A few months ago, I was on a call with an experienced investor who works in tech and had done most of his investing in the stock market and tech stocks. Smart guy. Really knew his stuff when it came to the markets.
But when I mentioned that we target “infinite returns” on our apartment deals, he went quiet for a moment.
“Infinite returns?” he finally asked. “Sounds like marketing BS.”
He’s not wrong – the phrase does sound too good to be true. Like something you’d hear from a guru selling a course on crypto day trading.
But here’s the thing: infinite returns in real estate isn’t marketing hype – it’s basic math. And it’s something more or less impossible to achieve in any other asset class.
Let me explain.
The Math Behind the Magic
The concept is pretty straightforward.
When you calculate a return on investment (ROI), you’re doing simple division: total returns ÷ capital still invested = ROI
But what happens when that denominator (capital still invested in the deal) becomes zero?
You get a mathematical impossibility. Some calculators will literally show “infinity” when you try to divide by zero. And that’s exactly what happens in real estate when you pull all your original investment capital back out through a refinance.
You’re still getting returns (cash flow and equity appreciation), but you have $0 of your own money left in the deal.
Returns ÷ $0 = ∞
That’s infinite returns.
How This Works For Passive Investors
Here’s how this actually plays out for you as a passive investor in a syndication.
Say you invest $100,000 in an apartment deal we offer. We use that capital (along with other investors’ money) to acquire a $5M property with about 25% down, financing the rest.
Over the next 2-3 years, we execute our value-add business plan. We rehab units, improve management, increase rents, reduce expenses…all the things that force appreciation in commercial real estate.
The property’s value increases significantly because of these improvements. Let’s say it goes from $5M to $6.5M.
We can now perform a cash-out refinance based on this higher value and return capital to our investors. When we can pull enough cash out to give you back your full $100,000 investment (whether over one refi or multiple), you now have infinite returns on that deal.
You still own the exact same percentage of the syndication. You’ll still receive the same percentage of future cash flows, tax benefits, and appreciation. But your original $100,000 is back in your bank account, ready to invest in the next opportunity.
Why This Only Works in Real Estate
My investor friend asked the obvious follow-up question: “Why can’t I do this with stocks?”
The simple answer? You can’t get the same lending terms.
In stocks, if you want to pull money out, you have to sell shares. That reduces your ownership and eliminates future upside from those shares you sold. Sure, you could use margin loans, but you’ll eventually need to sell shares (or use cash from something else) to pay those back.
Real estate is different because banks will lend you 60-80% of a property’s value at relatively low rates with long-term fixed payments. No other asset class gets this kind of leverage on such favorable terms.
The Compounding Effect
But here's where infinite returns become truly powerful…
Imagine taking the same $100,000 and investing it in Syndication #1. We execute the plan, force appreciation, refinance, and return your $100,000.
Now you take that same $100,000 into Syndication #2. Same process. Get your money back.
Then Syndication #3. And Syndication #4.
At some point, you’re receiving cash flow from multiple properties, but your original $100,000 is still available for the next opportunity. You’ve essentially multiplied your investment power while building a portfolio of assets that continue appreciating and producing income.
The Bottom Line
Not every deal can achieve infinite returns. It requires the right property, the right business plan, and favorable market conditions for refinancing.
But by investing in deals that achieve infinite returns, you turn one investment dollar into multiple investment dollars. You own the same percentage of the asset, get the same benefits, but have freed up your capital to work elsewhere.
It’s a strategy that’s only possible in real estate. And it’s one of the many reasons I love commercial real estate syndications for building long-term wealth.
The goal isn’t just to make money. It's to multiply your money’s ability to work for you.