First rental and first multi family all in one. Need advice.

[Matthew K Patton]

Hey everyone,

I have been actively looking for my first rental to acquire. I recently came across and have successfully gotten under contract a total of 12 doors between a few properties from a single investor. I am now going through the motions of walkthroughs, bank funding, checking out property managers, inspections, quotes for repairs and improvements, and everything else that comes along. As I said before this is not only my first multi-family acquisition but also my very first deal, EVER.

I have done my research and I am combing the forums for other investors past experiences but I wanted to ask everyone that reads this, what sort of advice would you give me for things that I should be aware of and/or should look for on this scale of multi-family units? Even the most obvious of things just post them up, nothing can be overlooked for me as I am obviously trying to minimize my mistakes and come out with as much in place as I can. 

A brief rundown on the properties, 12 doors total and 9 are currently occupied. Of the 3 vacant units, 2 are in need of some flooring improvements before being rent ready, the other empty unit became vacant just a few weeks ago and should be listed to rent in the next 7-10 days. Existing tenants have been in place for as short a time as a few months and a few 7+ years and are all on 1-year leases. Overall the structures seem to be sound (inspection next week should tell us a lot more), and it appears that most of the routine and annual maintenance has been done to AC units and other aspects. 

Any advice or words of wisdom you can share would be sincerely appreciated. I have already given my realtors the request for copies of leases, records of existing funds in place for any types of deposits made by the current tenants, maintenance records of any type, and anything else the seller would be willing to share with me at this time. Enough of my rambling, I am anxious to hear from all of you.

Thanks!