Practical, operator-level guides for every stage of an LA multifamily transaction. Written by Michael Sterman — .
40 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…
The single most common reason an LA apartment building comes to market is not a financial decision. It is a partnership decision. Two brothers who inherited the building. Three…
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,…
A seller who has owned a building for thirty years is almost never offered seller financing as the first option by his broker. Most brokers don't bring it up because most…
A divorce sale of an LA apartment building is the only kind of sale where the people on the same side of the table are not actually on the same side. The two owners are…
Every LA multifamily owner who has held a building for fifteen years has the same list. The roof that should have been replaced two summers ago. The boiler that still works but…
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…
Two owners I closed for in the same year did the same exchange and ended up in completely different lives. Both sold pre-1978 LA buildings within ninety days of each other.…
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…
The most common conversation I have with an LA multifamily owner right now starts the same way. I'd sell, but I'm waiting for rates to come down. The logic feels obvious: lower…
Most owners with more than one LA apartment building assume the portfolio commands a premium when sold together. Institutional buyers pay up for scale, the story goes — package…
Sell the LLC Interest — When Structure Matters More Than Price
Every owner of an LA building with a long-term tenant who runs a business in the unit, or a multi-generational family in a unit, or an heir who has been involved in the…
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…
Every LA apartment building owner who has renewed an insurance policy in the last 24 months has had the same experience. The renewal quote arrives. The premium is 40%, 60%,…
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…
LA multifamily transaction volume is the single most useful indicator most sellers ignore when timing a sale. The number of buildings actually trading hands — not the pricing…
LA City's Rent Stabilization Ordinance was rewritten in late 2025 with effective date July 1, 2026. The rewrite was the most consequential change to LA rent control since the…
Seventy days.
Thinking about selling? Get a no-obligation evaluation on your building.
Request Free Evaluation →