Advice for a first time apartment buyer

[Matt Mayotte]

Hey Everyone,

I've been a landlord and have remodeled my own single family (one duplex) properties for the past 8 years. I've had some hard lessons with bad tenants over the years but overall I am doing pretty good. In looking at the NOI and Cap rates of some apartment buildings available for sale right now I've decided to start selling my single family houses and jump into apartment buildings. I am thinking of starting with a 6-10 unit building depending on how much I can get financing for. So far from what I can tell the more units the higher the NOI in general. Also, I'm not interested in being a slumlord. I maintain my properties and want to make sure I'm having a positive impact in the neighborhoods where my properties are. Does anyone have any advice for me in how apartments differ from single family houses and duplexes? Are the tenants similar in their issues and how to deal with them? I generally try to buy properties that need some work for cheaper and then do the work myself to improve the equity and resale value. Is this a good strategy for apartments as well? Thanks for your advice!