Interesting comment you made about all the properties being for sale in the same area, and at the same time, your perception is correct. If there are a lot of properties for sale in a given area, then that is a signal that something negative has or is about to happen to that area.
Your best bet is to do some research on the area and try to find out whats going on. Call 10 different real estate listing agents or owners of the properties in that area and ask all of them why the owner is selling, you’ll probably get 10 different answers but sometimes you’ll see a pattern forming.
The bottom line is if you approach it right, you can make money on any real estate investment, if you’re just starting out, be sure you’re getting into something you can handle, single family homes are probably a smart way to go until you get good at it, then move up to multi-family.
Posted by Tim (STL MO) on October 20, 1998 at 02:02:27:
I was writing in regards to 2-4 family flats. I live in the St. Louis area, and am looking to make my first deal. I have been looking in several local real estate publications as well as some listings on local realtors websites. Many of the listings I have seen are for 2-4 fam. flats. I was mainly looking to invest in single fam. houses, but the 2-4 fam. seem like they would provide some good income, especially for someone who is just starting out in investing. Is there anyone out there who may be able to give me a little better insight about 2-4 fam. flat investing? The reason I say this, is there are several of these buildings in the area. They are all brick, typically 50-75 yrs old, and they seem very affordable, usually between $30-$50,000 for 2 fam. and $50-$75,000 for 4 fam. Seeing so many of these properties listed makes me wonder if this would be a wise investment or a big mistake. One more thing! They are all located in the same area, which makes me think even more about how wise this investment would be. On one hand, with so many properties for sale, it seems as if the buyer would have the advantage. On the other hand, I don’t want buy what someone else is so eager to sell. The properties are not in the best neighborhoods, but they’re not in the worst either. Maybe I’m just dragging my feet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Tim
St. Louis, MO.
Tim,
I am thinking about same idea - to buy older multi-family units because they are cheap. My experience is that maintenance can be “big problem.” And with it comes vacancy. And next is quality of tenants.
And before you know your investment is to high - and nobody wants to buy it - sometime you can’t give it away.
But I stil hope there is some secrect to managment of those type of properties - people live everywhere.
Re: 2-4 family flats Info? - Posted by Mark (SDCA)
Posted by Mark (SDCA) on October 20, 1998 at 10:21:17:
I can’t comment on the area you are looking in. I shy away from bad areas. But in general I like small multi-families. They have good cash flow and decent appreciation. Additionally, they qualify for residential not commercial financing.