Advice on purchase for a newbie

[Nathan Marden]

We are under contract for a 4-plex. It’s in a very neglected complex with 7 other buildings (all owned by different investors). We did the inspection yesterday and the issues are a lot. Including: Roof damage, Wiring issues, cockroach problems, bathrooms all need fixed, 3 new appliances needed, Tree trimming, lots of safety issues, water damage, current tenants are really dirty and are not taking care of units, it seems the current owner has neglected it. One unit has 1 person on the lease but 9 adults living in it.

Would you recommend going back to the current owner and having him pay for repairs or renegotiating purchase price or just walking away?

[Jacob Sampson]

It would be interesting to have more details.  Any of the 3 options are fine depending on the deal.  I would not have the current own handle the repairs though.  He clearly doesn't do or pay for quality work.  I would want to pick the people doing the work.

But a lot of this depends on your abilities, time, how much cash you have, what is purchase price, what is potential rent, are the other properties better taken care of?