Anyone glad they started with old small multiplexes?

[Robin Pentecost]

I’m trying to find a niche in an area that other investors don’t love so that I have less competition. Single family houses are more expensive than many of the 4 plexes that I’m watching. The 4 plexes also cash flow better and some already have tenants in them. 

The problem is that most of them are built between 1880 and 1920. Some appear to have partial rehabs done before being put up for sale. My guess is that they were money pits. 

My dream would be to buy them, make them look beautiful, force equity into them, and rent to college students or young professionals and cash flow at 200 per door. I know nothing about rehab, or the risks of buying older properties, and I wonder how I could make this work. Anyone out there successful in this area?