A 1912 Triplex in South LA With a Garage That Could Change Everything
There are properties that look like what they are on paper, and then there are properties where the real opportunity is hiding in plain sight. 233 W 88th Street in Los Angeles is the second kind. It sits on a 5,351 square foot lot in the 90003 zip code, just off Broadway, with easy access to the 105 and 110 freeways. It has been standing since 1912. Over a hundred years of tenancy, neighborhood shifts, and market cycles, and this thing is still producing income.
What you see from the street is a three unit property spread across two buildings. The front building is an original craftsman style bungalow with a two bedroom, one bath unit. Behind it, a second structure holds two one bedroom, one bath units stacked over on site parking. It is a clean, simple layout. The kind of configuration that has worked in South LA for decades because the demand never stops. People need housing here. That part of the equation has never been in question.
But the real conversation around this property starts in the back. There is an existing garage structure on site that presents a legitimate ADU conversion opportunity. Under current Los Angeles regulations, garage to ADU conversions remain one of the most cost effective ways to add legal square footage and rental income to a multifamily property. The bones are already there. The footprint exists. For an owner who understands how to navigate that process, this is not a hypothetical upside play. It is a tangible path to increasing the unit count and the overall income of the asset without building from scratch.
At a list price of $495,000, the basis on this property is remarkably low. You are looking at $165,000 per unit on an asset that is fully occupied and already generating $3,356 per month in gross rental income. The current rents on the one bedrooms sit in the low $800s, well below the pro forma projections closer to $1,695 per unit. The two bedroom is closer to market at $1,701 per month with room to push toward $2,195 over time. This is a property where the rent roll tells you exactly where the upside lives. It is not speculative. It is sitting right there in the gap between current rents and market.
South Los Angeles continues to be one of the most active multifamily corridors in the city for investors who think in terms of per unit pricing and rental yield. The 90003 zip code benefits from its central positioning, strong transit access, and a renter base that keeps occupancy rates high. The neighborhood is not flashy. It does not need to be. What it offers is consistency, and for a long term holder, that consistency compounds.
The walkability of this location adds another layer. Residents can handle most daily errands on foot, and the proximity to major freeways means commuting in any direction is manageable. These are the kinds of practical details that keep units leased and vacancy low.
For the right buyer, this property is not just a cash flowing triplex at a low basis. It is a platform. The garage conversion potential gives a new owner the ability to add meaningful value almost immediately. Combined with the existing rent upside across all three units, this deal offers multiple levers to pull without relying on market appreciation alone. That is rare at this price point, and it is exactly the kind of setup that smart operators look for.
If you want to see the full underwriting or schedule a walkthrough, reach out to our team at The Rockwell Group. Properties like this tend to move quickly once the right buyer sees the full picture.