What Is Multifamily Investing?: Your Guide to Building Wealth Through Apartment Deals
By Mark Kenney | Think Multifamily
If you’re serious about building long-term wealth — and want more stability than single-family rentals or short-term plays — multifamily investing is one of the smartest paths you can take.
At Think Multifamily, we’ve built our business on exactly that: investing in multifamily real estate. Over 120+ deals and $1 billion+ in transactions later, we can tell you — this is a business that can transform your future… if you approach it the right way.
But first: What exactly is multifamily investing?
Let’s break it down.
Multifamily Investing Defined
Multifamily investing simply means investing in real estate properties that contain more than one housing unit under a single roof or property title.
Examples of multifamily properties include:
Duplexes (2 units)
Triplexes (3 units)
Quadplexes (4 units)
Apartment buildings (5 or more units — where syndication often comes into play)
👉 The moment you move into 5+ units, you’re in the world of commercial multifamily investing — where valuations are based on the property’s income, not just comparable sales.
This is where many investors go from "landlord" to "business owner."
👉 Now that we’ve covered how multifamily investing works and why it’s such a powerful wealth-building tool — you might be wondering how it compares to other types of investments. Let’s take a look.
Why Multifamily vs Other Asset Classes?
Many investors wonder: Why multifamily? Why not single family, office buildings, retail centers, self-storage, or even stocks and bonds?
Great question — and here’s why we (and many of our coaching clients) consistently choose multifamily over other options.
Why Multifamily vs Single-Family?
Many new investors start with single-family rentals — and that’s a great way to begin learning the basics of owning income property.
But single-family rentals have limitations:
✅ One tenant means 100% vacancy risk.
✅ Harder to scale — every property is an individual deal.
✅ Financing gets more difficult after a few properties.
Multifamily real estate solves these challenges:
✅ Multiple income streams per property → vacancy risk spread out.
✅ Easier to scale → one transaction can give you 10, 50, 100+ units.
✅ Commercial financing scales with you.
✅ Economies of scale → managing 50 units under one roof is often easier than 50 scattered single-family homes.
1. Multifamily vs. Office & Retail
👉 Office and retail spaces can generate strong returns — but they’re highly vulnerable to market shifts.
👉 Office occupancy rates in many markets are still struggling post-pandemic.
👉 Retail is impacted by trends like e-commerce and consumer behavior changes.
Multifamily demand is much more resilient — people always need housing. Even in down markets, well-managed apartments tend to stay occupied.
2. Multifamily vs. Industrial or Self-Storage
👉 Industrial real estate (like warehouses) can be very strong, but typically requires deep industry knowledge and can be highly capital-intensive.
👉 Self-storage is a great niche — but also highly localized and often oversupplied in certain markets.
Multifamily offers scalability, flexibility, and broader market applicability. Every metro has apartment demand — and with the right deal selection, multifamily provides opportunities in almost every market cycle.
3. Multifamily vs. Stocks & Bonds
👉 Stocks and bonds are liquid, yes — but they also come with market volatility that’s out of your control.
👉 Multifamily real estate is a tangible asset → you can improve it, operate it like a business, and create forced appreciation.
You can’t walk into a stock portfolio and negotiate better terms or drive NOI — but you can do exactly that with an apartment building.
Plus: Multifamily offers exceptional tax advantages through depreciation — something most paper assets can’t match.
Why Multifamily Wins — Especially Now
At Think Multifamily, we love multifamily because:
✅ Housing demand is durable — people always need places to live.
✅ You can create value directly through operations — not just market timing.
✅ It’s scalable — a single deal can generate meaningful cash flow.
✅ Tax benefits are unmatched.
✅ You can build wealth through cash flow, equity, and forced appreciation — all at the same time.
In short: multifamily combines the stability of real estate with the scalability of a true business.
And that’s why we believe it should be a core part of any serious investor’s portfolio.
How Multifamily Investing Builds Wealth
Multifamily investing can help you build wealth through:
✅ Cash flow → monthly income after expenses.
