A few big Units or More Smaller Units?

[Andrew A.]

I have a duplex that's quite big...4000 square feet.  One unit occupies 2 floors + unfinished basement.  It's a 5 bedroom 2 bath.  I have been debating whether it would be worth it to convert to a triplex.  Each floor becoming a 2/1 apartment.  By doing so I project I can increase my cashflow by about $100-200 per month.

I have been temporarily living in the smaller unit while I rent out the 5 bedroom (house hack).  As someone who enjoys a clean quiet apartment complex, I find that having a bigger unit is not always a good thing.  

1.  More maintenance.  More people living in the unit causes more wear and tear.

2.  Bigger units are likely to invite more kids which has implications of wear and tear and noise levels.

3.  Clean out is a bigger pain for large units between tenants.  

I intentionally marketed my the unit for lease as a 3 bedroom to reduce the tenant pool to smaller families.  

What are your thoughts on having Fewer Large Units vs More Smaller Units in a MultiUnit Property?  Do you think it's worth the renovation to split the 5/2 unit into two 2/1 units?

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks!

Andrew