Picking out a house

[Chris Lo]

I found this one house that i liked. My plan is live in it for 1 yr and rent it out to maybe 2-3 students.

The location is good, the house has lots of potentials for an improvement (i think), and the size is good.

Built in 1925 and renovated in 1962.

3 bed 2 bath 1500 sq/ft. But it doesn't have a garage. This is something i really don't like about for myself.

So i have a couple of questions.

1) Not having a garage, is it a huge deal breaker for the future tenants or students? I'm in michigan. It snows a lot and cold, and i won't be living here forever so i can live with not having one for a bit.

2) According to my friend, the exterior is cedar wood which looks very worn. By the look of it, does it look like in a bad condition or this is how it's supposed to look?

3) 9 houses away from this house, there is a large Senior Apartment building which offers Studio/1 bath, 1 bed/1bath, 2 bed/1bath and such.

Would they have any affect on me when i start leasing/renting out the house?

[Alecia Loveless]

@Chris Lo In New Hampshire that’s what Cedar shingle houses look like as they age. The nice thing is that if one of four or twenty shingles rot you can easily have them replaced.

If there’s others potential tenants in the area then I wouldn’t be too concerned about a senior housing development. You probably won’t get any seniors renting from you but with my SFRs I often find that I get a couple or a family with just one child for my 3BR houses. They want more space or are saving money for a down payment on their own house. But they usually stay more than 1 year. I do have tenants that I inherited that have been in units 6,11,14 years.