New to BP, Questions on Property Type

[Kevin Foyteck]

hello, I am brand new to Bigger Pockets. I recently graduated college, and I work for an accounting firm doing business valuation in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. I recently bought a condo and will soon be getting a roommate paying $650 to cover my $570 mortgage. I am currently saving for my first rental property. However, South Florida (West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens area) is very expensive. Palm Beach Gardens (A highly desirable area) has single family homes starting at $250,000, and West Palm Beach is slightly lower than that. Many of the properties between $80,000 and $120,000 are condos. The single family homes in that price range are either in poor condition, or are in a bad area. Is there anyone here that has had success buying multiple condos, or should I save even more money to buy a single family? Often I find the HOA fee can heavily eat into the returns, and makes vacancies more expensive.

 Thanks

[Mitchell Jaworski]

@Kevin Foyteck - my opinion is that one's area has some impact on what they invest in, but again just my opinion. Living in Palm Beach County I own 2 condos and a townhome. I pay HOAs on all of them. Would I prefer not to, yes. However, the town I'm in has very limited areas that are non-HOA that I am willing to invest in.

In the end - the numbers will dictate if something is a good investment. If the cashflow and cahs on cash return is sufficient when including the HOA fees then I invest.

Some people stay away from HOAs all together.  It's a matter of preference.