How long does it take to sell an apartment building?

I get this question from Kansas multifamily sellers more than almost any other: "How long is this actually going to take?"

The honest answer is 14 days or 180 days, and the difference has almost nothing to do with the building. It has everything to do with how you sell.

This post walks through both paths with specific day-counts for each phase, so you know what you are committing to before you pick a direction.

Two Paths, Two Very Different Timelines

There are two primary ways to sell a 5-to-50-unit apartment building in Kansas.

Path 1: Off-market direct sale to a cash buyer.

A direct buyer like Kallpa Properties signs a purchase and sale agreement, opens title, and closes, all without a listing, without weeks of showings, and without a lender approval process. Timeline: 14 to 45 days, depending almost entirely on title condition.

Path 2: Brokered listing on the MLS.

A listing broker markets the property, fields offers, negotiates terms, and manages the buyer's due diligence period and lender approval process. Timeline: 90 to 180 days from listing agreement to deed recording. That assumes the first buyer closes. If a deal falls through (which happens in roughly 25 to 30 percent of brokered multifamily transactions, according to industry estimates), add another 30 to 60 days to find and close with a replacement buyer.

Here is the phase breakdown side by side:

What Does a 14-to-45-Day Off-Market Close Actually Look Like?

We closed a 14-day cash deal on a Wichita multifamily property in 2025. Here is what that specific timeline looked like by phase. The mechanics below are real; your property will vary based on title condition and inspection complexity.

Day 1: Offer accepted, PSA signed, earnest money wired.

Once both parties sign the PSA, the buyer wires earnest money to the title company and the title company opens escrow. The title search is ordered the same day in most cases.

Days 2 to 5: Physical inspection.

On a cash deal, inspection scheduling is the buyer's call with no lender to coordinate around. We schedule within 48 to 72 hours of signing. The inspector covers the roof, HVAC, electrical panels, plumbing, foundation, and unit interiors.

Days 3 to 7: Title search returns.

A Kansas county title search typically comes back in 3 to 7 business days. If it returns clean (no liens, no probate gaps, no unrecorded easements), the 14-day timeline stays intact. If the title has issues, this is where the schedule starts to slip, and we move into curative work.

Days 7 to 12: Rent roll verification and lease audit.

We verify the rent roll against executed leases, confirm which tenants are current, and flag any units with verbal-only arrangements. A clean rent roll adds no time. A messy one adds 5 to 10 days.

Days 12 to 13: Closing documents and signing.

The title company circulates closing docs 24 to 48 hours before the scheduled closing date. Both parties sign. Net sheet questions surface here.

Day 14: Funding and recording.

Funds wire to the seller. The deed records at the county register of deeds. According to Kansas Statutes Chapter 58 (Deeds and Real Property Recording), deed recording in Kansas typically completes within 1 to 3 business days of submission, though most county offices in Wichita and the surrounding area process same-day or next-day. The seller receives funds the day of recording or the following business day, depending on the title company's wire cutoff.

We have a full day-by-day breakdown of this timeline in our post on the 14-day cash close: what actually happens in those two weeks.

What Is the Longest-Pole Task in a Multifamily Closing?

Title curative. By a wide margin.

Here are the three title issues we see most often on Kansas multifamily properties, along with how much time each one adds to a close:

Unpaid contractor liens. A previous HVAC replacement, roof repair, or renovation that was never paid off shows up as a recorded mechanic's lien. Resolution requires either paying the lienholder or producing a lien release. If the contractor is still in business and reachable, this resolves in 5 to 10 days. If the contractor is defunct or the lien is old and disputed, add 2 to 6 weeks.

Missing releases on paid-off mortgages. This is the most common issue we see on Kansas multifamily closings. A seller paid off a second mortgage 10 years ago, but the lender never filed a release of lien. The title is technically clouded even though the debt is gone. Resolution requires tracking down the lender (or its successor), obtaining a release document, and recording it. Typical timeline: 2 to 4 weeks.

Probate gaps. If a prior owner died and the title passed through an informal or incomplete probate, the chain of title has a gap. Formal probate proceedings can take 60 to 120 days in Kansas. If this surfaces after a PSA is signed, the closing either waits for probate or the seller must pursue an alternative curative path with a real estate attorney. This is the one issue that can push a closing out 90 or more days even on a cash deal.

