Comparing deals- fixer upper vs. currently ok

[Amanda G.]

Hi,

I have a not-completely-hypothetical example for advice.

Would you rather purchase a single family at $50k which will need $20k of repair to rent at 900/month, or a converted house that is currently in ok shape, with 2 1-bedroom apartments that rent at ~$430 for $70k? What variables do you consider with your answer?

Thanks for your input!

[Kristina Heimstaedt]

Depends on what you think you bring to the table. Are you comfortable with a 20k project? The other thing to consider, which I don't think gets talked about enough, weird people rent weird houses. I might aim for the one that is more normal whatever that might be. The other thing to consider is your marketplace. Maybe apartments are better than single family homes. Maybe none of this matters and you're most concerned about cash flow on paper because it will be the property manager's problem. Lots of different ways to look at this.