All Forum Posts by: Manuel Diaz

 It was an interesting arrangement honestly. We ran into self-sufficiency test problems so there were many compromises along the way. I gave them free rent and the owner dropped the sales price 2x the amount. 

What type of commission should I expect to pay? I thought that MLS was typically reserved for residential properties and that there was no centralized system for commercial spaces. Am I incorrect?

@Quincy

I have recently purchased a tri-plex in the NW of DC. Please be aware that TOPA deadlines are paused until the pandemic is over. This means that current tenants can stop any purchase or sale by withholding their consent. I had to purchase their rights in order to purchase my property. I did use an agent but this was my first home purchase. 

As the title suggests, I am a new landlord of a mixed-used multi-family building. The bottom unit is a commercial space that has been used as a tattoo shop in the past but is now vacant. I have tried to market the property on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace but I am not getting many inquiries. I have looked into Loopnet, but it seems like it's a service built for brokerages with a cost of about $80 per listing. Is this typical in the commercial space?

What other platforms should I use to market the property? Are commercial brokers the only way to work this market? With such a small space, it just seems a bit of a waste since rent is only about $2200 a month. 

Thank you everyone for your advice, I have started working with a realtor to begin monitoring properties as they enter the market. @Nick Pisano when you are saying of softening demand do you mean fewer renters want to live in them or fewer investors are interested in purchasing them? 

Thank you for the feedback everyone. Is there a specific list of agents that focus on investment properties in the DC area? I would definitely like someone that has some experience or specialty in estimating rehab costs and red flags since this would be my first property. 

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.