Frequently Asked Questions

For a quick range, use our free property value calculator, which estimates a value from your monthly rent, the building’s age, and your neighborhood using real 2026 LA County sales. For a number you can plan around, request a free Broker Opinion of Value, built from your actual rent roll, expenses, and condition.

The cap rate is a building’s net operating income (NOI) divided by its price, so value is NOI divided by the cap rate. A building with $100,000 of NOI that buyers price at a 5.5% cap rate is worth about $1.8 million. A lower cap rate means buyers are paying more for each dollar of income. See how buyers value an apartment building.

A BOV is a broker’s estimate of what your building would likely sell for, based on your actual rents and expenses, the building’s condition and unit mix, and recent comparable sales. It is a professional opinion grounded in the market, not a formal appraisal and not a guarantee of what a buyer will pay.

No. If you are deciding whether to sell or setting a price, a BOV is what you want, and you do not need an appraisal to list. If you need a formal valuation for another reason, such as an estate or a legal dispute, ask your attorney or CPA. See Broker Opinion of Value vs. appraisal.

It limits how fast income can grow, so it affects value. Buyers price a rent-controlled building on the rents in place and give partial credit for upside, because they cannot capture it until units turn over. See our guide to selling with tenants under rent control.

Most of our listings go under contract within 1–4 weeks of marketing, with escrow closing 30–60 days after that, depending on financing and due diligence. Off-market sales can move faster.

Usually not. Many of the buildings we sell have deferred maintenance or below-market rents. We position these honestly as value-add opportunities rather than asking owners to invest in repairs before a sale.

There are eight: decide what you want from the sale, find out what the building is worth, choose a broker and sign a listing agreement, gather your documents, market the building, review offers and negotiate, open escrow and go through due diligence, and close. Our step-by-step guide covers each one.

Typically a current rent roll, the leases, and the last two to three years of income and expenses, along with your utility bills, property tax bill, insurance, permits, inspection reports, and records of major repairs. In Los Angeles, have your Rent Stabilization Ordinance registration and fee records ready as well.

A wide listing usually offers the best chance at the highest price, because more buyers mean more competition. An off-market sale offers privacy but can leave you unsure what you left on the table. A middle path is to contact a curated list of active buyers without a public listing. See off-market vs. listing.

No. Price matters, but so do the buyer’s financing, the length of the due diligence period, the size of the deposit, and how likely the buyer is to close. Your broker should help you compare offers on net proceeds and certainty.

Nothing. Our Broker Opinion of Value is free and confidential, with no obligation to list.

Commission is negotiated per listing and is only earned when a sale closes. We'll walk through the specifics during your BOV consultation.

Plan for the broker’s commission, transfer taxes, and, for buildings in the City of Los Angeles priced above $5.4 million, Measure ULA. Federal and California capital gains tax and depreciation recapture come out of your return, not escrow. Our net proceeds calculator shows the transfer-tax part at your price.

In the City of Los Angeles, buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued before October 1, 1978 are generally covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO). Newer buildings typically fall under the statewide AB 1482 cap instead. Other cities, such as Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, have their own rules.

For buildings under AB 1482, the maximum for increases effective on or after August 1, 2026 is 8.7%, the regional CPI change of 3.7% plus 5%. For RSO units, the City publishes a lower figure, 3% at the time of writing, and since February 2, 2026 landlords can no longer add an extra percentage for utilities. Confirm the current figure with the Los Angeles Housing Department before you send a notice. See the 2026 AB 1482 rent cap and the City’s RSO changes.

Yes. Most apartment buildings in Los Angeles sell with tenants in place, and many buyers look for occupied buildings with stable income. A sale does not by itself end anyone’s tenancy. The leases and rent rules stay with the building, so the new owner steps into the owner’s position.

An estoppel is a short statement in which a tenant confirms the terms of their tenancy, such as the rent, the deposit, and the lease dates. Buyers commonly request them during escrow to check your rent roll against what tenants say. Plan for the access and written notice that showings, inspections, and estoppels require.

Tell them honestly, and do not promise anything on a buyer’s behalf. Most tenants just want to know that their lease and their rent stay the same, and in a sale of an occupied building they generally do.

If you owned the property for more than a year, the gain is generally a long-term capital gain, taxed federally at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your income. Depreciation recapture is taxed at up to 25%, high-income sellers may owe the 3.8% net investment income tax, and California taxes the gain as ordinary income. See capital gains and depreciation recapture, and ask your CPA to run your numbers.

Residential rental property is generally depreciated over 27.5 years. When you sell, the part of your gain that comes from that depreciation is taxed at a maximum federal rate of 25%. The IRS generally measures it by the depreciation you were allowed to take, whether or not you claimed it.

Measure ULA is the City of Los Angeles transfer tax, often called the mansion tax. For closings after June 30, 2026, a sale of $5.4 million or less owes no ULA tax, a sale above $5.4 million and under $10.9 million owes 4%, and a sale at $10.9 million or more owes 5.5%. It applies only inside the City of Los Angeles. See our Measure ULA guide.

The whole price. A building that sells for $5,400,000 owes no ULA tax, but one that sells for $5,400,001 owes 4% of the full price, about $216,000. That can make a higher price leave you with less money. Try it in our Measure ULA calculator.

No. A 1031 exchange can defer your capital gains tax, but it does not exempt a sale from Measure ULA, and exchanges are not among the exemptions the City lists. If you are weighing whether to sell at all, see hold or sell under Measure ULA.

No. ULA applies only inside the City of Los Angeles. West Hollywood and Beverly Hills have no city transfer tax. Santa Monica has its own version, Measure GS, which takes 5.6% of the full price at $8 million and up. See our West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica pages.

