Multifamily Purchase in West Hartford CT

[Karl Kauper]

Hi -- Does anyone have an opinion or insight about buying a multifamily apartment building in West Harford right now? My wife and I are selling our 2-family Brooklyn house with the goal of 1031-exchanging into a larger multifamily. West Hartford looks interesting to us because it looks like we might be able to purchase a 15 or 20-unit building for less than $2mm.  We will likely sell our Brooklyn house for around $1.6mm. We are new to investing at this scale and we are not very familiar with the Hartford market, so any insight/warnings/opinions etc. would probably be a big help to us as we try to educate ourselves before making this move. Thanks! -- Karl

[Filipe Pereira]

Hey @Karl Kauper, I'm pretty familiar with the area. We manage across hartford county including Hartford and West Hartford, Connecticut.

One thing I noticed about your post is that you said "West Hartford looks interesting to us" and also said "we are not very familiar with the Hartford market". I want you to know there is a significant difference between Hartford and West Hartford. Two different towns. Two (very different) demographics and tenant bases. I'd be surprised if you could buy a 15 or 20 unit building in West Hartford, CT for 2 mil. Duplexes are going for 400-500K right now!

I think the confusion may be stemming from what people call the "west end of Hartford". Although the west end of hartford is the better (best?) end, it's still very different than the overall West Hartford Market. 

A 2 bedroom in Hartford is around 1,000/mo and a 2 bedroom in WH is around 1,500-1,800. Big difference!

West Hartford is ranked one of the best places to live in the country, regularly, with some of the best schools in CT. Hartford? Not so much...

Don't hesitate to use me as a resource if needed. Happy to help. 2mil can buy a lot of (big) mistakes!