Sell a Small Multifamily Property (5+ Units)

Who this page is for

This page is for owners who want to sell a small multifamily property — generally 5 units and up: small 5-to-20-unit apartment and garden-style buildings, larger apartment properties, converted houses cut into multiple units, mixed-use buildings with apartments above retail, and similar income property. If you are an owner ready to step back from active management, an out-of-area owner, an estate or trustee selling a building you did not plan to own, or a partnership that wants out cleanly, this is the right starting point.

One important boundary: 1-4 unit residential — single-family rentals, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes treated as houses — is handled by our sibling company, Mortgage Forfeiture. Both Kentuckiana Commercial Co. and Mortgage Forfeiture are part of Oettinger Management Group, so the handoff is simple. KCC’s lane is 5+ unit and commercial multifamily. If you are not sure which side your property falls on, send it over and we will point you to the right company.

What we review on a small multifamily building

A multifamily review is not a drive-by glance at the curb. The value of a small apartment building lives in its income, its leases, and its mechanical condition, so we look at the things that actually move the number:

• Unit count and mix — how many units, the bed/bath layout, and how the building is metered (master versus individually metered utilities).
• Rent roll and vacancy — current rents versus market, who is paying, chronic vacancies, and any concessions or under-market legacy tenants.
• Leases — written versus month-to-month, lease terms and expirations, deposits held, and any Section 8 or housing-assistance contracts in place.
• Condition and deferred maintenance — roofs, HVAC and boilers, plumbing stacks and supply lines, electrical panels and aluminum wiring, foundations, parking, and life-safety items.
• Title, liens, and taxes — mortgage payoff, mechanics’ or judgment liens, code or utility liens, and any property-tax arrears.
• Use and access — zoning and legal use, certificate of occupancy questions, and any open code-enforcement matters.

You do not need this organized into a clean package before you call. A rent roll, the leases you can find, and honest answers about condition are enough for us to get moving.

Situations we commonly see with small apartment buildings

Small multifamily creates a specific set of headaches that larger institutional portfolios are built to absorb and individual owners often are not. The ones we see most:

• Management fatigue — the building has quietly become a full-time job, and turnover, late rent, and maintenance calls have worn the owner down.
• Vacancy or a stalled lease-up — units sitting empty are dragging the income down and making a clean sale or refinance harder by the month.
• Deferred capex you do not want to fund — a roof, a boiler, sewer line, or electrical upgrade is coming due, and writing that check before selling does not pencil out.
• Problem tenants — nonpayment, holdovers, or one or two units that no listing agent wants to walk a buyer through.
• Financing or DSCR trouble — a loan maturing, a balloon coming due, a refinance that will not clear today’s debt-service-coverage test, or a lender already asking questions.
• Inherited or estate property — heirs who never wanted to be landlords and want a clean, single transaction rather than a drawn-out listing.

Why selling your multifamily property directly may make sense

Listing a small apartment building the traditional way means staging it for financed buyers: cleaning up the rent roll, turning vacant units, deferring nothing, and then waiting through inspection periods, appraisals, and lender debt-service reviews — any of which can fall apart late. Selling directly to a commercial buyer removes most of that:

• No listing timeline — no months of marketing, showings around tenants, or financing contingencies that collapse at the closing table.
• We buy with tenants in place — occupied units, month-to-month tenancies, and existing leases stay as they are; you do not have to empty or ‘turn’ the building first, and we can close around lease expirations rather than asking you to deliver vacancy.
• As-is — you are not funding a new roof, HVAC replacement, or unit renovations to make the property financeable for someone else.
• Local decision-making — we are a Jeffersonville-based principal buyer using our own capital, so an answer is an answer, not a maybe pending a committee somewhere else.

A direct sale is not automatically the highest number on paper — a fully renovated, fully leased building marketed to the right buyer can sometimes fetch more. The honest trade is closing without a lender’s financing contingency, on a timeline you control, in as-is condition — versus the time, repair spend, and risk of a financed deal falling through that a traditional listing carries. We will tell you plainly which one fits your situation.

How the process works

1. You reach out. Tell us the address, the unit count, and the rough picture — occupancy, condition, and why you are considering a sale.
2. We review. We look at the rent roll, leases, condition, title, and any liens or tax issues, and ask follow-up questions where needed.
3. We walk the property. We schedule a visit that respects your tenants, typically common areas plus a sample of units rather than disrupting everyone.
4. We discuss terms. We talk through a direct purchase price, timeline, and how tenants, deposits, and leases transfer — in plain language.
5. You decide. If it works, we move to closing on a schedule that fits you. If a traditional sale is genuinely better for you, we will say so.

There is no cost to have us underwrite your rent roll, review the leases, and walk the building. Worst case, you leave with a defensible per-unit number and a clearer read on whether to sell, refinance, or hold — and no obligation to do any of them with us.