First large Multifamily Walk-Through...Any tips?

[Joseph Yallop]

Hey all,

Getting ready to do my first larger multifamily walk-through (170 units). I will have contracts, my mentor, some investors, etc with me so plenty of eyes on this place. But I have never done a multifamily walk-through. I have shown the units of a building being sold, just never on the buyer's side. I have experience with SFH walkthroughs so it's not all totally new to me. This is a value add a property with reno to be done in every unit and all over the property so getting bids is a large portion of this.

In an effort to come to the table with as much knowledge as I can as this property is a very large chance for me to break into multifamily and gain the confidence of my mentor, I wanted to reach out to the BP community

So what are some things you look out for?

Was there something you wish you knew before your first walk-through?

I found a walk-through checklist on google, but do you have one you love? possibly willing to share?

I will be overseeing this property and previously oversaw a 36 unit MF, any advice

I'm really looking for anything that you may have wished you known going in and particularly this walk-through we're about to do

I truly appreciate any and all responses. This is going to be a large learning curve for me but I'm incredibly excited to go through this process and hopefully share it with the BP community in the future!

[E. C. "Stony" Stonebraker]

@Joseph Yallop, congratulations on this deal!  A walk-through is your opportunity to verify every unit's condition, develop specific rehab requirements for the property, and find any surprises you did not expect.

Be sure you inspect every unit.  In my first walkthrough, I took notes, but I did not have insepction software to make the note taking easier.  I had to manually go through my notes to tally up all the work that had to be done, find the urgent fixes (water leaks, etc.) for maintenance, and put together a detailed budget.  Even having a spreadsheet would have been better than my manual notes.

Look for priority maintenance needs: water leaks under water heaters, inside under sink cabinets, clogged air filters, dripping faucets, etc.  For significant maintenance repairs, have the seller fix them.

Don't accept the seller's claim that certain units can't be inspected for any reason.  That's a red flag.

Good luck!