I’m researching property in my area to buy and rent out. Since I’m new to the process, I’m wondering if folks have luck with single family homes vs. 2-4 unit apartment complexes. Do you evaluate both types (single vs. multi) in the same way from an investment perspective - ie:50% rule?
Any advice much appreciated!
Dave
Short answer is yes. It is easier to make multifamily properties cash flow than sfh, but they are evaluated in the same way.
redhawk
I agree with redhawk. One of the reasons it is easier to make multifamily properties cash flow is that you have multiple tenants and knock on wood you will not usually have all of the units vacant at the same time. This allows you to at least have some income each month and limit the losses on the months were you have one vacancy.
There are things you have to consider for multi’s that you generally don’t for SFHs. Some smaller multi’s are not separately metered for some (or sometimes all) utilities. So you may be paying for some utilities whereas a resident in a SFH would pay their own. SFH residents take care of (or should I say “are responsible for”) their own lawns. The owner will generally be responsible for that in a multi unless maybe it’s a duplex and you have the residents split the lawn care responsibilities.
Understand it will generally be easier to sell a SFH if you have to unload it vs. trying to sell a multi because your buyer pool will be smaller for a multi.
We own both. We’d like to get another multi if we could find a good deal on one. They don’t seem to come available very often here. 50% rule applies for both.
Thanks everyone for the great advice and info 
This site is a great resource!