double or 4plex for first time investment

[boatboy]

I am 21 and plan on buying an investment property in the Indianapolis area. I am going to take a job there so I will be one of the tenants so I will also get tax breaks. I have sufficient money to make a down payment on either, but don't know what I should do.....

I am looking for a + cash flow on my investment, Am I more likely to get it on either....?

Any help will be much obliged and I am also looking to network in the area.. :)

[getofftheporch]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. I own both 2 family and 4 family rental properties in st louis. Some of the advantages of the 4plex is more rental income (you will be living in only 1/4th of the units not 1/2), If you have a bad tenant or vacant unit that will take away only 1/4th of your income for the property and generally speaking, in my market the return on the investment is better.

Some of the advantages to the 2 family is they are usually easier to rent and the tenants tend to stay longer (less transient).

I think it is great that you are looking into this now as an investment. You can acquire a much better loan when it is owner occupied and later in your life you may not want to live with your tenants.

Good Luck!

[Codythebest]

I'll go for a fourplex. As said above, you'll 3 tenants and a positive cash flow is easier to reach.

[cbear]

boatboy, Would you rather be the resident landlord of one other unit or several? Think about it. I am an investor in Indianapolis and run across good deals all the time.

[steve111111]

Almost always it's better to take the largest possible amount of units. This reduces significantly the overhead of the deal, lets you manage things that are geographically close and so on. What's the reason to go for the duplex?

[reinman]

This seems like a simple math problem to me. What are the numbers telling you? Beyond that, we used to own a duplex and lived in one side and it was a pain in the a**. We had tenants knocking on the door at all hours with complaints, wanting you to paint a bedroom, blah, blah, blah.
It seems that if you're right next door then the tenants see you as being very accessible and on call.

[biffula]

I am 21 and plan on buying an investment property in the Indianapolis area. I am going to take a job there so I will be one of the tenants so I will also get tax breaks. I have sufficient money to make a down payment on either, but don't know what I should do.....

I am looking for a + cash flow on my investment, Am I more likely to get it on either....?

Any help will be much obliged and I am also looking to network in the area.. :)

Go with the 4plex. It will give you more cashflow, not much more hassle than a duplex. Will whet your appetite for bigger deals. If that is in fact your goal. If you want bigger deals in the future, try to get there as fast as you can.

[domolives]

Hey Boat Boy..the more units always the better (most of the time). I wonder if you should be creating an LLC and act as a super not the owner?!? I am always weary about being the Landlord/Owner and living right next to the tenants. Might be better to act as super and collect rent yada yada but no reason to make the tenats jealous/hateful. Just a random thought to consider

[reinman]

Hey Boat Boy..the more units always the better (most of the time). I wonder if you should be creating an LLC and act as a super not the owner?!? I am always weary about being the Landlord/Owner and living right next to the tenants. Might be better to act as super and collect rent yada yada but no reason to make the tenats jealous/hateful. Just a random thought to consider

I totally agree. Tenants can be very resentful ,they tend to think that you're rolling in dough. If you can take yourself out of the picture, so to speak, all the better. And don't show off your new car to the tenants either.