The best thing a seller can do before signing a PSA is to order a preliminary title report, read it, and call a real estate attorney about anything flagged. Finding these issues before you have a buyer under contract is far better than finding them on day 7 of a 14-day close.

Why Does a Financed Buyer Take So Much Longer?

Lender approval is a separate process that runs parallel to everything else, and it usually takes longer than the physical due diligence and title work combined.

A conventional lender financing a multifamily acquisition needs to complete the following before issuing a loan commitment:

1. Appraisal. An independent MAI appraiser inspects the property and produces a written report. On a 5-to-50-unit property in Kansas, this takes 2 to 4 weeks from the date of the inspection.

2. Lender underwriting. The bank's internal underwriting team reviews the appraisal, the rent roll, the T-12, the borrower's financial statements, and the loan structure. This takes 2 to 3 weeks after the appraisal is complete.

3. Loan committee approval. Many community banks and regional lenders require loan committee sign-off on commercial acquisitions. This happens weekly or bi-weekly, which means timing can add another full week depending on where you land in the cycle.

Add it up and a financed buyer realistically needs 30 to 45 days just for lender approval. That timeline runs on top of the inspection and title curative process, not instead of it.

Agency financing (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac multifamily products) typically takes even longer: 45 to 75 days from application to loan commitment on a 5-to-50-unit deal.

A cash buyer closes when the title is clear. That is the fundamental difference between a 30-day deal and a 120-day deal.

When Does a Brokered Listing Make More Sense?

Selling direct to a cash buyer is not the right path for every seller. Here is an honest fit-check.

It makes sense to sell direct when:

• You need to close inside 60 days (estate settlement, 1031 exchange deadline, debt maturity, out-of-state move)
• The property has deferred maintenance and you do not want to spend money preparing it for weeks of broker showings
• Tenant privacy and minimal disruption matter to you
• You want price certainty: one offer, one counter, done
• You have already talked to a broker and the listing price does not clear your net-to-seller target after commission

It makes more sense to list on the MLS when:

• You have time and believe buyer competition will push the price meaningfully above what a direct buyer will pay
• The property is in excellent condition and shows well (makes broker marketing more effective)
• You have a 1031 exchange requiring maximum gross proceeds to hit your replacement property target
• You are comfortable with the 25 to 30 percent deal-fall-through rate and the timeline uncertainty it creates

We are direct buyers. If we think listing would produce a better net-to-seller result for your specific property, we will tell you that. For a side-by-side look at how those numbers compare, the post on selling your apartment building in Kansas without a realtor walks through the commission math and closing cost comparison.

How to Shorten Your Timeline Before You Talk to Anyone

Regardless of which path you choose, there are three things you can do right now that will compress the timeline:

Get a preliminary title report. Call a local Kansas title company and order a search on your property. This takes 3 to 7 business days and costs $200 to $400 depending on the county. The report surfaces any title issues before they become your buyer's discovery and your closing delay.

Compile your rent roll. A current rent roll lists every tenant, their unit, their monthly rent, their lease start and end dates, and their security deposit amount. If yours is not up to date, update it now. This is the first thing every buyer asks for.

Pull your T-12. A 12-month trailing income and expense statement shows every dollar that came in and went out over the past year. Your property manager or accountant likely has this already. Having it ready on day one of any conversation saves 5 to 10 days of back-and-forth.

We underwrote over 30 multifamily properties in Kansas in 2025 and 2026. Of those, the deals that closed in under 30 days had two things in common: a clean preliminary title report and a seller who had the rent roll ready before we even signed the PSA. The deals that took 45 or more days almost always had a title issue that surfaced after we were already under contract.

If you want to see what a fast close looks like in practice, the post on selling your rental property as-is in Kansas covers how we handle condition, pricing, and timeline on as-is acquisitions.

If you want to know what your specific timeline would look like, the fastest way is to call me directly. I can tell you in about 15 minutes whether your property is a 14-day deal or a 45-day deal, and what, if anything, is standing between you and a faster close.

Reach me at (206) 775-8555, or start with your property details on the sell page.