Single family? Townhome?

[Mark Albano]

Hey everyone.

I have no experience in buying rental properties but I have done a ton of reading and I have a written plan to get started in the next 5-7 months. One topic I find a lot of negative comments about are townhomes. My main interest in real estate is single family home rentals. I don't know if this high interest is due to the simple concept of SFH, the ongoing cash flow, the high demand of SFH in my area, etc. But townhomes are all around me (I am in one myself) in very nice areas for fairly cheap. From what I read about them it sounds like I should stay away due to mediocre appreciation rates and HOA fees. Does anyone have any experience with buying and renting townhomes that has had a good experience?? Thanks in advance.

[Hattie Dizmond]

There are a lot of great townhouse units in Dallas.  I wouldn't personally invest in them for fix & flips, because there are only a couple of areas where they actually sell well, and those are very high end units.  On the other hand...they rent awesome here.  So, I would definitely buy, if the deal was right, and I knew I could hold the property long-term.  In other words, I wouldn't generally look at townhouses, if I were targeting a hybrid strategy where I was going to sell in just a few years.

Davidson is a fantastic area.  With Lowes, Rubbermaid & Ingersol, plus the college, there is huge demand without even talking about the Charlotte refugees.  The school district is amazing and quality of life makes it a highly desirable rental market.  If I were still in Charlotte, that would definitely be an area I would consider townhomes as long-term buy & holds.