Apartment Building Investing

[James Syed]

Hello BP members,

Is it better to invest into an all 2 bedrooms building over a mix unit building?

In terms of size of building it will be between 4 - 24 units.

I have come across a few mix unit buildings and all 1 bedroom buildings, but my concern is 1 bedroom units where turn over is very high (mostly) as compare to 2 bedrooms.

In addition it is my understanding that if the units are uniformed, it usually means that building was designed mostly likely to be an apartment building not some warehouse / old big house turn into an apartment building.

Any comment / suggestions would be appreciated.

[J. Martin]

Hi @James Syed ,

So we meet again!

Many investors like different size units in larger buildings because they are easier to fill/market with who is coming in. Even with my small 4plex and SFR's, I always get asked, "Do you have a 3br also?" or "I'm just looking for a 1br for now." or "my sister is looking for a bigger place also." or "I've been living in your building in the 2br for 2 years and like it, but my son is getting older. Do you have a 3br available also?"

You should definitely look at what the construction was like, and whether or not it is a sub-par conversion from a different building. I just posted about all the great info about unit sizes and other info on city-data.com

See how the unit mix compares to the average unit mix in a city.. Or how it compares to the demand today for bigger or smaller units based on household size and % renters on the website.. Good luck!