Walking a 4plex today

[Beth Matherne]

Today I am walking our first 4plex. The PM is also the seller. Their real estate agent has yet to provide ours with rent tolls and failed to answer most questions.

So I want answers but of course I don’t want to offend the sellers.

Any questions you always ask the PM?

Have you ever walked the property with the seller as the PM, as this ever been an issue or how did it turn out?

This is unit has a coin laundry area, anything I should look for or know?

[Steve Hall]

@Beth Matherne

If you have not closed yet, then don't sign until you have everything you asked for. (And make sure the RR is signed by the owner.) If the RR was misrepresented during the due-diligence phase, I would renegotiate AT CLOSING, or walk for "fraud".

I would NEVER keep on an owner as PM unless the place was immaculate with 100% occupancy when I bought it. (And then I would not have purchased it!) You've already got problems because you're walking on egg shells... "I don't want to offend the sellers"

If your seller is (or is going to be) your PM, then why are you blaming the seller's REA for not getting you a RR, when your new PM is the one who knows and produces the RR?

The laundry area should have been inspected by the inspector during the inspection phase.

UPDATE:

I just realized that I wrote this more thru the eyes of a large apartment complex. (Sorry about that). I am not re-writing it though because it is good advice for someone purchasing an apartment complex.

Since you are only buying a 4 plex, you should have asked for and received all 4 copies of the current leases during due-diligence. You should KNOW the rent roll (i.e. you could write it yourself). When you walk the property, just make sure all 4 units look lived in. (Otherwise a tenant might have moved out, and the seller failed to disclose this fact.)