Should you buy a townhome or individual apartment for rental?

[Manny Rivero]

Hey guys,

I'm a real estate broker and trying to help a friend get started in some buy and hold investing. Right now there are a lot of townhomes and individual apartment units (being sold separately from a larger complex) that are for sale in our market. Most of them are within his price range. I thought they might be a good starting property for him, since many people will rent those kinds of properties. I don't have as much knowledge though when it comes to townhomes and apartments. Do these make a good rental? I'm assuming most will have some sort of HOA, is that worth dealing with? I'd love to know some thoughts and see if anyone else has attempted investing in these. Thanks everyone!