Why we don't list: how off-market multifamily deals actually move

When we buy a 24-unit in Tacoma, the property never hits the MLS. It never appears on LoopNet. There's no marketing flyer, no broker email blast, no rent roll circulating to twelve other buyers. The transaction goes directly between the seller and us, and most of our deals close that way.

Sellers ask why. The honest answer is that for the kind of properties we buy, listing is usually the worse option for the seller, not just for us.

What does "off-market" actually mean?

An off-market sale is one where the property never goes through a public marketing process. There is no listing photo shoot. No broker open. No competing bid stack. The seller and buyer talk directly, agree on price and terms, and close.

That sounds simple. It isn't. It only works when both sides know what they're doing.

For the buyer, off-market means accepting that you're forming a price without comparable evidence to anchor it. You can't say "the broker has it priced at X." You have to underwrite the property cold and back yourself. We've done it a couple of dozen times across Washington, Texas, and Kansas, so we have a reference point. A first-time buyer doesn't.

For the seller, off-market means trusting that the buyer is who they say they are. Capital, underwriting capability, track record. The whole arrangement falls apart if the buyer turns out to be a wholesaler trying to find someone to flip the contract to. The off-market pillar page covers how we differentiate from wholesalers in detail.

When we say no to listing your property

Sellers sometimes ask if they should list with a broker first and let us bid in the same process. Three reasons we usually push back.

First, brokers cost roughly 5% on a multifamily transaction. On a $1.2M Tacoma fourplex that's $60,000. On a 24-unit at $4M that's $200,000. The broker does real work for that fee. Whether the work is worth the price is the seller's call. For the small-to-mid-size assets we buy, it usually isn't.

Second, listing puts your tenants and your rent roll on the open market. Twelve buyers walk through the units. Property managers learn the building is for sale. Tenants find out from the property manager and start asking questions. If the deal falls through (about a third do at this size), you've created six months of disturbance for nothing.

Third, the seller-financing structures we use don't fit a broker's process. A broker is paid at closing, in cash, full commission. If the seller carries a five-year note at 7%, the broker still wants their 5% upfront. That math doesn't work for either side. We can structure a deal where the headline price is higher because we're paying the seller over time, but only if we're talking directly. The seller financing page walks through the structures.

How an off-market deal actually closes

The shape of one of our typical transactions:

• Day 1. A seller calls Jose directly. Address, unit count, gross rents, brief reason for selling. Fifteen minutes.
• Day 2 to 3. Property review. Rent roll, T-12 if available, a few photos. We run our underwriting model. Realistic vacancy, real capex reserves, true operating expenses, not the broker pro forma.
• Day 4 to 7. Written offer. Cash, seller-financed, or a hybrid. Terms in plain language.
• Day 8 to 30. Short due diligence. Inspection, title review, rent-roll verification. Typically two to three weeks for a 5-to-50-unit property.
• Day 30 to 45. Close at title. Sign, get paid, hand over keys.

We've closed in 14 days when both sides moved fast. We've taken 45 days when financing structures were complex. We've never taken 90+ days, because by that point either party has lost interest.

Are off-market deals priced lower?

Sometimes. Not always.

Off-market transactions don't have the price-discovery mechanism a competitive listing creates. A listed property might attract a buyer who pays above what the rent roll supports, because they have a strategic reason or a 1031 exchange deadline. We don't bid that way. We pay what the building underwrites to.

So yes, on the upside, listing might find you a buyer willing to pay $50,000 over what we'd offer.

The trade-off: that listing process takes 90 to 180 days, costs 5% in commission, exposes tenants to the open market, and has roughly a 30% chance of failing. If you net it all out, the spread between an off-market direct sale and a successful listing is often inside the broker fee, sometimes under it.

For owners who care more about a clean exit on a known timeline than a marginal price uplift, off-market wins.

What kind of property should we be talking about?

We buy 5-to-50-unit multifamily, generally B/C class, generally post-1960s vintage, in Washington, Texas, and Kansas. Buildings with real value-add components: under-rented in-place tenants, deferred maintenance we can underwrite, capex we can plan for. The Sell pillar page covers the criteria in detail. The state pages, Washington, Texas, and Kansas, go deeper on submarkets.

If you have a property that fits, the next step is short. Call or email me directly. The first 15 minutes tells us whether there's a deal here. The full process, from that first call to the wire on the closing date, runs 14 to 45 days.

If you'd rather understand the financial structures we use first, the seller financing page has the math behind owner-carry deals, including the IRC 453 installment-sale tax mechanic.

The thing we won't do is pretend an off-market sale is right for everyone. If your property is already under contract with a broker, we're not the right buyer. If you want maximum price discovery and you're willing to absorb the cost in time and tenant disturbance, list it. If you want a clean, predictable exit on terms you control, that's where we come in.