As mentioned previously, we’d been looking at a $500kish 18 unit in OKC, but it ultimately ended up not working out due to maintenance issues costing too much versus the price, which the owner wouldn’t back down from.  Our next target was ironically another 18 unit in OKC closer to the $600k price point.  We did an inspection and it had the usual issues, all quite fixable for a price.  Some of the units were freshly rehabbed, some in process, and some already beat down by the occupants.  As always, there’s a mix of all types, but some people just don’t want to live in clean conditions.  Of course, this brings the bugs, who also go visit the neighbors, too.  You don’t even need to keep things spotless to prevent this, just a basic general clean.  To be sure, this is not all the tenants’ issue either, and management must do their part with preventative maintenance for all the aspects of apartment living.

There were a variety of total maintenance issues, even for a building that had been bought fairly recently by the current owners.  We cataloged them for our inspection, and they really started to add up.  If you can, be part of the inspection.  It’s very educational, both on necessary maintenance, and as a sense of getting to know the property itself.  As part of the back and forth negotiation, it ultimately came down to the seller counter-offer of “we aren’t going to fix anything, but will give a credit for $x at closing”, where $x was only a fraction of the actual costs that would be incurred.  The numbers are now no longer within our criteria and with the seller not being flexible…that’s all she wrote, folks.