage of the gross, a flat rate of return which functions more like debt, a predetermined preferred return to the investor with a cashflow split above the pref (ex. 8% preferred return with 50% cashflow split above the pref), or complicated waterfalls based on IRR hurdles etc. The yield requirement of your investors (or how cheap you can get the money) makes a big difference at how competitive you can be when approaching bigger deals.
Generally the more straightforward you make it the easier it is to raise capital. Also, it might sound counter-intuitive but if your returns to the investors are too high, it will raise red flags that will make it more difficult to raise funds.
The deal should drive how you structure your fees as well. Is it a big long term turn around with a big payoff at the refi or sale but little cash flow in between? Is it a turn-key coupon clipper deal? Does it require big expenditures up front to address deferred maintenance or bring in homes?
Many investors don’t like to get into deals with a big promote, which is understandable. They don’t want you just to take the money and run, but the ability to find and structure deals is just is important or in many cases more important than the money. You should be compensated for your skill set, and on some of the deals that take longer to cash-flow or get to a capital event, that is how you will keep the lights on.
As the sponsor, you have fiduciary responsibilities to your investors, and it’s important you understand your requirements based on the deal size, how passive or active your partners will be, accredited vs non-accredited investors, the legal structure of the ownership, what percentage of ownership the limited partners will have, and if there is recourse debt will they be responsible to make personal guarantees? (Generally if they are they deserve a bigger piece of the pie), What are plan a, b, c, d for an exit…etc.
Gene Trowbridge has some decent books on syndicating, Real Estate guys have a semi-annual secrets of successful syndication seminar, and CCIM has a great course on profit splitting. Those are good places to start. Apologies for the length of the response

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@seung1
I suggest you check out the Value Hound Academy by Craig Haskell. This was a solid resource for our team at Sunrise Capital Investors as we prepared to launch our MHP Fund.

Regarding fees, we have three:

  • 1% acquisition fee
  • 1% asset management fee
  • 1% disposition fee

This structure allows our team to comfortably hit investor metrics while making the Offering profitable for the GP side as well. Best of luck in your first syndication!

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The Real Estate Guys “Secrets of Successful Syndication” seminar is coming up next month. It’s excellent and you should attend. https://realestateguysradio.com/soss-individual-registration/. The charge is $1497 if you enroll by 8/28. $2995 after, so I hope you see this post today.

In the last year I have read almost nothing but syndication stuff.

I can second Brian on Craig Haskell’s “Value Hound Academy.”

www.RegDResources.com can do all your paperwork (except the LLC operating agreement) for $5500. Their PPM is “presentation quality,” meaning it’s not just black and white text, but includes graphics and looks professional.

However, this attorney, https://www.shicap.com/private-placement-memorandum-sample.html, will do it for $2750. His sample PPM, at that link, isn’t as fancy as RegD’s, but for most folks, it would be plenty fine.

Lastly, I am invested in 3 MHP funds: Frank and Daves, Brian/Kevin Bupp’s Sunrise Capital, and Jefferson Lilly’s Park Street Partners. Very similar.

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Now that I’ve done my homework, I’m not sure I will pay more than a 70/30 split on future investments. This is because Private Equity Funds are almost always an 80/20 split (not incl. fees). Why should real estate sponsors get more than what has become the defacto PE “standard.”

Here’s how my favorite operating agreement (and I’ve read 100s) puts it under Distributions:
(i) First, 100% to the Members pro rata in proportion to
each Member’s Unpaid Preferred Return until such time as
no Member has any Unpaid Preferred Return;
(ii) Second, 100% to the Managing Member, until the
Managing Member has cumulatively received an amount
equal to the sum of twenty percent (20%) of the aggregate
Preferred Return that has been paid to the Members; and
(iii) Third, 80% to the Members (in proportion to their
aggregate Capital Contributions) and 20% to the Managing
Member.

If anyone wants to chat offline or needs additional info, I can be reached at
19f40c71@opayq.com

Marc C.

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Wow! My last post was 2 days ago, and included a spam-tracking email address. 36 hrs. after posting, the address was used to spam me about funding for investments from overseas investors. Doesn’t take long for your email to show up in the spammer’s folder! Glad I didn’t post my real email. The one I posted will still work.

Frank and Dave: There needs to be a way to partially block posted email addresses so it has to be clicked on to be fully visible…a spam robot wouldn’t be able to grab it.

What are your on going profit splits on cash flow as well as on the disposition?
Thanks!

@NWACQ Our team offers a 60/40 split of both excess cash flow and excess equity. Although we have the ability to generally solicit [RegD 506© Offering], this forum is typically not the most appropriate setting to have such a discussion. Should you have further questions, I’d be more than happy to jump on the phone to discuss.

Brian,

What you do guys pay for preferred returns to your investors?

Brian,

Who gets 60 and who gets 40?

@seung1

Investors receive a preferred return of either 8%, 9% or 10% dependent upon their capital contribution. The 60/40 split is in favor of investors.