This is how you actually get paid. Everyone talks about multifamily. Almost nobody knows how to consistently find off-market apartment deals at scale. You are not competing on the MLS. You are going where no one else is looking. That’s the edge. THE CORE PRINCIPLE You are not looking for listings. You are looking for tired landlords sitting on equity who haven’t sold in 10+ years. These are the deals that create $50K, $100K, $500K opportunities. STEP 1: TARGET THE RIGHT ASSET In PropStream, you are not searching random properties. You are building a sniper list. Set your filters: Property Type:Multifamily (2–100 units) Ownership:Non-owner occupied Years Owned:10+ years minimum (longer is better) Equity:High equity or free and clear Last Sale Date:No recent sales Optional add-ons:Out-of-state ownersAbsentee ownersOlder owners (if available) This is your foundation. Do not skip this. STEP 2: STACK MOTIVATION Anyone can pull a list. You are stacking pressure. Add filters like: Pre-foreclosure; Tax delinquent; Vacant (rare, but if applicable) You are looking for overlap. The more pain signals, the higher your probability of a deal. STEP 3: BUILD A LARGE LIST You are not looking for 10 deals. You are building a machine. Pull 500–2,000 records per market. Download everything: Name; Mailing address; Property address Skip trace immediately. No delay. Speed matters. STEP 4: REACH OUT LIKE AN OPERATOR This is where most people fail. You are not asking if they want to sell. You are presenting opportunity. Your positioning: “I specialize in buying small apartment buildings in your area.I can make you a simple, no-hassle offer—sometimes with seller financing so you can keep income and defer taxes.” You are calm. Direct. Not needy. STEP 5: TWO-OFFER FRAMEWORK Every conversation leads here. You give two paths: Cash offer (discounted, fast close) Seller financing (higher price, better terms for them) Most investors only offer cash. You win with options. STEP 6: LOCK UP THE DEAL