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Nine liabilities you inherit at closing that aren't on the P&L

A Boston multifamily can pencil perfectly and still hand you a five-figure problem on day one. Not because the seller lied — because Massachusetts transfers certain obligations to whoever owns the building, and none of them appear on an operating statement.

This is the list we work through before we take a building over. Every item cites the statute or regulation it comes from, and tells you what to ask for before you sign.

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This also unlocks the numbers on every property in our off-market inventory — one registration, both. Nothing here is legal advice; see disclosures.

What's on the list

Four of the nine are statutory — they transfer to you by operation of law whether or not anyone mentions them at the closing table. The rest are the ones we keep watching people underwrite wrong.

Each item above is the summary. Register and the full version opens right here — what specifically to ask the seller for, what to put in the offer, and what it costs to fix when the answer is bad.

You're in — here's what to actually do about each one

Your off-market inventory access is open too. Go see the numbers.

01 · Deposits — ask for this A deposit ledger per unit: amount, the date received, the bank and account where it's held, and the interest paid to date. Then require the actual funds to transfer at closing, in writing, and calendar your 45-day tenant notice from the closing date. If the seller can't produce the ledger, treat every deposit as unfunded and negotiate a credit for the full amount plus interest — you're the one holding treble-damages exposure, not them.
02 · Tenancies — ask for this An estoppel certificate signed by each household: what they pay, what they paid on move-in, what's included, what was promised verbally. Underwrite the current rent, not the market rent. If your model only works at market, you're buying a relocation budget and a long timeline, so price both.
03 · Fair housing — do this Underwrite the building with the tenants in place. If the deal only works empty, it's a different deal with a different risk profile — and any plan that sorts households by voucher status is off the table. We decline these.
04 · Heat — ask for this Three years of actual fuel bills, not an estimate, and the boiler's age and service history. Then get a real number for separating the systems. Both outcomes are fine — a permanent expense you priced in, or a capex line you funded. What kills returns is discovering it after you own it.
05 · Water — ask for this If units are billed for water, ask when the meters were installed and certified, and see the actual usage-based bills. If it's a per-unit split rather than measured usage, assume you'll have to stop billing it and absorb the cost until it's done properly.
06 · Lead — do this Ask for any existing Letter of Compliance or Letter of Interim Control before you go hard on the deposit. If there isn't one, get a deleading estimate during diligence and start the 90-day clock the day you take title — that window is also what protects your insurability.
07 · Electrical — do this Have the inspector open panels and call out knob-and-tube by unit, then send that finding to your insurance broker before the contingency date. Get the carrier's position in writing. A rewire quote during diligence is cheap; a declination after closing is not.
08 · Probate — ask for this Ask which court, what's been filed, and whether the personal representative has authority to sell yet. Then build the timeline you were told, add the delay, and check the deal still works — and don't lock a rate to a date nobody controls.
09 · The basement — do this Measure the head height yourself and call the building department before you write the bonus unit into your model. If the upside needs the basement, make it upside, never the thesis.
The one we'd add Every item here is answerable during diligence, and all nine are cheaper to find before you sign than after. If you want a second read on a specific building — including one you didn't find through us — reply to the email you'll get and send the address. We look at Boston multifamily every week and we'll tell you what we see.