How do you know what you want?

[Larissa Phillips]

Hello all! I'm new as of today, and have just started researching multi-family property rentals as an investment option. I read through a lot of the step-by-step blogs, but I'm having trouble figuring out what specifically to look for or what I should ask a real estate agent to help me look for. 

How do you guys feel about:

*duplex vs triplex vs four-plex

*house w/ a carriage house or granny flat

*house that can be split into vertical apartment levels w/ outside stairs (I lived in a 3 story house in college. The landlord had the main floor, another guy had the 2nd, and I had the 3rd floor/attic. Each was a separate housing unit with outside stairs for access, a shared backyard, and shared pay laundry services in the sunroom on the main floor)

*land that I could build a couple carriage houses on and rent out

*one large house where I would live with the tenants

Any advice would be appreciated. Again, I am very new to this and still a bit nervous about taking suck a big step.

Larissa

[Andrew Meyer]

I agree that cash flow is the first thing I look at. The I check out area. Great cash flow on paper can be a terrible deal if it's in D or even c type neighborhoods.

There are limited MFH in my area on market, so I have pretty much analyzed any MFH on my market. So then I'll figure the best deals in the areas I want to purchase in.