Pros and Cons of MultiFamily with Only 1BA/1 BD

[Harold Felder]

Hello BP Community,

I am a new investor looking to become more active in the multifamily space.  I recently purchased a fourplex and I am looking to move into something with more units.

I recently saw a 20+ unit apartment building.  All the units are 1 bedroom/1 bath.  What are the pros and cons of owning an apartment building with only 1 bedroom apartments?

[Joel Owens]

Just a forewarning on converting from 1 bed to 2's. If your building is older and you want to convert say 40 1 beds out of 50 units into 2 beds and then have 10 1 beds you could be made to bring things up to code.

People just think of demo costs and a little restructuring. Some muni's require electrical upgrades, fire suppression systems with sprinklers, etc. This stuff can add huge additional costs to a makeover.