SFR vs Duplex which will be better.

[Craig Parsons]

Ok so we just purchased a house that was a duplex. The seller was in the process to converting it to a Single family. Now we have a choice which has become a major disagreement between my close friends and I.

As the house sits now it is 3/4 renovated. Everything interior is finished except for the cabinets and finish plumbing which has not even been picked yet. But walls,floors, rough plumbing and electrical is done. As it sits the house is 5 bedrooms 2 baths and 1850 sqft. As a duplex it would be a 3/1 and a 2/1 both being around 900 sqft. There is only 1 power meter at this time. Also my plan was to add a ductless hvac system which would probably be 2 separate units one for each end of house. This is a single story side by side duplex. Also in consideration is adding a 3rd bath The duplex would bring in about $200 per month more than a SFR according to other investors in the area. What we are fighting over is #1 The extra time and cost, around $10k, to convert to a duplex. #2 is a 5/3 or a 5/2 going to be harder to keep occupied than having the 2 smaller units. #3 Which relates to #2 a bit is is having 2 units safer since it's less likely they will both be vacant at the same time.

My goal is to have 15 to 20 doors in the next few years so does that make the 2 is safer than 1 issue mute?

Either way this place will cash flow well and when I refinance it I will get all my money back plus 10 to 20k in cash with only refinancing at 70% of value.

Thanks for reading!