If you own a multifamily building and you’re thinking about selling, there’s a real risk you could be leaving significant money on the table. As a multifamily broker who has sold over $125 million in properties across multiple states on the East Coast, I’ve seen a consistent pattern: certain strategies separate buildings that sell for top dollar from nearly identical buildings that sell for far less.
Below, I’ll walk through some of the top strategies we use with clients, illustrated through a real example from our practice.
A Case Study: How John Turned a Scattered Portfolio Into a Bigger Win
One of our clients, John, built his real estate portfolio the way many investors do: gradually. Over the years, he acquired a mix of smaller residential properties, three-unit and four-unit buildings, slowly growing a substantial portfolio one purchase at a time.
Eventually, John reached a familiar tipping point. Managing a patchwork of small properties across different locations had become a significant operational burden. Around the same time, an opportunity came up to acquire a much larger 50-unit property. John decided it was time to sell his smaller holdings and roll that value into the bigger asset.
That’s when we stepped in to help him maximize the return on his existing portfolio before making the move.
Strategy 1: Sell as a Portfolio, Not Piecemeal
The first recommendation we made was to sell John’s properties together as a single portfolio rather than individually. This decision delivered several key advantages:
- 1031 exchange eligibility, allowing John to defer capital gains taxes by rolling proceeds into his next acquisition. If you’re weighing this route yourself, our guide to the 12 questions investors need to ask about 1031 exchanges is worth reading first.
- Valuation based on cap rate, rather than individual residential comps, which typically yields a stronger sale price for multifamily assets. We break down how this works in how fair market value is established.
- A simplified transaction process, one sale instead of managing multiple, separate closings.
Watch: 6 Overlooked Ways to Increase Multifamily Property Value
Strategy 2: Optimize the Properties Before Listing
Before bringing the portfolio to market, we worked with John to implement several value-boosting improvements:
- Instituting a RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing System) program to shift utility costs back to tenants and improve net operating income (NOI).
- Appealing the property tax assessments to reduce operating expenses, one of several real estate tax-saving strategies worth exploring before a sale.
- Introducing short-term rental units where appropriate, to capture additional revenue potential.
The Result
By combining a smarter sale structure with targeted operational improvements, John sold his portfolio for significantly more than he would have gotten by selling the properties individually, or offloading them informally to acquaintances and inbound buyers who approached him directly. The outcome: a much stronger return and a smooth transition into his larger 50-unit acquisition.
Run through the Checklist
We want to support you as you review and optimize your properties. Our detailed check list is available to you absolutely free. Access it here!
Planning to Sell in the Next 6–12 Months?
If you’re considering a sale within the next year, now is the time to start the conversation. Maximizing your property’s value takes time, implementing the right programs, optimizing NOI, and positioning the asset correctly doesn’t happen overnight.
Because of the hands-on nature of this process, we only onboard 10 clients per month. If you want to make sure your property is positioned to sell for the most money possible, reach out to us today.
We look forward to speaking with you.
