Best way to monitor multi-family homes in DC area

[Manuel Diaz]

Hey Everyone,

I am looking to purchase my first investment property in DC and possibly occupy one of the units while working in the city. My income and reserves are large enough to support a $1.5M property with a standard 20% down 30Y residential loan. The problem that I am encountering is that when I use websites like Redfin and Zillow I can't seem to find many multifamily offerings. Knowing that multi-families are rare in DC, I have also tried to find homes with a basement that could be rented separately but these don't seem to appear on any filters either. Clearly I must be doing something wrong. How do the investors in this area keep an eye out for new listings that can accommodate more than one family?

I am looking to make the purchase in the next few months and I would appreciate any guidance this forum can provide.  

[Marshall M.]

@Manuel Diaz D.C. has multifamily buildings for sale but they’re usually a little hard to find at a good price. I would also check costar, crexi, local wholesalers, etc. Here’s a link to Crexi: https://www.crexi.com/properti...

It sounds like you’re looking for a property to either buy and hold or  possibly “house-hack,” by either renting three units in a quad and living in the fourth one or by living “upstairs” with a renter in a basement unit. 

It’s hard to get a quad in D.C. that cash flows well because you’re usually competing against investors who are seeking to convert the building into condos and sell off each unit (e.g. “condo-conversions”).  they can usually pay more than a buy and hold investor. Meanwhile, a basement unit will help offset your monthly expenses but it won’t usually generate positive cash flow. What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this investment? Are you looking for an investment property, somewhere to live or a hybrid of the two? What location are you hoping to be in? This will help determine what areas to focus on.

At your price point you’ll see a lot of multi-family properties selling in Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant between 2-3 units in the $1.0-1.5 million range. You should also see some 2-3 unit multis in the $1.0-1.4M range near Rhode Island in Eckington, Bloomingdale, etc. For slightly larger 4-units you may see some near Brookland closing at $1-1.3M and a handful in and around Trinidad in the $800k-1.0M range. Duplexes and triplexes east of the Capitol sell in the $1-1.3M range.

Keep in mind you're shopping for a property in one of the most competitive multi-family markets in the world. The multifamily cap rates in D.C. hover close to 5.0% on average and have been known to drop into the 4's. The competition is paying all cash or using very little debt to buy the buildings you're seeing listed for sale. Most of the multi unit properties on MLS will also be overpriced and it takes a little bit of leg work to not only find a deal but potentially also create one. You'll have to get historical financials, value the properties and make offers that align with your financial goals

Also side note, when it comes to cash flowing in D.C. I recommend checking two things: 1) see if you can increase rents in a building with below market rents (e.g. upon turnover) or 2) looking into D.C.‘s Section 8 housing program to try and achieve above market rents and cash flow. They publish their rental rates here: https://www.dchousing.org/vue/...

Hope that helps! Feel free to let me know if you need anything else.