Single family Vs Multi (based on my criteria)

[Rick Singh]

I’m looking to get into real estate in the next 6 months or so, and would like to pick up some books and attend a couple courses in my free time to be better prepared.

Some information about me:

- I own a building maintenance and janitorial services company that provides me with a $400-450k annual salary. I’m looking for a place to start investing a good portion of this money. 

-I live in San Diego and would like to invest locally in the San Diego Market. 

-Minor repairs, carpet cleaning, tenant turnover cleans, etc is something my company does already (albeit for commercial office clients), so getting a “tenant call on a weekend to fix a sink” isn’t a large consideration. 

-The manner in which I plan to invest is buy and hold.

-My biggest criteria: I have no interest in going into deals with partners, owning part of a property, finding and bringing on other investors, etc. I really would like this to be a “solo” deal. I’m not speaking to a team of accountants, lawyers, etc...just specifically as it relates to ownership. 

If this was your criteria, would you be looking to get into SFH or MFH, and why? Thanks in advance!

[Christian Montalvo]

Hi @Rick Singh! I'm not familiar with the San Diego Marketplace. I currently invest in small mfr in Dallas Fort Worth Tx. Although I hope to do a syndication in the next few years and am always open to going into larger deals with a trusted partner, my husband and I have no partners currently. 

We have 3 different properties with a total of 8 units that we have acquired over the past 2 years. 2 duplexes and 1 4-plex. I love mfr properties. We manage them ourselves and so far they have proven to be profitable and meet our lifestyle. An example why... one of my duplexes had a 1/2 side vacant for a few months, we had some upgrades to this unit and made sure we took the time to find a good approved tenant who could afford the rent we were asking. It was as big of a deal to have that side empty because we still had another tenant in the other side covering almost all of the mortgage. Sure we have cashflow from our other properties that would help if it was a vacant SFR, but it was great still having a rental income from at least the other side.

We follow the 1% rule as a minimum requirement for our properties and they have proven to cash flow in a short time. 

Although I am not opposed to a SFR, I prefer MFR for this very reason.

Good Luck!