“Buy Right, Hold Long: Turning a $1M Multifamily Into a Value-Add Opportunity.”
Investment Info:
Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.
Purchase price: $886,000
Cash invested: $44,300
I’m big on the buy-and-hold strategy, especially when it comes to small multifamily properties. I’m always looking for solid assets in good locations where there’s room to improve the rents and hold long term.
A good example is a deal I picked up at 1927 NW 20 Ave in Miami. The previous owner was retired and had the units rented way below market at about $1,200 a month. The property itself is in a great location and is a really good-looking asset, so I saw the opportunity right away.
I did a light rehab, cleaned things up, and brought the rents up to around $2,200 per unit, which is much closer to market for the area.
What made the deal even better is how I structured it. I was able to acquire a $1M asset with only 5% down and a 3% seller contribution, so I got into the deal with very little money out of pocket.
The cash flow isn’t crazy, but that’s not always the point. Sometimes the play is locking down a strong asset in a great area with low capital in, improving the income, and holding it long term while the property and rents continue to grow. That’s how I like to build my portfolio. 📈🏢
What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?
What attracted me to this deal was the upside and the way it was structured. The property was in a great location, the building itself was solid, and the previous owner had the units rented way below market at around $1,200 a month. Right away I saw the opportunity to improve the income with just a light rehab and better management.
Another big factor was the low money into the deal. I was able to acquire a $1M asset with only 5% down and a 3% seller contribution, which doesn’t happen often. Wh
How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?
I actually found this one off market through a wholesaler. Deals like that are interesting because they usually come with some kind of story behind them. In this case, the wholesaler had the property under contract but didn’t have a solid buyer lined up. A lot of investors were interested, but most of them were waiting on financing or couldn’t move quickly enough.
That’s where I was able to step in. I told the wholesaler I was serious about the deal, but I also made it clear that I needed time
How did you finance this deal?
5% down, 30 year fixed
How did you add value to the deal?
I added value by focusing on simple upgrades that make a big difference for tenants without over-improving the property. The previous owner hadn’t updated the units in a long time, so the place just needed a clean, modern refresh.
I installed new kitchen and bathroom cabinets, added stainless steel appliances, and put in new central AC units so tenants would have reliable cooling—something that’s huge here in Miami. I also replaced the flooring with vinyl floors, which look great, are durable,
What was the outcome?
The outcome was exactly what I was aiming for. After doing the light rehab and improving the units, I was able to raise the rents from about $1,200 to around $2,200, which significantly increased the income of the property.
More importantly, I was able to stabilize and reposition the asset. What used to be an underperforming property is now a clean, updated building with strong rents and good tenants.
Because I acquired the property with very little money into the deal—5% down and a 3% seller
Lessons learned? Challenges?
One of the biggest lessons from this deal is that even when you buy a great asset, the financing can really affect the numbers.
I was able to buy the property with very little money down, which helped me control a $1M asset, but the trade-off was the 7% interest rate. With such a low down payment, the mortgage ended up being pretty high, so the cash flow isn’t as strong as it could be.
Another challenge is the property only has one water meter, so I’m covering the water bill instead of passing
Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?
In this case, I actually handled most of the deal myself. I’m a realtor and I also manage my own portfolio, so I’m very involved in every step of the process—from analyzing the deal and negotiating the purchase to overseeing the renovations and managing the property after closing.
Being both an agent and an investor gives me a big advantage because I’m constantly looking at deals through an owner’s perspective, not just a transaction perspective. I understand the numbers, the renovation strateg
