It was a mess. The owner was an absentee landlord living across the country. Two units were rented way below market value to tenants on month-to-month leases. The third unit—this one—was vacant and smelled of stale cigarettes.
At thirty-two, he was standing in the cramped, yellow-tiled kitchen of Unit 3B. It was the top floor of a neglected 1920s brick triplex. He wasn't looking at the peeling linoleum or the avocado-green stove. He was looking at his future. buying a multifamily investment property
But the location was perfect. It was three blocks from a brand-new light rail station. It was a mess
Leo had spent three years living like a monk, saving every bonus from his software sales job and analyzing hundreds of spreadsheets. He didn’t want a single-family home. He wanted a multifamily property—an investment where other people's rent would pay his mortgage. The third unit—this one—was vacant and smelled of
Leo did the math. If he bought it, renovated the vacant unit, moved in himself (the classic "house hacking" strategy), and slowly updated the other units as tenants naturally moved out, the numbers were explosive. 💥 The Crucible of Closing
A quick test to see if the monthly rent equals at least 1% of the purchase price.