Should we close on this 4 unit?

Should we close on this 4 unit?

Real Estate Agent · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2016 · 41 posts · 6 votes

We are under contract for a 4 unit apartment complex in Taft for $170k.

Each unit rents for $575. Currently, there is 50% vacancy. It was advertised as fully occupied. I talked with one of the tenants who has lived there for 10 years. She says it has been vacant since October, although sellers financials say it has only been vacant for one month. She only speaks Spanish, so I could've misinterpreted her but I'm 90% sure that's what she said. She also said the other units on the block are cheaper and do not require a deposit. She said that the current owner would sometimes take 20 days to respond to maintenance requests (she is the acting property manager) and at one point they didn't have hot water for a month. So there is definitely room for us to do a better job landlording. 

They are all farm workers, so the work is seasonal and I'm concerned with the drought we are facing now in California we will be seeing a slow down of farm development and thus a loss of farm worker jobs. Taft is a town of 10,000 oil/ag workers, but it also has a community college and a prison. 

Accounting for 10% vacancy, prop management (10% of income), insurance (.5%/year), prop tax (1.34%), maintenance (1%), water, garbage, sewer ($250 per month) in our analysis originally we have monthly CF per door of $125 with cap rate 7.58% and Cash ROI 11.76%. If we lowered the rents to $535, monthly CF per door is $92.50 and cap rate is 6.70% and cash ROI is 8.71%. But with the vacancy rate at 50% currently, we are going to ask for a reduction in the purchase price. Any advice/ thoughts/ insights would be extremely helpful as this is our first deal and we don't want to TOTALLY screw up!

0Reply
109 views

Most Popular Reply

Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 636 posts · 486 votes
10y

Maybe I'm the strange one here, but when I see things like high vacancy rates and deferred maintenance on a building, I think MONEY! Our job as real estate investors is to add value by solving problems others are too lazy/scared/uncreative/etc. to take care of themselves, so when I see problems, I don't think whether or not I should do a deal, I think "what do I need to make this deal work?" It sounds like you're thinking the same way by looking at ways to fill your vacancy. 

That said, with the info you're giving, the deal seems slim. What I would do is a bit of market research (call the for rent signs and find out their vacancy and what their rental rates are, if you have a realtor, pull MLS comps for both sales and rents, gather demographic data, etc). Armed with that you can give them an educated counter-offer with an explanation of your numbers. Should they shoot you down, it sounds like there are likely a lot of other motivated sellers in the community that would jump at an unsolicited offer from you.

My first deal was worse than what you're looking at, and I would never consider it now, but it gave me a lot of education and I've been able to turn it around into a better-than-mediocre investment. Be cautious and conservative, but don't be afraid to make mistakes. 

See this reply in the discussion

33 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Real Estate Agent · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2016 · 41 posts · 6 votes
    9y
  • Investor · Yorba Linda, CA · Member since 2016 · 114 posts · 32 votes
    9y

    @Matt Owen thanks for the heads up. I just got my license over the weekend so now that I am done with that I will definitely try to find time for those meet ups.

  • Investor · Top of the World · Member since 2016 · 165 posts · 40 votes
    9y

    @Michael Wentzel  What city are you investing in?  How far is it from Colorado Springs?

  • Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 643 posts · 280 votes
    9y

    @Curtis Harvey

    All of our properties in the state of Colorado are in Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo is about an hour south of Colorado Springs.

    Mike

  • Investor · Top of the World · Member since 2016 · 165 posts · 40 votes
    9y

    @Allison Escovedo  What broker did you use to find this property?  I am looking for in state Multifamily property that cash flows and  I can cash out refi to get to my next deal.

  • Petaluma, CA · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 1 vote
    9y
    Personally, all of the neighborhood "for rent" signs are a huge red flag. You stated you're concerned about the future of the ag job market in Taft, and there is already a surplus of rentals. Tenants may go to who drops rent the fastest, which is a bad race to be in. I would look to invest in a more stable, or better yet, growing market.
  • Los Angeles · Member since 2019 · 50 posts · 9 votes
    7y

    @Allison Escovedo Hi Allison, I'm curious if you ever closed on that 4-unit in Taft? If so, how's doing? Has vacany been an issue?

    If anyone else has information or experience with the Taft rental market, I'll love to hear from you

  • Real Estate Agent · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2016 · 41 posts · 6 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Mark De sagun:

    @Allison Escovedo Hi Allison, I'm curious if you ever closed on that 4-unit in Taft? If so, how's doing? Has vacany been an issue?

    If anyone else has information or experience with the Taft rental market, I'll love to hear from you

    Hey Mark, no we didn't end up closing on the 4-unit. If you aren't familar with Taft, it's an oil/ag community primarily dominated by the seasonal ag industry. Most people in the oil industry live in Bakersfield.

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.