Should I Buy These Duplexes? A First Walkthrough

TLDR

I got three duplexes under contract at an $800,000 asking price before I had seen them. The first walk made the rent look promising, but the inspection and several operating costs were still open.

Table of Contents

• Why I Took An MLS Listing Seriously
• My Quick Walkthrough Order
• What I Check Inside
• What I Check Outside
• The Quick Rent Math
• FAQ

Why I Took An MLS Listing Seriously

I almost never buy off the mls. You are competing with every other buyer in town, and the price is usually already bid up. But there are three ways on-market deals still work:

1. Speed. You are the first offer and the seller has not shopped it around.
2. A longer hold thesis. Some buyers accept weak numbers today because they expect a better future. I do not recommend that strategy.
3. Heavy work. The property is ugly enough that most buyers pass.

This one was speed. The three duplexes came on the market on a Saturday evening. I caught the email while many buyers were not watching. I believed waiting until Monday would have brought far more interest.

On this deal, speed was the edge I thought I had. The inspection period was where I had to find out whether the early offer was a mistake.

My Quick Walkthrough Order

Once we were under contract, I set up the walkthrough during the inspection period. I do not try to inspect the house. The inspector does that. My walkthrough is about rent, layout, and anything that would change my offer.

Here is my order:

1. Walk the outside first to see the envelope of the building
2. Step into vacant units so I can move fast
3. Peek into occupied units to verify layout, not disturb the tenants
4. Back outside to look at drainage and site work
5. Run the first rent math before I leave

What I Check Inside

I was looking for rent potential, layout surprises, and visible issues worth handing to the inspector. I was not trying to replace the inspection.

The manager said the owner had tried to get $1,300 for one unit and had not received a call. She thought about $1,200 was possible across the units. There were six units total. Most had one bedroom, and one building had two-bedroom units.

I also saw wasted space that might become a small bedroom by closing off part of the entry. That was only a walkthrough idea. It still needed a code, layout, cost, and rent check before it belonged in the underwrite.

One past mistake shaped this walk. I once bought a house without entering one room. That room was the problem. Here, I got permission to look into the occupied spaces, even when pets or the tenant kept me at the door.

Inside, here is my scan list:

• Ceiling height. I look above every door. A door is 7 feet. If there is a foot of wall above it, you have 8-foot ceilings. Less than that, watch for 7-foot rooms that hurt rent.
• Water clues. I checked for smells, stains, cracks, and other visible signs. I still left the inspection work to the inspector.
• Tub surrounds versus tile jobs. Solid surround is a feature in a neighborhood like this. Bad tile lets water behind the wall and costs you two years later.
• Fresh paint. White on white spray is common. If you are not matching a trim color to the walls, you save real money on turnover.

Walkthrough Habit

I look above a seven-foot door to make a fast ceiling-height check. It keeps me from overlooking a low room while I am moving quickly.

What I Check Outside

Outside, I am looking for the story the building is telling me. Curb cuts, added concrete, sewer cleanouts on weird walls. All of that is evidence of past problems somebody tried to solve.

On this lot I saw:

• A curb added later along one side, which told me somebody had a drainage issue there
• A sewer cleanout coming up on the front instead of the back, which was odd but not a deal breaker
• A drainage pit with no good way out, also odd
• No cracks in brick, no signs of active water damage

None of it was worth killing the deal. All of it is worth flagging for the inspector to chase.

The clues were not diagnoses. The curb suggested an old water-control change. The cleanout and drain layout were odd. I did not see damage, so I flagged them for the inspectors instead of declaring the problem solved.

The Quick Rent Math

Here is what I ran on the tailgate:

The $70,224 line is not NOI. It only applies the three percentages I named to the seller’s rent claim. Taxes, insurance, and other costs still had to come out. I called the result a good cap rate, but I did not state the missing costs or calculate a final rate on camera.

I said the deal looked like a buy. I also said I felt like I was missing something because this was unusual for an MLS deal. The inspection report was still outstanding, and the $7,600 seller figure did not match my $7,200 total.

The first walk supported more diligence. It did not prove the final NOI, cap rate, or closing decision.

FAQ

Was this walkthrough the inspection?

No. I checked the units, layouts, rent story, and visible clues. The inspectors were still working and their report could change the deal.

What if units are occupied and I cannot get in?

Get permission and respect the tenant’s space. On this walk, I sometimes looked from the doorway because of pets or the tenant’s request. I still wanted to avoid repeating my old mistake of buying without seeing one room.

What cap rate should I target on small multifamily?

This source does not give one. A final rate needs verified income and every operating cost used in NOI. The video leaves taxes, insurance, and other costs unstated.

What is the fastest way to raise rent on a property like this?

I saw space that might become a second bedroom, but the property manager said square footage drove rent and her $1,300 listing had received no calls. Verify the work and the rent before counting either one.

I am new. Should I buy small multifamily as my first deal?

The source does not compare beginner strategies. It shows why an early offer still needs unit access, a professional inspection, reconciled rent, and a full expense statement before closing.