How to find Multi-Family (8+ units) Off Market?

Question

Hi all!

I'm a newbie investor from Montreal, Canada looking to buy my first deal. I have almost 4 years experience in the business as a leasing agent and property manager, however, I would love to make the jump to investing. I'm looking to invest in larger multi-family buildings as I am very aligned with the "Grant Cardone vision" which is in short, the bigger you go, the less risk and higher the reward. I have a few potential investors lined up so money shouldn't be the issue, I just want to present them with a good opportunity.

The market is quite hot here and there are very few deals on centris/realtor.com/zillow etc. in the towns that I'm looking to invest in. Does anyone have tips on how to find off-market deals for multi-family buildings of this size? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Oren

Braden C. · Answer

@Oren Elbaz If you want to really dive deep for deals, search the property appraiser in whatever area you're looking in and try and pull up all multi family properties. Then you can look for "mom and pop" owners. When I do it, I am looking for ownership in their name, not an LLC or corp. Then I look at length of ownership, hoping to find the "tired" landlords. I'll also look for motivation triggers like unpaid taxes, code violations, lots of recent evictions, etc., these are all usually found on the clerk of court website for the county you're looking in. When I find one that meets what I feel is a likely motivated seller, I pursue it hard until I get an absolute no. I can still market to all the other owners, but I put a lot more time into the ones I feel will most likely sell. Good luck!

Ronan Donnelly · Answer

Totally agree. You can also compare the rents they achieve versus median rents. Understanding why rents are below market may identify some good potential leads

Michael Ablan · Answer

@Oren Elbaz Relationships will definitely be your bread and butter here.  Develop a solid execution strategy and show some local brokers in your area that you're serious.

You can also drive around your area and take note of all of the big multi-family buildings and send them personalized letters introducing yourself and explaining what you're all about.  You can also try cold-calling.

Good luck to ya!

Roy N. · Answer

These lists are typically not that cost effective in Canada.

Dan Weber · Answer

@Oren Elbaz You can purchase lists pretty inexpensively off of listsource.com. There are some really specific criteria that you can sort by to narrow down your list to the exact type of properties you are looking for.

Roy N. · Answer

Oren:

Find a reputable commercial broker/agent in your area - word of mouth from other investors is probably the best method of referral - as they will be aware of many properties before they come to market.  [Note: in the commercial / apartment complex market, the "deals" rarely see a listing as sellers and buyers are brought together by brokers or others].

You will need to demonstrate to this broker that you are ready and able to take-down a larger property before s/he will put you in-touch with a vendor.

Mazen Al Ashkar · Answer

Oren,

What are you trying to do with the investors? Are you trying to wholesale the deal? or is it a joint venture with other investors? I think if you clarify the model you have in mind, we can help you better.

Cheers

Oren Elbaz · Answer

@Daniel Weber@Ronan Donnelly@Michael Ablan@Braden C. @Roy N. Really appreciate all your responses! Any tips on how to gain credibility when approaching these brokers and appraisers (as it is my first deal)? Also, how should I prove that I have potential investors for the project? I doubt my investors will sign on anything before I bring them a potential deal. Thanks again

Oren Elbaz · Answer

Thanks a lot for the feedback Roy! Much appreciated

How to find Multi-Family (8+ units) Off Market?

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