Depends on your market, but in general I would not trade market rent for vacancy unless I was in danger of losing the property or otherwise in financial distress and no vacancy was a necessity.

The best outcomes I have seen, are when the buyers reach out to the property manager during the option period.

I’ve got a few rentals locally, but most of my portfolio is in Decatur where BACH manages the bulk of our properties.I’m always open to connecting with other serious investors, whether it’s talking market strategy, sharing construction insights, or even exploring ways to expand or trade properties between markets.

We have the experience and work within our niche so we ca get funding and have the trades to call on that support us.  

The trade-off is that appreciation is more linear; it's not the same rocket ship upside Woodlawn has, but the cash flow stability tends to be better.How I’d personally evaluate it:If I want cash flow + stability, I’d lean Pilsen.If I want long-term appreciation + can stomach tax volatility, Woodlawn.Run both pro formas with the future tax number, not what's listed.

We’re in one of the last genuinely affordable metros in the country, and we have culture and character that most mid-sized cities would trade for in a heartbeat.

You’re basically trading “big cash flow now” for “super low housing cost + long-term equity + learning on training wheels.”If you weren’t house hacking?

The questions rellay is how much of these trades can he replace. 20% or 80%?

To do that, I realized I had to stop operating like a "mom and pop" landlord and start building better systems.Solving the Vendor Shortage: Like many of you, I found reliable trades to be the biggest bottleneck in this region.

I'd also like to double down on a massive opportunity I've seen in this space: the owner-occupant arbitrage.Because rent-stabilized properties are primarily valued based on their actual income (which is capped), and not on their potential market income, they can trade at a significant discount to comparable condo or market-rate residential properties.For buyers who are looking for a forever home, the ability to purchase a multi-unit building and owner-occupy a unit can be bargain.