✅ Appreciation → growing property value through improved operations and market demand.
✅ Debt paydown → tenants’ rent helps pay off your loan.
✅ Tax benefits → depreciation and other strategies can dramatically reduce your taxable income.
✅ Forced equity → improving operations and NOI increases property value, often dramatically.
And unlike many asset classes, you have a high degree of control — your efforts can directly drive value.
Common Multifamily Investing Strategies
Here are some ways investors commonly approach multifamily:
1. Buy and Hold
Purchase a property, improve operations, hold it long-term for cash flow and appreciation.
2. Value-Add
Purchase an underperforming property → make physical and operational improvements → increase NOI → refinance or sell at a profit.
3. Syndication
Pooling capital from investors to purchase larger apartment deals, usually with a professional team handling operations.
At Think Multifamily, syndication has been a major part of our growth — allowing us to scale quickly while helping investors participate in deals they otherwise couldn’t access on their own.
Typical Deal Structures in Multifamily Investing
If you’re new to multifamily, you’ll often hear terms like LP, GP, syndication, and JV thrown around.
Here’s a simple breakdown of what they mean — and how most apartment deals are structured.
Syndication: The Most Common Structure
Syndication is a way to pool capital from multiple investors to buy larger apartment deals.
In a typical syndication:
GP (General Partner) → the active deal sponsor(s) who find the deal, raise capital, manage operations, and execute the business plan.
LP (Limited Partner) → passive investors who provide capital but do not take part in day-to-day management. They earn returns based on the deal’s performance.
👉 The GP team usually earns a portion of profits (called the promote) in exchange for managing the deal.
Joint Venture (JV)
In a Joint Venture, all parties are typically active in the deal and share in both responsibilities and returns.
No strict GP/LP split → more of a partnership.
JV is often used for smaller deals or when all investors want an active role.
Which Is Right for You?
👉 If you want to build a scalable business and attract passive investors, syndication is the most flexible and scalable path.
👉 If you’re starting with smaller deals or want to partner with other active operators, a JV can be a great fit.
Risks of Multifamily Investing
Like any investment, multifamily carries risk:
✅ Interest rate changes → can impact financing and refinance options.
✅ Insurance and taxes → can significantly impact expenses (many investors are seeing this now).
✅ Operational complexity → managing large properties requires skill and systems.
✅ Market cycles → timing matters, though quality properties and sound operations can weather downturns.
That’s why we teach our coaching clients how to analyze deals rigorously, stress test their numbers, and build sustainable businesses — not just chase short-term returns.
Is Multifamily Investing Right for You?
If you:
✅ Want to build long-term wealth.
✅ Prefer tangible, income-producing assets.
✅ Are willing to learn how to operate properties like a business.
✅ Value cash flow, appreciation, and tax advantages…
→ Then multifamily investing may be an excellent path.
You can start small — many of our coaching clients do — but the scalability is what makes this model so powerful.
Getting Started with Multifamily Investing
Most successful multifamily investors follow a process:
Define your goals and investment criteria.
Build your team (attorney, CPA, mortgage broker, property manager).
Learn how to analyze deals like a professional.
Understand financing options and deal structures.
Start sourcing and underwriting opportunities.
Build your investor network (if syndicating).
Close deals and manage them effectively.
Repeat — and scale.
👉 If you want to follow this proven path — check out our $7 Multifamily Fast-Track System → it’s the exact process we’ve used across 120+ deals.
👉 Want to dive deeper? Be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Investing — your complete roadmap to building wealth through apartment deals.
Final Thoughts
Multifamily investing is not just about buying apartments — it’s about building a real business. One that can provide true financial freedom if you approach it the right way.
We’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way (and learned from them). Now, we help other serious investors avoid those mistakes — and build sustainable, profitable multifamily businesses.
If you’re ready to take the next step, explore the resources here on Think Multifamily — and when you’re ready, we’d love to help you go further.