Pros/Cons of Side x Side condos?

[Josh Teunissen]

I tryd to search before posting, maybe I used the wrong keywords? If so I apologize

A thought I had on my drive this morning was whether or not Side x Side condos are a solid investment. There are a decent amount of these style condos in the little towns in the area I live. The area I wish to invest. They look like side x Side duplexes and are very well kept. They are always on the "newer" side of towns. The reason I became aware of these is because often I see a for sale sign in front of what I thought was a duplex but when I look up the listing it's a condo. 

The potential advantages I can think of -

- shared cap ex on roof and exterior

- list price is almost always exactly half of a duplex of comparable age - a side thought on this is if the owner of the other side were to sell at some point, this gives you two chances to negotiate price on the same building. 2x the Hassel but potentially a higher discount on the same property. You could argue lost revenue on one unit while you don't own it however you're in the deal for half as well. I also aknowlege that the purchase of both is speculative

- the area these are in are always where people want to live

Potential disadvantages -

- taxes. Are they taxed per one unit the same as a whole dulex?

- HOA, however I don't know how these work on smaller two unit properties.

- the homeowner next door not liking renters however I wouldn't want to place bad tenants either

I don't know that this would be a strategy to propel me towards my investing goals however if the numbers are great they may be instrumental along the way. They are desirable properties. This was a passing thought, what better place to dig deeper than bigger pockets? Please advise of any pros or cons you can think of and maybe someone else will get value out of the discussion as well. 

Thanks, Josh