Better to buy 1-2 bigger properties or 3-4 smaller ones?

[Carla Ulbrich]

Hello real estate friends!
This is my first post. I just learned about the forum on the BP podcast.

We just sold a condo (in New Jersey) that we've been renting out for years, and breaking even most years (except for the years when we had to replace the furnace, etc.). We want to use the proceeds to purchase profitable investment properties in Eastern PA where to numbers make much more sense (lower taxes, very few HOAs).

Is it better to purchase 1-2 homes (like a 3-unit home) or several individual homes?

It seems to me there are more up-front expenses if you buy more individual properties (title fees, mortgage broker fees, etc. for each property, some of which are flat fees no matter what the place is worth).

However when you get into multi-family homes, as a landlord you end up paying for things like trash collection, landscaping, and even utilities if they haven't been separated out.

We are doing this in a 1031 exchange, but there are some fees that are not covered by the 1031 funds (for example, the cost of obtaining a mortgage).

Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom!

Carla