Smart Value-Add: How a Simple Parking Fix Boosted Apartment Rents by 25%
Sometimes, the best investment move isn’t a full renovation — it’s a smart, practical fix.
Adding value to a multifamily property doesn’t always mean gutting kitchens or installing luxury finishes. Sometimes, the biggest returns come from solving simple, everyday problems.
On a recent off-market deal for one of my buyer clients, we found a 14-unit apartment building that was rented well below market value. The property needed minor repairs, but the real challenge was the parking lot. With only 14 parking places, things worked only because several residents didn’t own cars. Worse, with no turn-around, tenants had to back out onto the road to leave.
Finding a Creative Solution Next Door
Next door sat a single-family home owned by a high school teacher who lived 600 miles away. She’d wanted to sell for years but never got around to listing. The house sat near the street, and its flat, clear backyard stretched all the way to the apartment lot — an opportunity waiting to be unlocked.
I reached out, made an offer, and we put that property under contract, too.
The Simple Fix That Created Major Value
After closing on both properties last week, my client plans to convert a portion of the house’s backyard into additional parking, using a water-permeable surface such as crushed stone. It will add another 20 parking spaces. The new layout allows tenants to enter, park, and exit easily without backing into traffic — a small change that makes a huge difference in convenience and safety.
Combined with light unit renovations, these upgrades will allow rents to rise by over 25%, bringing them in line with market rates for similar units in the area.
As a bonus, my client now owns the adjacent house, which already rents for the equivalent of two pre-renovation apartments — and will likely match two post-renovation apartments after updates.
The Takeaway: Value-Add Doesn’t Have to Mean Major Construction
This project perfectly illustrates what true value-add investing is about: spotting inefficiencies, solving problems creatively, and finding ways to improve both cash flow and tenant experience — often without a major remodel.
Author Bio:
Denise Evans, JD, CCIM, is a real estate broker and investor specializing in creative deal structuring. She helps clients identify underperforming properties and transform them into thriving, cash-flowing investments.
