Practical, operator-level guides for every stage of an LA multifamily transaction. Written by Michael Sterman — .
29 guides
How to sell, when to sell, what buyers look for.
Tenant buyouts are one of the most powerful exit tools available to LA multifamily sellers — and one of the most commonly executed incorrectly. LAHD (LA Housing Department)…
LA City RSO caps your annual rent increases at 3% (through June 2026) or 4% (starting July 2026). For most landlords, those caps are absolute. But a provision in the RSO allows…
Rent control reduces your sale price. That's the honest sentence most broker websites avoid because it sounds like bad news for sellers. It's bad news. It's also true, it's…
Every seller asks the same question three weeks before listing: what can I do between now and market day that will add real value? Most of the common answers are wrong.…
The sale price of your building is decided in the first three weeks of the process. Not at listing. Not during marketing. Not in negotiation. In the preparation window before…
A broker's opinion of value is the most important document in the pre-listing phase and the most commonly misread. Every broker's BOV looks authoritative. The cover page has a…
There is a moment, three to six months before a landlord calls me, when selling becomes the obvious move. Most landlords miss that moment. The ones who catch it walk away with…
You inherited an apartment building. You are not in the real estate business. Your parent or relative was — they understood the rent roll, the tenants, the capital schedule,…
⚠️ PENDING UPDATE — April 2026. The Measure ULA thresholds and rates were revised upward after this guide was drafted. The figures below reflect the April 2023 structure and…
Relocation Assistance — Which Strategy When? LA RSO-covered landlords who need to vacate units have two primary tools: a voluntary buyout (tenant agrees, signs agreement,…
Most LA multifamily sales that go sideways go sideways for the same reasons. Not unusual reasons. Not market-driven reasons. The same six mistakes, repeating transaction after…
Every generation of LA multifamily buyers rewrites the checklist. What made a building attractive in 2018 is not the same as what makes it attractive in 2026. Interest rates…
Mechanics, traps, deadlines, and replacement strategy.
Most of the 1031 exchanges I've seen go sideways went sideways for reasons that were preventable. Not complicated tax law. Not unusual IRS positions. The same seven mistakes,…
A 1031 exchange has two hard IRS deadlines. Miss either one and the exchange collapses into a taxable sale. The IRS does not grant extensions. Your qualified intermediary…
Most of the 1031 exchanges I have seen go sideways went sideways in the first thirty days. The seller had one hundred eighty days on the clock to close on a replacement. They…
Most 1031 exchanges follow a simple sequence: sell the relinquished property first, then identify and close on a replacement within 45 and 180 days. But the IRS also allows a…
Analyze, underwrite, and close LA multifamily deals.
Sell vs. refinance, hold vs. sell, and other trade-offs.
Every LA multifamily seller eventually runs into the question: defer the tax through a 1031 or take the taxable sale and move on. The default recommendation in the brokerage…
Every LA multifamily seller doing a 1031 eventually lands on the choice that defines the rest of the transaction: stay in California with the replacement, or go out of state.…
The Ellis Act lets an LA landlord exit the rental business by withdrawing all units from the market. It is legal. It is mechanical. It is also, for most LA multifamily owners…
Two offers arrive on the same building, at the same price, from two different buyers. One is an institutional fund. The other is a local family office. Accepting either leads…
Most sellers arrive assuming the listing platform choice is administrative — list on Crexi, list on LoopNet, let the process run. It is not administrative. It is the single…
The single most consequential date in LA multifamily investing is not on any particular deal's timeline. It is 1978 — the year that became the dividing line for LA City RSO…
Sell the LLC Interest — When Structure Matters More Than Price
The choice between selling and refinancing an LA apartment building in 2026 is usually made on the wrong variable. Most owners decide based on sentiment — "I'm not ready to let…
Every LA multifamily seller at some point looks at their building and asks: should I put money into this before listing, or take it to market as it stands. The contractors and…
The state of LA multifamily, submarket-by-submarket.
LA City RSO — Which Rent Control Rules Apply to Your Property? Most LA multifamily owners think "LA rent control" means one thing. It doesn't. There are at least nine different…
LA multifamily in 2026 is a tale of two asset classes. The first is firming up. The second is repricing. Understanding which one you own is the first question every seller…
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