Neither is automatically better. A sale is reported for the year it closes, so a December close puts the gain on your 2026 return and a January close pushes the tax bill out a full year. Which works depends on your income this year and next, so talk to your CPA before you list. See selling before year-end.

Named for Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, it lets you sell an investment property and defer the capital gains tax you would otherwise owe, as long as you reinvest the proceeds into another investment property of equal or greater value. The tax is deferred, not eliminated. Read our 1031 exchange guide.

Once your relinquished property closes, you have 45 days to identify replacement properties and 180 days total to close on the exchange. We start sourcing replacement options before your sale closes to protect that window.

Yes. We've helped clients exchange into multifamily properties in Texas and other states as part of a 1031 strategy, coordinating with brokers in those markets directly.

Yes. Multifamily and commercial real estate both qualify as like-kind to each other under current tax code, which is what makes an apartment-to-NNN exchange possible. In a triple-net lease, the tenant pays property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. See 1031 exchanges into triple-net properties and our triple-net and DST page.

No. A Qualified Intermediary holds the funds from your sale and uses them to buy your replacement property on your behalf. If you take the proceeds yourself, the exchange fails and the tax is due.

Yes, regularly. We coordinate with trustees, executors, attorneys, and CPAs to make sure a sale meets fiduciary and, where applicable, court requirements.

That's common with trust and estate sales. We market these properties clearly to value-add buyers who understand what they're taking on, so families aren't asked to modernize a building before selling it.

Protect the building and the tenants first: confirm the insurance is in force, keep the rents in an account for the estate or trust, tell tenants who to pay, and gather the documents. Then talk to a probate or trust attorney and a CPA before you decide whether to keep or sell. See our guide to inherited apartment buildings.

It depends on how the building was owned. If it was in a living trust, the successor trustee can generally sell under the trust’s terms without probate. If it was not, it generally goes through probate, because an apartment building is worth far more than California’s small-estate limit.

Often very little. An heir’s basis in inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death, so a sale soon afterward typically produces little or no taxable gain. Confirm with your CPA, and keep documentation of the date-of-death value.

Usually, yes. A change in ownership triggers a reassessment to market value, and the Proposition 19 parent-child exclusion does not apply to a rental property. Expect the building to be reassessed.

SB 721 requires owners of buildings with three or more multifamily units to have their exterior elevated elements (balconies, decks, porches, stairways, and walkways) inspected by a licensed professional. It applies if those elements are more than six feet above ground and rely mainly on wood for support. The first inspection was due by January 1, 2026. See our SB 721 guide.

For leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026, a rental unit must have a stove and a refrigerator in good working order. A tenant may agree in the lease to supply their own refrigerator, but not as a condition of the tenancy. Some housing types, such as single-room occupancy units, are exempt. See our AB 628 guide.

We found no law in California or in the City of Los Angeles that requires an owner to install air conditioning in every unit. Los Angeles County has an 82°F maximum indoor temperature rule for rentals in unincorporated areas, and the City Council has directed the City to consider a similar standard. See our air conditioning guide.

Generally not by more than 10%. California’s price gouging law caps rent increases at 10% for 30 days after an emergency is declared, or longer if extended, unless an exception applies. SB 1365, signed September 30, 2026, extends this to leases of any length starting in 2027. See the SB 1365 guide.

Yes. Buyers value a building on its net operating income, so extra expense lowers the price: at a 7% cap rate, $8,000 a year of avoidable water expense reduces value by roughly $114,000. Track utility bills as a percentage of expenses to catch leaks early. See utility bill diligence.

Buildings with up to four units can generally be financed with residential mortgages, and buildings with five or more units need commercial loans that look hard at the building’s income. Agency programs, banks, credit unions, and bridge lenders are the main sources. See how to finance an LA apartment building.

Start with net operating income, then the cap rate, the gross rent multiplier, debt service coverage, and cash-on-cash return. In a rent-controlled building, price the rents in place, not what the rents could be. See cap rate, cash-on-cash, and GRM.

The rent roll against leases, estoppels, and bank deposits; the building’s rent control status and registration; the physical systems, including SB 721 balcony reports and seismic retrofits; permits and the unit count; property tax reassessment; and title. See our due diligence checklist.

Underwriting rents a rent-controlled building cannot charge, trusting the seller’s numbers, underestimating deferred maintenance and compliance, forgetting the property tax reassessment, and borrowing at a rate above the cap rate. See nine buyer mistakes.

It varies widely by neighborhood, age, and size, which is why one citywide number is not very useful. Our cap rates and prices by neighborhood and Q3 2026 market update show real 2026 LA County sales, and each neighborhood page lists the sales behind its numbers.

Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, Westlake, Pico-Union, Hollywood, East Hollywood, Silver Lake, South LA, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, West LA, Brentwood, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills each have their own neighborhood page. We also sell buildings elsewhere in Los Angeles County.

Yes. Our closed sales page lists each sale with its address, unit count, size, and price, and more than 1,390 units and $345 million in closed sales are behind it. Our case studies explain how we handled some of the more complex ones.

We are a team of multifamily brokers at Equity Union Commercial. Co-founders Josh Kaplan and Troy Lucero work every listing themselves, making the calls to investors and other brokers and negotiating directly with buyers. Meet the team.

Yes. We have represented buyers as well as sellers, and on some deals both sides. Each closed sale page says which side we represented.

Run a quick range through our free property value calculator, then request a free Broker Opinion of Value. We will walk you through our approach, our recent sales, and your options, with no obligation to list.