Buy the Dip (Without Getting Burned): How to Vet Sponsors Before Writing a Check

Everyone plans to “buy the dip” until it’s time to write the check. Multifamily opportunities are rising, and with properties 20%+ off the peak of pricing, investors are getting flooded with “deals.” But, like we learned over the past five years, the wrong sponsor (even with the right deal) can kill your returns and blow up the wealth you spent so long to build.  So, how do you spot the opportunities vs. the landmines in multifamily? We brought on fund of funds manager, Lon Welsh, to share his sponsor-vetting checklist.  With decades of experience in real estate investing, launching his capital fund in 2022 could have been disastrous (rising interest rates, rent growth freezes, expanding cap rates), but to this day, Lon has over a 90% success rate across funds within his own fund. This wasn’t done by guessing or gut-checks, but carefully choosing the right sponsor for the right deal. Today, Lon shares his own sponsor-vetting checklist, how he personally confirms a deal is worth getting into, the best multifamily markets in the country with easing supply, low regulation, and strong demand, and how to ensure a sponsor was intentional, not lucky, in achieving their past successes.  Plus, we even get Lon’s multifamily prediction for 2026-2027. Insights from today’s episode: How to vet a multifamily sponsor before putting a dollar into their deal Why a “fund of funds” could be the more diversified, safer bet than real estate syndications  What to look at to ensure a sponsor wasn’t just “lucky” during past deal cycles  The best places to invest in multifamily right now (2026) where supply is about to drop off How to feel confident buying during a dip when everyone else is too scared to act  Lon’s medical receivables play making passive income without a single property  — Connect with Lon on LinkedIn Ironton Capital Recommended Resources: Accredited Investors, you’re invited to Join the Cashflow Investor Club to learn how you can partner with Kevin Bupp on current and upcoming opportunities to create passive cash flow and build wealth. Join the Club! If you’re a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months and you want to build passive income and wealth with a trusted partner, go to InvestWithKB.com for opportunities to invest in real estate projects alongside Kevin and his team.  Looking for the ultimate guide to passive investing? Grab a copy of my latest book, The Cash Flow Investor at KevinBupp.com.  Tap into a wealth of free information on Commercial Real Estate Investing by listening to past podcast episodes at KevinBupp.com/Podcast.