A seller hands you a rent roll showing $4,200 per month in gross rents across a fourplex. The listing price makes sense at that income level. You run your numbers, the deal pencils out, and you start getting excited.
Then you dig deeper and discover one unit has been vacant for three months, another tenant is two months behind, and the "market rents" listed are $150 higher than anything actually being collected.
This happens constantly. Rent rolls are marketing documents first and accurate financial statements second. Here's how to verify what you're actually buying (the [IRS rental income guidelines](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/rental-income-and-expenses-real-estate-tax-tips) explain what documentation matters).
What a Rent Roll Actually Tells You (and Doesn't)
A rent roll is a snapshot of a property's rental income at a specific point in time. It typically includes unit numbers, tenant names, lease terms, monthly rents, security deposits, and sometimes payment history.
What it's supposed to show: current tenants, what they're paying, and when their leases end.
What sellers often show instead: a mix of actual rents, "market rate" projections, and optimistic assumptions about vacant units.
The distinction matters because you're buying current income, not theoretical income. A rent roll showing $50,000 annual gross rent is meaningless if the property is only collecting $38,000.
The Six Things to Verify on Every Rent Roll
1. Actual Collected Rent vs. Stated Rent
The rent roll might show Unit 3 at $1,100/month. But is that tenant actually paying $1,100?
Request the last 12 months of bank statements or deposit records. Add up what was actually deposited for rent. Divide by 12. That's your real monthly income.
I've seen rent rolls that showed $4,800/month gross while the bank deposits averaged $3,900. The difference was a combination of chronic late payments, partial payments, and one unit that had been paying $200 under the stated rent for two years because of a verbal agreement the seller "forgot" to mention.
2. Vacancy and Turnover History
A rent roll is a snapshot. It doesn't show you that Unit 2 has turned over three times in the past 18 months, or that the building sat 50% vacant for four months last year.
Ask for:
High turnover is expensive. It's not just lost rent during vacancy. It's cleaning, repairs, painting, marketing, screening, and the risk of getting a worse tenant next time. A fourplex with one unit turning over every four months is a different investment than a fourplex with stable long-term tenants.
3. Lease Terms and Expiration Dates
Every tenant should have a written lease. Get copies of all of them.
Check:
I once reviewed a sixplex where the rent roll showed all units on 12-month leases. The actual leases revealed four units were month-to-month and one "lease" was a handwritten note on notebook paper. The seller had been lazy about documentation for years.
4. Security Deposit Verification
The rent roll says $4,000 in deposits are held across four units. But where is that money?
Security deposits transfer with the property. If the seller spent them (which happens more than you'd think), you're liable to return deposits you never received.
Request:
5. Current Payment Status
The rent roll might show all units as "current." Probe deeper.
Ask for an aged receivables report or tenant ledger showing:
A tenant who pays on the 20th every month isn't really "current" in a meaningful sense. They're chronically late, and that pattern will continue after you buy.
6. Market Rent vs. Actual Rent
Some rent rolls include a column for "market rent" showing what each unit could theoretically rent for. Treat this number with extreme skepticism.
Do your own rent comp analysis:
A seller might show Unit 1 with "market rent" of $1,400 when the tenant is paying $1,050. They're implying $350/month upside. But if comparable units are renting at $1,150, the real upside is $100, and even capturing that requires a rent increase that might push out a paying tenant.
Red Flags That Should Make You Dig Deeper
Not every issue is a deal-killer, but these patterns warrant extra scrutiny:
Inconsistent formatting: A rent roll that looks like it was created yesterday, especially if the property has been owned for years, might have been fabricated for the listing.
Round numbers everywhere: Real rents are $1,075, $1,125, $987. When every unit shows exactly $1,100 or $1,200, someone might be estimating rather than reporting.
No tenant names: A rent roll with unit numbers but no tenant names makes verification difficult. It also makes you wonder why they're being hidden.
"Pro forma" anywhere on the document: Pro forma means projected, not actual. It's the seller's fantasy of what the property could earn under perfect conditions.
Recently raised rents: If rents jumped 15% three months before listing, the seller might be inflating income to justify a higher price. Those increases may not stick.
Unusually low vacancy: A 12-unit building showing 0% vacancy for the past three years is either incredibly well-managed or the seller is hiding something. Most properties have some turnover.
A Worked Example: Verifying a Triplex Rent Roll
You're analyzing a triplex listed at $385,000. The seller provides this rent roll:
| Unit | Tenant | Rent | Lease End | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnson | $1,250 | 08/2025 | $1,250 |
| 2 | Smith | $1,300 | Month-to-month | $1,200 |
| 3 | Vacant | $1,350 (market) | - | - |
Stated gross rent: $3,900/month ($1,250 + $1,300 + $1,350)
Your verification process:
Realistic income picture:
| Unit | Actual/Realistic Rent |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,250 (verified) |
| 2 | $1,230 (actual) |
| 3 | $1,225 (conservative market) |
| **Total** | **$3,705/month** |
That's $195/month less than the seller's rent roll claimed. Over a year, that's $2,340 in gross income the property isn't generating. At a 6% cap rate, that difference represents roughly $39,000 in value.
Your offer should reflect the real numbers, not the seller's optimistic rent roll.
Common Mistakes When Reviewing Rent Rolls
Mistake 1: Accepting the Rent Roll at Face Value
The rent roll is a starting point for verification, not a conclusion. Every number on it should be verified against source documents. Sellers aren't necessarily lying, but they're motivated to present the best possible picture.
Mistake 2: Underestimating Vacancy
If a property has one vacant unit today, your analysis should include realistic vacancy assumptions going forward. The seller might insist the unit will rent "any day now" at top dollar. Maybe. Or maybe there's a reason it's sitting empty.
Use 5-8% vacancy in your underwriting for stabilized properties, higher for value-add or properties with turnover issues.
Mistake 3: Ignoring Tenant Quality
A rent roll can show $5,000/month in income, but if two tenants are consistently late, one is in eviction proceedings, and another just lost their job, that $5,000 is fiction.
Ask to see tenant applications (redacted for privacy) or at least understand their employment and payment history. Inheriting problem tenants can cost you more than a vacant unit would.
Mistake 4: Forgetting About Below-Market Leases
Sometimes the opposite problem exists: a tenant paying $900 on a long-term lease when market rent is $1,150. You can't raise their rent until the lease ends, and they have no incentive to leave.
Factor in when below-market leases expire and what turnover or renewal risk you're taking on.
Verification Documents to Request
Before making an offer (or at least before removing contingencies), get these documents:
Some sellers will push back on providing this level of detail early in the process. That's fine. You can make your offer contingent on satisfactory due diligence and request everything once you're under contract.
But don't remove your contingency until you've verified the income.
Running Your Own Numbers
The rent roll the seller provides is their story about the property. Your job is to verify that story and write your own.
Start with actual collected rent, not stated rent. Apply a realistic vacancy rate based on the property's history and the local market. Factor in the true condition of the tenant base and the lease rollover schedule.
Once you have verified numbers, run them through a proper analysis to see if the deal still makes sense at the asking price. The [multifamily calculator](/tools/multifamily) or [single family calculator](/tools/single-family) can help you model different scenarios based on what you discover during due diligence.
The best deals aren't found by accepting seller numbers. They're found by doing the verification work that other buyers skip.