Should I buy a multi-family?

[Matthew Catanzariti]

First off I'll give you a little background on myself. I'm currently 23 years old and make around 70-80k. I have no student loan debt or any other form of debt. I myself think owner occupying a multi family residence would be the smartest financial move for me personally. I eventually would like to be able to live off of income obtained by owning property. The problem is everyone I talk to including my family try's to tell me that owning a rental is just a headache having to deal with tenants and everything else associated with it... Could anyone who has actually done it or has knowledge on it give me advice on which way to go?

Thanks in advance for any information!

P.S I live in Eastern Massachusetts so homes are expensive!

[Alexander Merritt]

First off let me say Congrats for a great income and no debt at such a young age!

Here's my view. I would say it depends on the kind of life you want to have. Since you are younger, I would probably suggest that you hire a property management company to mange it for you. Why? Because you'll want to have fun with your friends and have a nice social night/weekend life. If you are self managing the property, I'm not sure how much of that will be possible unless you get a super great tenant who doesn't give you any problems.

As an alternative, you might consider doing what I did. Buy a 2 or 3 bedroom house, and just rent out the rooms to roommates or friends. After a few years if you get sick of roommates, just don't renew the lease and you have the whole house to yourself (and/or significant other)

Financially it's a great move as you already know. You'll be able to live rent free or nearly rent free which is excellent.