Rachel: A 20-Unit Building That Doubled NOI in 12 Months
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Rachel: A 20-Unit Building That Doubled NOI in 12 Months
When we acquired “Rachel,” a 20-unit multifamily building, the unit mix was dated, occupancy weak, and the operating platform scattered. What looked like a modest property became a full-blown opportunity and under the right playbook we doubled its NOI in one year. At FOX RE, this is exactly the kind of turnaround we build our model around.
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1. Baseline Audit & Diagnosis
We started with a hard look: rent comps, unit layout efficiency, lease-up velocity, maintenance backlog, tenant mix, and branding. Rachel had 30% vacancy, average rents at 85% of market, and maintenance cost 15% above budget. The diagnosis: product wasn’t aligned to market, operations were reactive, and leasing lacked urgency.
2. Strategic Cap-Ex That Matters
Rather than full scale gut renovation, we applied “surgical cap-ex” to Rachel: upgraded kitchen finishes, added in-unit laundry in four units, improved lighting and flooring, and rebranded common areas. These improvements allowed us to reposition units for premium rents without overleveraging. Unit rent increased +18% within 6 months.
3. Leasing & Marketing Overhaul
We replaced stale listings with professional photography, rewrote every unit description for a clear audience (young professionals + pet-owners), and revamped the website and ad campaigns. We implemented a CRM for faster lead follow-up, offered tiered unit pricing (Standard / Premium), and reduced days on market by 40%. Conversion ratio improved accordingly.
4. Operations & Experience Alignment
Upgrades in leasing matter only if the resident experience supports them. We standardized move-in processes, set maintenance SLAs, tracked work-orders, and shifted from vendor “reactive” mode to proactive inspections. New resident satisfaction surveys showed a 22-point jump within 3 months.
5. Financial Controls & Transparent Reporting
We introduced bi-weekly dashboards showing rent per unit, vacancy trends, renewal spreads, expense per unit, and NOI trajectory. Hidden mark-ups were removed, vendor relationships renegotiated, and recovery rates improved shifting cost structure by -8% and contributing to NOI growth.
6. Crowd the Story & Build Proof
By month twelve, Rachel’s numbers spoke: occupancy up to 98 %, average rent up to 97% of market, turnover dropped by half, and NOI more than doubled. We compiled before/after unit-by-unit performance, branded the building as “the premium 20-unit community in [Market]”, and prepared an exit-ready case file for refinance or sale.
The FOX RE Model in Action
Rachel is not just an asset, it's a proof point.
End-to-End Accountability: One team handled strategy, marketing, operations and finance.
Performance-Based Economics: Our fee structure aligned with Rachel’s NOI lift, not just maintenance.
Delta-Focused Reporting: Weekly, monthly and quarterly decks showed real-time improvement and built owner confidence.
