I had the same problem when I got started. Being new to the game I wanted to keep things as simple as I could so I only looked at single units for a long time.
I looked at one apartment ( 4-plex) and ended up getting it cause it was the only thing I looked at that the owner was willing to finance.
Another good point for multy units is vacancy. If one moves out I’ve still got 3 others paying. But I’ve also got 4 toilets, 4 stoves etc. that I have to take care of.
More headachs but more money too.
Since this is your first one I’d look at everything I could. You’ll learn alot just by looking.
Posted by Ben Buckley on December 25, 1998 at 17:57:36:
I just finished the Carleton Sheets course and am wondering whether to invest in single family homes or multitenant buildings. So what I would like is some feed back on both the pros and cons of each kind of property. Thanks, Ben
Posted by Tim Conde on December 29, 1998 at 14:49:26:
Don’t know if this helps much, but for all the properties of each type I own, when I decided to build, I went with duplexes. They are high end (4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage, in each of the two units), and they rent VERY fast and stay rented. If I have any vacancies (rare), one unit pays all the bills until I can get the other one rented. Nice. But all of the landlord hassles are multiplied by the number of units plus one, the guy next door always plays the trumpet at 6AM.
Posted by George on December 26, 1998 at 13:11:03:
In my area, it is extremely difficult to buy & hold a single family and break even, let alone have positive cash. On the plus side of multi’s is: 1 roof, 1 sidewalk to shovel, 1 yard to maintain, etc. Of course you’re going to have at least 1 toilet, 1 kitchen, 1 stove, for each unit, but you have that also on SFH.