Concerned about investing in an old multifamily apartment complex

[Stephen Jones]

How does everyone feel about investing in an extremely old property? I am currently looking at investing in a 30 unit multifamily property. It consists of 2 buildings that were built back in the 1950's. All my properties now are fairly new (90's and above). I have been through this property and the building seems very structurally sound. The inside of the of these buildings are actually nice and well taken care of. My concerns come from after buying the place, am I going to get hit all the time with problems with it being so old? It is in a great location and the cash flow on it is extremely hard to pass up, therefore I am going back and forth. Has anyone recently bought an older building of this size and had success? Thanks!

[Michael Orlando]

@Stephen Jones A lot fo the stuff we look at in Cleveland is on the older side. Some 20+ years older than the 50's. However, they were built right! We really haven't seen many structural issues at all to be honest and most are very solid brick builds that seem to age a lot better than newer stuff being built today. I would just make sure to take a loot at the MEP upfront and maybe get some kind of MEP inspection done during due diligence if you're worried at all. Structural stuff will usually shows up pretty easily I feel like. Also, have someone come out and inspect the roof during DD. Usually you can get a company that will come look for free if you just tell them upfront you'll utilize them for bi-annual inspections/repairs which are important with a flat roof. If the cashflow is strong and it's a great area, I wouldn't be too scared of the age at all if the aforementioned all check out!!