Walking first Apartment Building

[Ley Nezifort]

Hello MultiFamily Experts,

I am touring an apartment building for the first time this weekend. I’m quite used walking residential multi families (2-4 units) , but I know commercial is a different beast. I wanted to reach out and ask what are some things you look out for when walking an apartment building ? Do you bring your entire team ? Go straight to the mechanical room ? Walk each and every unit ? This one is slightly under 30 units

Thanks

[Charles Seaman]

Congrats @Ley Nezifort.  You're taking a big step forward.  You'll walk this property the same way that you would a smaller multifamily property.  If it's just an initial site visit, you're not going to walk all of the units.  You'll get to see a few of the vacant units and should specifically ask to make sure that you see the worst ones so that you know what to budget for.  Just you and your partner will suffice.  Be observant, take photos, and take notes.  Be aware of anything that looks like it could potentially cost you money (ex. a parking lot that needs to be repaved and re-striped, trip hazards, etc.).

Once your offer gets accepted and the deal is under contract, then you should make it a requirement to gain access to all of the units and do a thorough inspection as early as possible in your due diligence period.  During this inspection, you'll bring as many team members as might be needed (a property manager at minimum and a contractor and/or engineer as needed).