Atlanta Landlord Buyers for a 4-Unit: A Hypothetical Walkthrough
This is a hypothetical walkthrough, not a real customer story: a made-up Atlanta wholesaler sells a rented 4-unit to a landlord, not a flipper. The people, property and numbers are illustrative, not a Deal Run customer’s results. It shows how to find landlord buyers, why you lead with rent, and how to present cash flow honestly, with vacancy, management and a dated loan rate in the math.
Disclosure: Deal Run is our product. An earlier version of this page presented this as a real deal, dated before Deal Run launched, and quoted a $950/month cash flow that only worked at a rate far below today’s. The story is now labelled as an example and the math is redone below.
Background: landlord vs flipper buyers and rental cash flow analysis.
The hypothetical deal
A 4-unit building in Atlanta’s Westview area, fully rented at $900 a unit ($3,600 a month gross). It needs about $15,000 of deferred maintenance and no renovation, so there’s no flip upside. The wholesaler’s contract price is $225,000 and the asking price to buyers is $240,000. The $15,000 of maintenance is the buyer’s cost on top of the price, not part of it.
Finding landlord buyers
Flippers won’t want this deal. So the wholesaler looks for investors who already hold rentals nearby: absentee owners who bought within about a mile in the last few years. The search turns up 42 landlord entities. The wholesaler skip traces the 20 closest and most active, gets usable contact details for 15, and emails them.
Leading with the rent: the buyer’s math
The email and deal page lead with income, using the price the deal eventually sells at ($237,000) and assumptions a landlord would check:
| Annual item (illustrative) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross rent: $3,600 × 12 | $43,200 |
| Vacancy and credit loss, 5% | −$2,160 |
| Collected rent | $41,040 |
| Property management, 8% of collected | −$3,283 |
| Property taxes (assumed) | −$4,800 |
| Insurance (assumed) | −$3,600 |
| Repairs and maintenance | −$3,000 |
| Capital reserve | −$2,400 |
| Owner-paid water and trash (assumed) | −$1,800 |
| Net operating income (NOI) | $22,157 |
| Loan payment: $177,750 (75% of $237,000), 30 years at 7.24% = $1,211/mo | −$14,536 |
| Cash flow | $7,620 (about $635/mo) |
The rate is the Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year fixed average for October 29, 2026 (7.24%). That survey tracks conventional owner-occupied loans, and investor loans on 2–4 unit buildings usually cost more. At 8%, the payment is about $1,304 a month and cash flow falls to about $6,506 a year ($542 a month). Tax and insurance figures are placeholders; a buyer would pull the county tax record and get an insurance quote.
The cap rate is NOI ÷ price: $22,157 ÷ $237,000 = 9.3%, or 8.8% on the $252,000 all-in cost including the $15,000 of maintenance. Cash in is $59,250 down plus $15,000 of maintenance = $74,250 (before closing costs), so cash-on-cash return is about 10.3%.
The outcome in this example
Five of the 15 landlords reply within two days, three tour the building and two make offers. The best is $237,000 with a 21-day close. The assignment fee is $237,000 − $225,000 = $12,000. A one-in-three reply rate is an illustration, not a benchmark; real reply rates vary a lot.
Lessons from the example
- Match the buyer to the deal. A stabilized rental belongs in front of landlords who already own nearby.
- Lead with income, and show vacancy, management and a dated loan rate. A cash-flow number without them won’t survive the buyer’s own spreadsheet.
- Keep the price and the buyer’s extra costs separate so the all-in number is clear.
- Georgia has no wholesaling statute, but its license law (O.C.G.A. 43-40), attorney-run closings and written disclosure of your interest apply; the GAR F279 form covers assignment. See Georgia wholesaling compliance and our state-by-state guide. Not legal advice.
How this maps to Deal Run
Deal Run is our product. On Analyze + Sell, its buyer search finds landlords and flippers who recently bought near the property (from public records) and ranks them by Investor Score (proximity 35, beds/baths/sq ft 25, price 20, recency 15, purchase count 5). You choose whom to skip trace, then send a Package (a deal page with photos, comps and an offer/showing form, with view tracking) in a Blast from your own Gmail. It also pulls rental comps. See finding buyers and the rental cash flow calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a real customer case study?
No. It is a hypothetical walkthrough with made-up numbers. The wholesaler, the landlords and the property are illustrative, not a Deal Run customer’s results.
What is the buyer’s cash flow in this example?
About $635 a month. Rent of $43,200 a year, less 5% vacancy, 8% management and $15,600 of other assumed expenses, leaves net operating income of about $22,157. A 30-year loan of $177,750 at 7.24% costs $1,211 a month, or $14,536 a year, leaving about $7,620 a year.
What rate does the example use?
7.24%, the Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year fixed average for October 29, 2026. Investor loans on 2 to 4 unit properties usually cost more; at 8% the payment is about $1,304 a month and cash flow drops to about $542 a month.
Can you wholesale in Georgia without a license?
Georgia has no wholesaling statute, but its real estate license law (O.C.G.A. 43-40), attorney-run closings and written disclosure of your interest all apply; the GAR F279 form covers assignment. Not legal advice.