4 bedroom condos v. 2 bedroom condos v. 1 bedroom condos

[Edward Schenkel]

I am looking at condos in Stamford Connecticut. I am actually looking at a 4 bedroom in the city as a potential house hack. However, I am wondering what the BP community has to say about whether it is easier to rent out a 4 bedroom, 2 bedroom, or 1 bedroom in the city. I know what makes a good investment has a lot of different variables, but I am wondering if anyone has any advice about the number of bedrooms in an investment in a city. My common sense tells me that families that need a 4 bedroom would not want to live in the city; they tend to move out of the city when they have kids. However, more rooms and higher square footage could command a higher rent. Does anyone have any thoughts on this issue?

[Filipe Pereira]

Originally posted by @Edward Schenkel:

I am looking at condos in Stamford Connecticut. I am actually looking at a 4 bedroom in the city as a potential house hack. However, I am wondering what the BP community has to say about whether it is easier to rent out a 4 bedroom, 2 bedroom, or 1 bedroom in the city. I know what makes a good investment has a lot of different variables, but I am wondering if anyone has any advice about the number of bedrooms in an investment in a city. My common sense tells me that families that need a 4 bedroom would not want to live in the city; they tend to move out of the city when they have kids. However, more rooms and higher square footage could command a higher rent. Does anyone have any thoughts on this issue?

Hi Ed, 
My experience as a property manager filling vacancies is that 2 to 3 bedrooms is the ideal sweet spot. 4+ bedrooms can make it hard for folks to have the 3x gross rent. The idea that sq footage and bedroom count commands a higher square foot is true to a certain extent. It's not linear, meaning that each bedroom adds $X to the rent. 

I just had a similar conversation with @Vlad K. (check him out btw, local CT CPA) regarding renting SFRs with higher bedroom counts. Most folks who have that many kids are either A) settled (and therefore are more likely to purchase rather than rent) or B) lower income, and don't typically meet the qualifications you would like to see. 

I filled a 4 bedroom unit in the South End of Hartford over the summer. Took about 3 weeks. Had lots of interest due to it's shear size, but the market caps you at a certain point (in terms of rent) and the renter pool can be less than ideal. Even so, it took 3 adults pitching in to be able to afford the rent.

Hope that helps bud. Looking forward to our next chat, as always!
FP