Why not condos?

[Sunny P.]

I have a full time job that keeps me fairly busy but I am anxious and excited to grow my RE portfolio.  I started RE investing about 5-6 years ago.  Actually, when I was in grad school, I bought a condo in Columbus to live in.  This was in Jan 2009.  I lived in the condo for about 2.5 yrs ago and then decided to move to Chicago for a job.  This was June 2011.  I had a choice of selling and taking a loss or attempt to rent it out and I did in less than a week.  

That tenant ended up staying for 3 years.  Then in July 2014, I decided to rent it out again.  When I was showing the unit, I noticed another condo for sale literally 2 doors down.  So I put an offer and ended up buying that one.  Both got rented out very quickly. 

Purchase price of 1st: $150,000

Purchase Price of 2nd: $140,000

Rent from 1 and 2:  $1400 each per month.

HOA fee: $149.

So lately, I have been finding out more and more condo HOAs won't allow investors.  Plus, I am not really finding DEALS where I can get 1% of purchase price in rent per month.

I am guessing Condos are not popular with RE investors here.   I like condos because they are somewhat maintenance free..

I am not sure but it seems like when the rent can be $1200-1500, it is a sweet spot.  My reasons for not doing something too cheap:

Bad quality tenants...won't pay rent on time...

Possible eviction issues...

I am ready to get my 3rd one but having a full time job prevents me from buying that that needs a lot of work done..

so what do you suggest?  Can I get 1% in rent per month?  btw, I live in Cincy now.

[Russell Brazil]

I own 3 condos....they are the easiest properties to manage in my portfolio. There are certain risks that come with condo investing...however every property type has their particular risks.  The pros of investing in condos outweigh the negatives for me.