Beginner in multiple units please help

[Jonathan Hernandez]

Hello everyone, I am slowly getting into the real estate business bought my first property 2 years ago and now I have it rented out. I slowly want to get into duplexes, triplexs and also quadplex properties unfortunately I have no idea how these work. Can someone please give me good references/materials or point me in the right direction on what to read? What websites are helpful and where to start? I want to ensure I fully indulge all my energy into becoming more familiar, before I go into my first duplex or triplex etc. Please guys anything helps. Much appreciated!

[Adam Juodis]

@Jonathan Hernandez You ask what websites are helpful- Well, you've already found the answer, this one! Don't let duplex(s)-4plexs intimidate you - they're not that different from a SFR.

In regards to funding, 2-4plex can be purchased with the same conventional loans you use to buy your typical 3BR, 2BA SFR. A cool strategy, if you're interested, is house hacking. The quick summary of this is, you live in one of the units of the multifamily property and rent out the others, which can cover your living expenses or even cash flow extra if the deal is good enough. You can get a multiunit with this strategy with a FHA loan with only 3.5% down payment out of pocket.

Some Multifamilies have sub-metering, while others do not. What this means for the investor, you might have to cover utility expenses that you wouldn't in a SFR. If the property is sub-metered for all utilities, that means you can make the tenant responsible for covering their own utility bills.

You also have to account for repairs, Capex, vacancy, and management as you would with an SFR. Other possible expenses that you wouldn't see in a SFR is landscaping and snow removal costs. You're multifamily tenants are not going to cut the lawn like a SFR tenant would.

Vacancy is also generally easier on the landlord with multifamilies. Say you have a triplex and one unit is vacant- you still get the income from the other 2 tenants.

Good article on 2-4 unit investing:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/0...

Also I recommend listening to the BiggerPockets podcasts and reading the'Book on Investing In Rental Properties.'

2-4 unit multifamilies are nothing to be intimidated by. There are some differences, but overall they are very similar to a typical SFR, and the scale-ability of your investing naturally comes easier. This is my quick summary of investing in 2-4 units. Let me know if you have any additional questions!