Multifamily
Rent roll, NOI, and value-add need books that match how apartments actually work.
Apartment investing stacks economic occupancy, loss-to-lease, RUBS billbacks, and renovation underwriting into one P&L — each recognized and taxed differently. We build books that see the property as it actually runs, so you know which unit, which vintage, and which income line really drives returns.
Why multifamily books break standard accounting
Gross rent is not income. Economic occupancy is.
A 96% physical occupancy rate can hide a 91% economic occupancy rate — concessions, loss-to-lease, and non-paying units silently erode NOI before you see it on a standard P&L.
Economic vs. physical occupancy
Physical counts bodies in units; economic counts rent actually collected. The gap — concessions, free months, bad debt — is where value-add underwriting lives or dies.
Loss-to-lease and market rent delta
If in-place rents are below market, the property carries unrealized upside. Loss-to-lease must be tracked unit-by-unit; averaged rent rolls hide it entirely.
RUBS utility billbacks
Ratio Utility Billing Systems shift water, gas, and trash costs from the owner to residents. Billback income is real revenue — but it must be netted correctly or NOI is overstated.
Other income: parking, pets, fees
Pet rent, parking, laundry, and application fees are real income lines with their own recognition timing. Lumping them into 'miscellaneous' hides margin and complicates a sale.
Where the real margin lives
Six income streams. Most operators track one.
A multifamily property earns from scheduled rent, ancillary fees, utility billbacks, laundry, storage, and parking — each with its own recognition rule and tax treatment.
The value-add truth
Renovation ROI looks great on the proforma. The books tell a different story.
Unit-turn costs bleed into opex; post-rehab rent bumps take 60–90 days to show up in cash. We model the renovation curve — cost per door, lease-up lag, and yield-on-cost — so you know whether the value-add thesis is holding or you're burning more than you're gaining.
The multifamily tax playbook
The deductions a single-schedule return hides.
Apartment assets sit at the intersection of real estate professional status, cost segregation, bonus depreciation, and pass-through rules. Handled right, the difference is decades of accelerated deductions — handled wrong, it's a passive loss limitation and a recapture surprise at sale.
Cost segregation & bonus depreciation
Carpeting, appliances, cabinets, site lighting, and land improvements often qualify for 5- or 15-year depreciation — or 100% bonus depreciation — instead of 27.5-year residential recovery, front-loading significant deductions.
Component depreciation & partial dispositions
When you renovate, old components (roofs, HVAC, flooring) can be retired and expensed immediately — rather than depreciated for 27.5 more years alongside the new ones.
Real estate professional status
If you or your spouse materially participate and meet the REP hour test, rental losses become non-passive — deductible against ordinary income without limitation.
QBI deduction for rental income
Properly structured, rental income from multifamily may qualify for the 20% qualified business income deduction — with grouping elections that require precision each year.
K-1s, waterfalls & GP promote
Syndication structures require partner allocations that track economic arrangements — preferred returns, catch-ups, and GP promote hit K-1s differently than cash distributions.
1031 exchange & depreciation recapture
A like-kind exchange defers capital gain and recapture — but the basis carries, and recapture planning at sale requires knowing your adjusted basis, not just what you paid.
What we actually run for you
Every service mapped to a multifamily problem.
We reconcile rent rolls, RUBS, and ancillary income straight from AppFolio, Buildium, or RealPage — so every line is right each month, not reconstructed at tax time.
The problem
Cost segregation & depreciation planning
Identify 5- and 15-year assets, model bonus depreciation elections, and plan component retirements when you renovate — before you file, not after.
The problem
Renovation and refi underwriting
Model value-add ROI per door, bridge-to-agency refi timing, and DSCR at target rents — so capital decisions are made on real numbers, not a spreadsheet from 2021.
The problem
Investor reporting & K-1 coordination
Waterfall calculations, preferred return tracking, and K-1 prep for your LP investors — accurate, on time, and defensible if anyone asks.
Buying or selling an apartment building?
Numbers that survive due diligence.
Whether you're underwriting an acquisition or getting a value-add asset sale-ready, we build financials that lenders, buyers, and agency underwriters actually trust.
The numbers we put in front of you
Run the property on operator metrics, not just a P&L.
Reporting built for apartment operations — the KPIs that tell you whether to push rents, accelerate turns, or refinance before the bridge matures.
Figures shown are illustrative.
Keep exploring
Go deeper — or just talk to us.
Talk to someone who's read a rent roll before.
A 30-minute call. Bring last year's actuals and your rent roll — we'll show you what your books should be telling you about occupancy, NOI, and your tax position, then map out where we can help, on a free intro call.
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